The Core Four: Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. These four have been a huge part of the Cleveland Cavaliers turnaround this season. 51 wins. Ending a five-year playoff drought. Clinching homecourt in the first round. However, none of that matters now.
It’s the postseason, and while what they have accomplished in 82 games is cute, that is all out the window now. It is time for that to translate to the playoffs. The Core Four did not live up to that in Game 1.
While Mitchell did everything he could to lead the Cavs to an improbable victory despite their poor play, it was not enough. Garland did not give him enough help in the fourth quarter, Mobley couldn’t make a shot at the rim, and missed a key box out on Julius Randle late that sealed the Cavs’ fate. As for Allen, he had a solid game, but it was not enough in the end.
All in all, the engines that have made the Cavaliers go can all be better. Here is my analysis of their individual Game 1 performances.
Darius Garland’s Game 1
Garland had a very up and down Game 1. He started out by getting trapped and then throwing the ball away early in the first quarter, but he was able to settle in during the second and third quarters.
By making Mitchell the primary ball handler, and moving Garland off the ball more, the Cavs were able to have a little more offensive success in the second half. He had 17 entering the fourth quarter and he was efficient as well, as he made 7-of-13 shots. However, Garland took the same amount of shots as I did in the fourth quarter against the Knicks: ZERO.
I said it before and I will say it again: the Cavaliers success hinges on Darius Garland’s aggressiveness. It is not like he was inefficient with his shots. Obviously he needs to shoot the three better, as he was only 1-of-5, but 7-of-13 is a good shooting game. He needs to take more shots and pick his spots more. Donovan Mitchell cannot be superman for 40-plus minutes every game. Garland is going to have to score at least 20 a game for the rest of the series if the Cavs want to win this.
He has been the Robin to Mitchell’s Batman all season. Now he has to do it on the biggest stage.
Donovan Mitchell’s Game 1
Mitchell did what superstars do in the playoffs: ignite his team and attempt to carry them when they need it the most. Spida may have flashed with 38 points, but what was really impressive was the little things he was able to do to help the Cavaliers on both ends of the floor. Diving on the floor for loose balls. Hustling back on defense. Applying defensive pressure off of screens.
In the past, Mitchell has been ridiculed for his poor defense in his time with the Utah Jazz, especially during last year’s playoffs when Jalen Brunson (then with the Dallas Mavericks) had his way with him time and time again. He has heard the noise and has improved greatly throughout the season to this point.
As for his offense, 38 points on 47% shooting is a solid night, along with eight assists. But in the same token, Mitchell has to trust his teammates a little more in the contest. While shots were not falling at all for anyone in Game 1, Mitchell forced some things he shouldn’t have and he acknowledged as much in his postgame media availability.
There should be no complaints about his overall performance though, as he lived up to his playoff reputation.
Evan Mobley’s Game 1
As always, there are no complaints about Mobley’s defensive impact. He did a masterful job on Julius Randle, as he was a huge part in holding Randle to 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting. He was also great on the glass, hauling in 11 big rebounds, and even though he missed a box out in the closing moments of Game 1, Mobley had an otherwise solid game. However, offensively he was not as strong, to say the least.
Mobley only shot 4-of-13 from the field, including a porous 3-of-11 in the paint. This is way down from his numbers during the regular season, where he shot 55% from the field. At times, he was struggling with the strength of Randle and Mitchell Robinson, on both ends of the court. While the offensive evolution of Mobley over the past three months has been very encouraging, he has to step up his level of physicality in the paint if the Cavaliers want to be successful.
It was the youngster’s first playoff game, so take his performance with a grain of salt, but he needs to be better nonetheless.
Jarrett Allen’s Game 1
While Allen had a few rough moments in Game 1, he had a solid overall performance. He finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting and provided great impact on both ends of the floor.
On offense, he was great at diving to the rim and setting great screens. I was also very impressed at how patient he was in the paint, using shot fakes to get the bigs jumping in the air and then going for the dunk. He finished strong every time at the rim. He also had a very clutch tip-in to put the Cavs up one with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter. Allen provided great energy as always, and his play picked up as the game went on.
Coming into the series, the talk was all about Mitchell Robinson’s prowess on the glass, and Allen outrebounded him 14-8.
I do not expect this to be the case very game, but if Allen can continue to win most of the battles with Robinson, the Cavaliers will be in a good spot.