The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the deep end. They lost to the Charlotte Hornets 119-111 tonight. Let’s see who won and lost this game.
LOSER – Cohesion
The Cavs are a disconnected team right now. They aren’t on the same
page for more than two minutes at a time. It’s hard to win games comfortably when there are that many gaps in your armor.
Take the defensive end, where the Cavs are one blow-by away from losing all of their defensive integrity. Forcing this team into motion is all it takes to generate a clean look, as they rarely execute their rotations as precisely as they should. Blame it on personnel or communication. Either way, it’s bad.
Then on offense, the ball just doesn’t move the same. This team doesn’t play with any harmony. They don’t play off each other like they did last season. It’s stagnant, slow, and doesn’t wield the instant ‘Cavalanche’ potential they previously had.
All of this, in part, stems from a lack of cohesion. There are plenty of other problems to address — but the underlying factor is this team isn’t playing like a team.
WINNER – Darius Garland’s Second Half
Alright, let’s get the hopium out of the way.
Garland is still clearly injured. There’s no hiding that, as he routinely limps up the floor and winces at every change of direction. But tonight was by far the most effective scoring game he’s had all season. And for various stretches, Garland showed he can work through the discomfort to be an effective finisher.
The Cavs nearly won this game behind Garland’s advantage creation in the fourth quarter. He used his burst to penetrate Charlotte’s defense and nail floaters or dish to open teammates. Garland finished with a season-high 26 points and 9 assists.
I’m still concerned about Garland’s mobility. But it was encouraging to see him deliver an impactful game despite his injury.
LOSER – De’Andre Hunter (again)
I take no pleasure in listing De’Andre Hunter in the ‘loser’ category once again. But he’s left us no choice.
Hunter shot 1-7 tonight and was even worse defensively. He’s been perpetually lost on both ends of the floor for weeks at this point. This is shaping up to be one of the more disappointing months from a key Cavalier in my lifetime.
WINNERS – Dean Wade, Jaylon Tyson and Lonzo Ball
Let’s close on some positives.
Wade has really turned his season around. After a brutal opening month, Wade has since found his touch and is making an impact as a cutter. He scored a handful of backdoor layups tonight and shot 3-6 from downtown. Just as important, he grabbed 8 rebounds, including some heavily contested boards against the crowd. Good job, Dean.
Ball was helpful, as well. He isn’t shooting particularly well, but he’s reigned in some of his volume. That’s allowed the finer aspects of his game to shine. Ball was disruptive all night and nearly won the game for Cleveland when his 5th steal of the night led to a go-ahead layup from Tyson.
Speaking of Tyson, this kid keeps getting better. This was his third double-double of the season as Tyson poured in 16 points and 13 rebounds. You can complain about a lot of things this season. But Tyson isn’t one of them. He keeps getting the job done.
