The Cleveland Cavaliers narrowly won their final game of this road trip. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.
LOSER- Offensive Purpose
I’ll just say it. This was one of the uglier games the Cavs have played this season. Calling it sloppy would be an understatement. For long stretches of this game, I had no idea what they were attempting to accomplish.
Aimless three-point attempts. Turnovers that made them look like an AAU basketball team. And truly, no sense of direction on offense.
James Harden went scoreless in the first
half while the Cavs mustered up just 19 points in the second quarter. There really aren’t enough fingers to blame everyone. It took a full team effort to nearly blow this game
I’ll dish out criticisms for Mitchell and Harden, who looked half asleep for the first three quarters. Dennis Schroder hopped off the bench and turned in a disaster class. Nae’Qwan Tomlin apparently signed up for the same class. Thomas Bryant, while effective with 11 points and 8 rebounds, ultimately looked out of place in this up-tempo match.
Had it not been for a complete turnaround in the fourth quarter, I would have been prepared to call this the worst loss of the season. And we haven’t even talked about the defense yet.
LOSER – 3PT Containment
I don’t want to beat a dead horse. The truth is, I could copy and paste any of my previous winners and losers to explain what’s wrong with the defense. Let’s try to condense this by explaining what went wrong tonight.
Herb Jones had never taken 10 three-pointers in a game before. He did it in the first half tonight. You see, you can’t always control whether or not your opponent shoots efficiently, but you can at least limit their attempts. The Pelicans, who are among the league’s worst three-point shooting teams, had already made nine three-pointers entering halftime. That’s nothing crazy, but it’s just two shy of their average for entire games this season.
Yeah. The Pelicans are that bad.
The Cavs are giving up 3PAs at one of the highest rates in the NBA. It’s a systemic problem that allows even teams like the Pelicans to momentarily burn them.
Fortunately, the Cavs flipped this around and held the Pelicans to just three three-pointers in the second half. But if you allow the floodgates to remain open like this, you’re going to get washed away more often than not.
WINNER – The Fourth Quarter
I’m reluctant to reward this team after the way they played in the second and third quarters. But they don’t ask how, they only ask how many. The Cavs did enough in the fourth quarter to win this game. Let’s break it down.
Cleveland had worked itself into a 15-point hole entering the final frame. All of the above reasons led to that deficit. Naturally, fixing those issues in the fourth quarter is what led to them turning the tables.
Magically, the Cavs began playing defense again. Williamson was met with a wall in the paint. Three-point shooters were run off the line or contested at their release. Ball handlers were pressured. Turnovers were forced. And the Cavs used their defense to build momentum on offense.
New Orleans went four full minutes without scoring a field goal in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, James Harden and Donovan Mitchell led a seismic wave to create a 28-6 run in favor of Cleveland. The backcourt combined for 25 of Cleveland’s 35 points in the final quarter.
It’s nice that the Cavaliers flipped the switch and won this game. Yet, it also proves that so many of their current problems can be resolved by simply playing harder. That’s a bittersweet reality in a game you almost blew.
