The Cleveland Cavaliers controlled every aspect of Monday’s game as they came away with a dominant 116-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons. It was about as thorough a beatdown as you’re going to see.
This looked like last regular season’s Cavs. They strangled the life out of their opponent by getting to the basket at will, controlling the glass, and being a physically imposing defense. There simply wasn’t an area of the game that they weren’t in complete control of. It was an incredibly impressive
performance for a team on the second night of a back-to-back, going up against what could be a top-four seed in the conference.
Holding a lead wasn’t an issue this time. The Cavaliers have asserted their will for stretches in the previous two games. They’ve just struggled to close those wins out like they should’ve. They nearly surrendered a 24-point advantage to the Brooklyn Nets and did give up an 18-point lead to the Milwaukee Bucks.
That didn’t happen in Detroit.
The Cavs played with the focus and attention to detail needed to close out a victory. Their defense wasn’t non-existent for significant stretches like it was in Brooklyn, and the offense didn’t just forget how to execute against a zone like they did against Milwaukee.
Great teams consistently put their opponent away early when they get a chance to do so. Tonight, they did that.
Support us and rep the Buckeyes with Homage
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. The above shirt can be bought at the link HERE. Homage’s entire Ohio State collection can be found HERE.
The Pistons looked awful. They were on the second night of a back-to-back as well, but they played like they hadn’t slept for 48 hours.
The offense lacked any cohesive plan of attack. Missing some of their key ball handlers in Caris LeVert and Jaden Ivey didn’t help. But to act like that was what kept Detroit back would be disingenuous.
There was no flow, natural ball movement, or consistent shooters to space the floor. They relied on Cade Cunningham to do all the work for them. And it’s easy to key in on one player when there are few other threats on the floor.
On top of that, they were lazy in transition and not physical at the point of attack. You don’t want to judge a team too harshly based on one game, but this was a truly horrendous performance from a team that’s expected to be good.
Sam Merrill continued his strong start even though he left the game early with a hip injury. He once again knocked down difficult threes as he went 3-6 from distance. He coupled that up with playing great defense, which included this steal and assist to Jarrett Allen in transition.
Winning the possession battle matters. The Cavs are the more talented team in nearly every matchup. One of the ways an opponent can shrink that skill gap is by controlling the possession game. This is why head coach Kenny Atkinson has been preaching the importance of this since last season.
It works the opposite way as well. If the Cavs are thoroughly dominating the possession battle like they did on Monday, the score can get out of hand. The Cavs had a significant advantage in points off turnovers (25-15) and had slightly more second-chance points (14-13 ). This team is hard to beat when they win both of those areas.
Evan Mobley showed how free-throw attempts can supplement his offense. He got to the line six times in the first half when this was a somewhat competitive game. Most of those trips were earned by aggressively driving to the basket and forcing the referees to make a call. And more often than not, they did.
Plays like the one above aren’t pretty. But this is the exact thing you want to see Mobley do more often.
It’s easy to get frustrated with stars that consistently get to the line. It’s not fun to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rack up double-digit free-throw attempts. But there’s a reason guys like him get to the line. They can repeatedly create advantages and force their opponent to react to them, often resulting in fouls.
Mobley’s free-throw attempts here were simply because no Pistons defender could stay in front of him. He had the size advantage and was able to use it because he forcefully attacked the teeth of the defense and didn’t settle for the fall-away midrange jumpers.
It’s easy to look at three-point shooting as what’s going to unlock Mobley’s game. And while that’s important, finding ways to get to the free-throw line more consistently — as he did here and the night before against the Bucks — will raise his offensive floor in a way that nothing else can.
We’ve been overlooking how well Donovan Mitchell has played at the start of the season. It’s easy to become numb to Mitchell’s incredible scoring when you see it as often as the Cavs do. He’s been incredible in each game so far this season. That included Monday night, where he poured in 35 seemingly effortless points on 13-18 shooting in 29 minutes.
Mitchell has struggled to get his outside shot to fall so far this season, as he came into this one shooting 33.3% from deep in his first three games. Instead of trying to break himself out of the slump by shooting over the defense, he continually took it inside with floaters and running layups. This resulted in him going 10-10 in the paint and 9-9 in the short midrange.
Mitchell has always had a deep bag. Few players have the athleticism and skill to hit their opponent with as many moves when they’re driving through the lane. But Mitchell has made it look more unstoppable than normal so far to start the season.
For example, how do you stop the over-the-head gather move?
Or how are you supposed to stay in front of this?
And lastly, how do you defend this good of a Shamgod?
These are all questions that Mitchell’s opponents have been asking themselves through four games this season. And so far, no one has had an answer for him.
