- There was hope but reality eventually set in. The Cavs did enough to keep the game close but the T’Wolves pulled away in the second half and extinguished any semblance of hope that the Cavs would be able to overcome injuries and a top seeded Western Conference team… again.
- The Cavs defense was good early, and would keep them in the game. The Cavs were doing a good job loading the strong side on defense, and rotating on the weakside off ball movement or drive action. The defense was on a string and had the T’Wolves at 46 points at half.
- The other part of that was Isaac Okoro, as usual. Despite his shot being as off as Auburn was against Yale in the second half, he was still having an impact. Anthony Edwards finished with only 16 points but only had 7 points on 8 shots in the first half. Okoro was also a +7 despite scoring 3 first half points.
- While Okoro was taking care of Edwards, Jarrett Allen was also doing his best to mitigate Rudy Gobert’s impact. Allen matched Gobert’s rebound total (9) and beat Gobert’s offensive rebound total (4 to 3). Gobert is one of the league’s best offensive rebounders, and the Cavs had the rebound edge at half.
- After a cold start to the game, the Cavs quickly went on a 12-3 run over a little under three-minute span. But that would really be the extent of their offensive success for the quarter.
- The Cavs then had no field goals for the last five minutes of the first quarter. It was ugly. They were well on their way to a 20-point first quarter.
- For the quarter, the Cavs went 1-8 from three, had a 25% FG, and posted an 87 ORTG. Not great.
- Naz Reid may soon join Terry Rozier on the Mount Rushmore of role-playing Cavalier killers. Reid had 10 first quarter points and was taking advantage of his matchup with Georges Niang.
- The second quarter came with a noticeable change: No CRAIG!. It seems as if JB Bickerstaff’s confidence in CRAIG! has fallen off, and his place in the rotation has been replaced by Marcus Morris Sr. Depending on how you look at it, having a 10-day guy replace a player’s rotational spot is pessimistic. However, it’s also the case of a coaching trusting a Senior more than a Junior when push comes to shove.
- After slow rolling to start the game, both teams got hot from deep early in the second. There was a stretch of four straight possessions of made three-pointers. After three made threes in the first, the team’s combined for nine in the second quarter.
- Jordan McLaughlin had three threes over a four-minute span and had four made threes in the first half. This is a guy averaging 3 points per game on the year. Those types of contributions are a back breaker, especially when the defense had been solid and you’re facing a good team on the road.
- Thank goodness for Sam Merrill, once again. His second quarter spurts seem to come at the best times, and at times when the Cavs really need an offensive jolt. Merrill helped lead the way to the Cavs best offensive quarter of the game (29 points). All his points, and 3PM, came in the second quarter.
- Along with Merrill, Morris had 4 points pushing the Cavs second quarter bench points total to 14. They had two in the first quarter.
- After going down 8 to McLaughlin’s final backbreaking three of the quarter, the Cavs proceeded to go on a 13-2 run to end the half and put them up going into the break. The Wolves led for 10 minutes until the Cavs pulled ahead for the final two.
- The Cavs pulled an uno reverse card on the T’Wolves and held them without a field goal for the final five minutes of the quarter.
- After the Cavs captured all that momentum to end the half, they gave it up quickly. The T’Wolves scored on 10 of their first 12 offensive possessions. The Cavs also turned it over 7 times in the quarter.
- The Cavs managed to straddle the lead until another offensive lull hit midway through the quarter. They then went five minutes without a basket and went from being up two to down eight. They’re lucky it wasn’t more and somehow only were down six at quarter’s end.
- The Cavs somehow outdid their first quarter offensive rating of 87 by posting a 73.9 ORTG in the third quarter. They scored 17 points.
- This is what we talked about with Garland this week on Twitter. Late in the second quarter Garland got switched on Gobert. Typically, scorers will hunt these switches and make mismatches look like a fish out of water. Lately, Garland has looked like the fish out of water on these switches. The ability to get by defenders to either create an assist or scoring opportunity has not been there. Instead, it’s been a dribble dance with the defender that usually leads in an unproductive result. Here, it was a turnover. For a player of his skill set and ability to see him stymied so often in these situations lately is puzzling.
- Speaking of this, we’ll stay on the Garland topic. Going into the fourth quarter, Garland had 9 pts (4-16 FG, 0-5 3P) with 3 ast and a -11. Players have off shooting nights, that’s fine, it happens. But as a point guard, that can’t affect you and affect your impact on the game. Three assists in three quarters is not cutting it. There were times when the Cavs were looking for someone to save them from their offensive lulls, and Garland couldn’t do it. It doesn’t have to be scoring. It can be controlling the pace, controlling the game and getting your team into positions to succeed. It can be winning 50/50 balls and creating hustle plays. This is the role as a leader, and as a point guard. Know the pulse of your team, and work to find a way to deliver.
- The consistency with Garland has been the biggest problem this year. It’s been game to game as much as it’s been quarter to quarter. Without Mitchell, the Cavs have needed Garland to be more consistent and are certainly paying him like it.
- The dichotomy of any debate these days is often black and white – Garland sucks and should be moved for parts or Garland is still that All-Star. It’s much more grey area with Garland. Garland can be that guy that everyone hopes and has shown to be, but he can also be that guy right now that isn’t stepping up to the level everyone hoped and the team needs. It can also be concerning, while also still believing Garland is a critical part of this team’s future. It doesn’t always have to be one or the other. It can be both.
- The Wolves quickly put any thoughts of a comeback to rest to start the fourth quarter. They went on a 12-4 run and pushed their lead to 14 points. With how the Cavs were scoring, it seemed like climbing Everest to overcome it.
- The Wolves would be on their way to their best offensive quarter of the night with 32 points. What once was a defense holding the team and game together, fell through in the second half. Minnesota shot 58.5% from the field, and 50% from three.
- Garland did come alive with 8 straight points to get the Cavs within striking distance, but the T’Wolves were hitting their threes and not willing to relent. The lead kept wasn’t budging and the clock was ticking, time eventually ran out.
- Cavs continue their streak lately game results mirroring Niang’s plus-minus results. Niang was a -8.
- Allen’s second half was delayed due to a large laceration to his right hand. He only had 6 pts, 4 rebs, 2 ast, and 1 block in 16 second half minutes. He was a -18.
- Garland was the only Cavs player to score in double-digits in the second half, and that didn’t happen until midway through the fourth quarter.
- JBB tightened his rotation to only eight players for the night. Why? Good question.
- Minnesota really did a good job of limiting the Cavs to a half-court game with only one look. The Cavs only had 7 fast break points and 7 second chance points. On the year, the Cavs were 8th in the league in percentage of their points coming from the fast break.
- The Cavs will now fly all the way to Miami for a Sunday game where Bam Adebayo will return. Miami has always been a difficult place for the Cavs to play. It certainly won’t be any easier.
- Up next: Cavs take on the Heat Sunday at 6PM (ET).
Last edited: