The Cavs did a pretty good job of hanging with a far better team as long as they did. With 2:10 remaining in the third quarter the Cavs trailed 90-80 and were right in it. But then they collapsed at the end of the quarter as they are prone to do and the Blazers went on a 12-0 run in the last 2:10 to put the game away. In the final 14:10 they outscored the Cavs 54-28. The Cavs just ran out of gas at the end of the third.
Nurkic and Kanter were just too physical on the inside for Allen and Hartenstein as they combined for 33 points, 24 rebounds, and 5 blocks in 42 minutes. If Allen wants $30 million a year just show him the tape of this game. Allen had 9 points and 13 boards in 29 minutes. Allen is long and athletic with a good jump, but his slim build and his scoring range of about three feet limits what he can do. He gets pushed around by the physical centers and he doesn't have an outside shot to force them away from the rim.
My feeling is if you want the big bucks you either have to be a dominant physical force in the paint like Nurkic or you have to be able to run the floor and have an outside game to draw the opposing big away from the rim and open up the slashing lanes. Allen does neither. He's a slim, graceful, athletic player who is very good in the pick-and-roll and a solid rebounder. He allows too many layups IMO and he has a tendency to let passes and rebounds bounce off his hands and it's too easy to slap the ball out of his hands when he goes up for a shot.
There's no way Allen can put on 30 pounds of muscle so his only alternative is to follow Larry Nance Jr's lead and shoot 10,000 three-point shots in the off-season until he can make 40% when uncontested. That and 10,000 more from the elbows. Otherwise he'll always be a good but limited player who will get destroyed by the elite players at his position.
Kevin Love's defensive deficiencies are becoming impossible to overlook. On the surface he had a nice game; 18 points and 8 rebounds in 26 minutes. But the Cavs were outscored by 45 points in those 26 minutes. Not all of that is Love's fault, but it's clear that his cement feet and lack of any vertical jump make it impossible for him to defend anybody.
Okoro came back to earth with 7 points. He was probably dead from playing 47 minutes the night before, plus the Blazers took note of his performance against the Suns and weren't going to let him do that to them.
Seeing Andy out there brought back a lot of great memories, but I'd rather look ahead to next season.
Lillard is just amazing. He took 17 shots and scored 32 points. That's equivalent to going 16-for-17. The Cavs were right in his face and he'd still hit the 3, even when they made him shoot off-balance or with a higher trajectory than ideal. Didn't matter - the ball went in.
Speaking of gifted 3-points shooters, it's a good thing Norman Powell didn't suit up or the Blazers might have scored 160. As it was they shot nearly 58% and 48.5% on 3's. The Cavs had no defense for that kind of shooting. C.J. McCollum had an off night, going 3-for-14, or the score would have been even more ridiculous. But I appreciate the Cavs keeping it competitive for almost three quarters despite all the injures and coming off an overtime game last night.