Game Thread | 2021-2022 Season | Game #21 | Cavs @ Mavs | Nov. 29, 2021

[Heat Check]

Game notes:

- It was almost comical to watch Dallas try to hide Porzingis on pick and roll defense... while the Cavs were trying to involve him in every single PnR. LOL. I thought JBB did a great job here. The Mavs had a miserable time trying to contain the Garland/Allen combination with their weak drop coverage. Garland pretty much had a buffet table in front on him the second he cleared the perimeter screen.

- Dallas looks like a hopeless team. No chemistry AT ALL. Doncic is frustrated, doesn't believe in his teammates and they clearly don't like to play with him. So far Kidd has been an awful choice for this team. Not surprised. Their record is a lie. Dallas is headed for a cliff and it will get ugly.

- Garland makes me scratch my head. You can see the mountain of natural talent, and of course he's absolutely essential for this team - he's one of the few guys who are able to put pressure on the defense. However, he's just way too loose with the basketball for my liking. For a starting PG, he leaves his feet too much, forces passes and tends to paint himself in a corner. I get that he's still learning to play the position at the highest level, but with Rubio lately falling off a cliff offensively, there's a lot of pressure on Darius to be a dependable "floor general" for this team. Some of his turnovers are demoralizing, and we can't have those.

- Jarrett Allen should be an All Star. He's been incredibly efficient and has been able to expand his game as well. In my book he's easily a top 3 roll man in this league.

- You can see the league is now paying attention to Mobley. This was totally expected. Nothing comes free to him anymore, and he needs to figure out how to stay optimistic and aggressive despite it. Luckily he seems to be the type of guy who never gets too high or too low. I'd still like to see him at the high post more - he's been pretty ineffective on the perimeter. Trouble is, with Allen being red hot and needing space to operate in the middle, Mobley is getting caught in no-man's land all the time. This is a problem JBB is going to need to solve.

- Rubio either needs to start making his layups (and, to a slightly lesser extent, shots) or stop throwing crap at the basket altogether. This kind of thing won't fly. It's pretty astonishing that we easily beat Dallas even though we regularly had THREE non-shooters out there at the same time. Currently, any lineup with Ricky, Okoro and Allen/Mobley puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the dudes who actually CAN shoot. Lauri's hot streak couldn't have come at a better time. The Cavs have needed every one of his points lately.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

That Rubio was +30 should tell you how misleading +/- can be.

Getting a little tired of his out of controlliness and he hasn't hit 40% of his shots in any game in a few weeks.

He must be making a lot of good decisions and getting the ball to the guys with the best matchups. Also knowing when to stay out of the way. When he's on the floor with Garland and Allen he just stands in the corner to spread the defense and lets them do their thing in the paint.

He also has a knack for getting defensive rebounds. Last night he had 7 which was more than any player on the Mavs except for Luka. He must be doing a lot of little things right because the Cavs are doing well when he's in the game even when his shot isn't falling.

Against Phoenix he was 5-for-20. The next two games he took 6 and 11 shots. He knows his shot is off so he dialed back the shooting and is focusing on assists, rebounds, and getting the ball to the right guy.

 

[Heat Check]

One more thing about our point guards' turnovers: we often have three 7 footers out there, running up and down the court like their lives depended on it. It's taxing and the season is still young. We simply can't be wasting possessions.

There's been occasions where Lauri and Mobley have barely crossed the center line when the ball is turned over ahead of them. These constant U turns are hell when you're that big.

I'm not saying we should be turning down fast break opportunities - on the contrary. But the first pass doesn't need to be flashy or difficult when we're settling into the half court offense. Just be a bit more patient.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Game notes:

- It was almost comical to watch Dallas try to hide Porzingis on pick and roll defense... while the Cavs were trying to involve him in every single PnR. LOL. I thought JBB did a great job here. The Mavs had a miserable time trying to contain the Garland/Allen combination with their weak drop coverage. Garland pretty much had a buffet table in front on him the second he cleared the perimeter screen.

- Dallas looks like a hopeless team. No chemistry AT ALL. Doncic is frustrated, doesn't believe in his teammates and they clearly don't like to play with him. So far Kidd has been an awful choice for this team. Not surprised. Their record is a lie. Dallas is headed for a cliff and it will get ugly.

- Garland makes me scratch my head. You can see the mountain of natural talent, and of course he's absolutely essential for this team - he's one of the few guys who are able to put pressure on the defense. However, he's just way too loose with the basketball for my liking. For a starting PG, he leaves his feet too much, forces passes and tends to paint himself in a corner. I get that he's still learning to play the position at the highest level, but with Rubio lately falling off a cliff offensively, there's a lot of pressure on Darius to be a dependable "floor general" for this team. Some of his turnovers are demoralizing, and we can't have those.

- Jarrett Allen should be an All Star. He's been incredibly efficient and has been able to expand his game as well. In my book he's easily a top 3 roll man in this league.

- You can see the league is now paying attention to Mobley. This was totally expected. Nothing comes free to him anymore, and he needs to figure out how to stay optimistic and aggressive despite it. Luckily he seems to be the type of guy who never gets too high or too low. I'd still like to see him at the high post more - he's been pretty ineffective on the perimeter. Trouble is, with Allen being red hot and needing space to operate in the middle, Mobley is getting caught in no-man's land all the time. This is a problem JBB is going to need to solve.

- Rubio either needs to start making his layups (and, to a slightly lesser extent, shots) or stop throwing crap at the basket altogether. This kind of thing won't fly. It's pretty astonishing that we easily beat Dallas even though we regularly had THREE non-shooters out there at the same time. Currently, any lineup with Ricky, Okoro and Allen/Mobley puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the dudes who actually CAN shoot. Lauri's hot streak couldn't have come at a better time. The Cavs have needed every one of his points lately.

1. Dallas was awful defending the pick and roll but the Cavs are getting really good at running it. Garland and Allen know exactly what they are doing; they're so intelligent. Garland is exceptional at lobbing the ball both in terms of timing, trajectory, and accuracy. He had one where he only used his left hand that was "Wow" worthy.

2. Dallas looks like a one-man team. They were 4-for-28 from deep when you take out Doncic. Luka draws the defense and kicks it out for open 3's that get bricked with regularity. They're in the bottom half of the league in 3-point percentage. Doncic has to be frustrated.

3. I agree Garland needs to cut down on the turnovers - he can be too aggressive in dribbling into a crowd or into a trap on the baseline or corner and he also forces passes that aren't there. But once his judgement gets better he'll be a hell of an offensive player between the field goals and the assists.

4. Allen is benefitting from a lot of perfect lobs from Garland, but his quickness getting to the rim after setting the pick and his leaping ability and length plays a big part. What I'm seeing lately is Allen taking the ball to the hole from the low or high post. He had an up-and-under move last night that was gorgeous.

5. I'd like to see Mobley develop a consistent baseline jumper and a corner 3. I like the way he puts the ball on the floor, gets into the paint, and hits short jumpers off the dribble. Once he gets stronger and can lean into defenders to create more space he'll really be effective.

6. Lauri is getting the hang of playing the 3 and is starting to put up the points. With Sexton out we really need a scorer. Last night Cedi was out but Marky took up the slack with five 3's. He also did a nice job defending Doncic when he was on him.

 

[Heat Check]

4. Allen is benefitting from a lot of perfect lobs from Garland, but his quickness getting to the rim after setting the pick and his leaping ability and length plays a big part. What I'm seeing lately is Allen taking the ball to the hole from the low or high post. He had an up-and-under move last night that was gorgeous.

Yeah, just wrote about this in the JA thread. The guy has really made an art out of rim running. He has no weaknesses there. Plus, he's been able to expand his game like you said.

6. Lauri is getting the hang of playing the 3 and is starting to put up the points. With Sexton out we really need a scorer. Last night Cedi was out but Marky took up the slack with five 3's. He also did a nice job defending Doncic when he was on him.

Great point about Doncic. A big part of frustrating him early on in the game was putting a huge body on him to wear him out - and when it's someone who doesn't bite on any of his fakes, even better.

Doncic can be a wizard with the ball but he's not immune to having his passing lanes blocked by a 7 footer. Sure he almost always gets his stats regardless, but the goal is to beat the Mavs. More often than not, that means getting Doncic into a foul mood by bumping him and crowding him.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

JBB called a timeout only 1:15 into the 3rd quarter. Over the next eight minutes the Cavs went on a 30-13 run that put them up by 24 with three minutes left in the third. For all intents and purposes that was the ball game. Great timeout by JBB and a great response by the players

 

[BimboColesHair]

Been re-watching games the morning after them all season so far...goddamn the Mavs color commentator was saying some disrespectful stuff about the Cavs, outside of a few nice remarks about JBB.

At one point he said "What do the Cavs have to lose? They can play loose and free...If your Dallas you can't give up this".

The 10-10 Cavs had nothing to lose last night, the 10-8 Mavs had everything to lose though apparently. Austin would never.

Also, you know the Cavs are good when they start breaking commentary teams. It's actually funny to go watch the full game highlights NBA puts out on their Youtube channel. The last 3 minutes get incredibly quiet compared to the first 6 haha.

 

[Prof123]

Great point about Doncic. A big part of frustrating him early on in the game was putting a huge body on him to wear him out - and when it's someone who doesn't bite on any of his fakes, even better.

Doncic can be a wizard with the ball but he's not immune to having his passing lanes blocked by a 7 footer. Sure he almost always gets his stats regardless, but the goal is to beat the Mavs. More often than not, that means getting Doncic into a foul mood by bumping him and crowding him.

Also, did you notice how many times Doncic would get in the lane and then not even try to finish? Invariably he would throw it back out to the 3-point line. Our shot blockers have earned their reputation and it is affecting opponent decision-making in the paint.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Also, did you notice how many times Doncic would get in the lane and then not even try to finish? Invariably he would throw it back out to the 3-point line. Our shot blockers have earned their reputation and it is affecting opponent decision-making in the paint.

And his teammates were 4-for-24 on 3's.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Both Butler & Herro are day to day right now. Herro with the flu & Butler with a tailbone injury. I'm guessing Herro plays, Butler I am not sure.

If that is the case, I think our length gives Lowry problems which ultimately leads to a a 10 point win.

 

[BimboColesHair]

Cavs have never played well in Miami with a day off.

 

[Prof123]

And his teammates were 4-for-24 on 3's.

True. Even if they had shot a more normal 8-24 and we shot a more normal 7-19 (instead of the 10-19 we actually shot), that is just a 21 point swing and we still would have won comfortably. (I am counting this as a 30-point win, which was the margin when we let off the gas.) That is how dominant this victory was.

 

[Cavatt]

Cavs have never played well in Miami with a day off.

Was the game they won with the Jumbo lineup featuring Nance at home or in Miami? I can't remember if they won the KPJ 30 pt overtime game.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Was the game they won with the Jumbo lineup featuring Nance at home or in Miami? I can't remember if they won the KPJ 30 pt overtime game.

That was the only game the Cavs won in the last 12 against the Heat. It was at home on 2/24/20. The Cavs won 125-119 in OT. Jimmy Butler was out due to personal reasons. Porter played almost 41 minutes off the bench with a line of 30/8/3.

 

[Prof123]

I know there is no going back, so this is just a pointless "what if" exercise, but how do you think the team would be doing now if we had not traded KPJ? On one hand, his athleticism is exactly what we need and I wonder why we couldn't have been more patient -- it isn't like that team was in a playoff run and needed immediate production from him. On the other hand, we were patient for a long time with him, and part of what makes the current team special is that they have all bought in to the team concept; it isn't clear how he would be affecting the dynamic.

I guess I lean towards the latter hand ... but wow, what a young and talented team we would have if he were on our roster.