RCF Recap: Cavs block Suns, 118-92

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  • No Evan Mobley, no Caris LeVert, no Isaac Okoro, no problem. For a team missing Mobley and Okoro for back-to-back games, beating an almost whole Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns is a notable accomplishment.
  • The difference in the Suns game was the defense. Coming into the game, the Suns were 9th in offense at 119.2 points per 100 possessions over the course of January. They also had won 5 of their last 6 games. With no Mobley or Okoro, the Cavs limited to the Suns to 93.9 points per 100 possessions, and it’s just the 4th time this year they held an opponent under 100 points.
  • The ironic part about it? The Suns didn’t even shoot that bad, they outshot the Cavaliers from the field 46.8% to 43.2%.
  • The difference? The Cavs were hyper efficient with the basketball and opportunistic without the basketball. They corralled in 15 offensive rebounds, 10 steals and forced 17 turnovers. That lead to 18 more field goal attempts and helped them outdo the Suns more efficient shooting.
  • The other part: The Cavs had their three-ball going. The Cavs put in 19 3P and shot it at 41% on the night. Even though they weren’t efficient from inside (44.9%), being able to convert a high percentage of perimeter shots can help balance out any poor shooting night.
  • It’s that time of year in the NFL playoffs where teams that have gained more yards have lost but have also turned the ball over more. Same thing in the NBA: You can be efficient but if you can’t limit your mistakes, they will do you in.
  • These 2024-2025 Cavaliers have been one of the best teams in taking care of the ball and creative turnovers. They committed just 9 against the Suns while forcing 17. These types of things matter. The more a team can create additional opportunities the more wiggle room a team can have.
  • On the season, the Cavs force more turnovers (15 per game) than they commit (13 per game).
  • A team with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal should be better than they are but that trio is now at .500 for the season. And just got beat without key members of the opposing team, and Tristan Thompson outperforming their entire center rotation.
  • Yes, it’s not 2016, but Tristan Thompson collected more rebounds (10) individually in 26 minutes of play than the entirety of the Suns three-headed center (4) in 33 minutes of play. Let that sink in.
  • With Mobley on the sideline, Kenny Atkinson decided to give Thompson some early burn and he was rewarded for it. Entering the first quarter and playing the most minutes on the year and the most since pre-Thanksgiving, Thompson came in with energy, rebounding and some shot blocking that was needed without Mobley.
  • Thompson played so well; Kenny remarked after the game the Cavs were able to keep Jarrett Allen’s minutes down due to Thompson’s performance.

  • We quipped on Twitter that the Cavs being a Mobley injury away from Thompson getting first quarter minutes against a (theoretical at least) upper tier team should be a cause for concern and we still feel that way. But performances against the Suns are a good reminder they may still be something like when called upon.
  • Donovan Mitchell came out of the gate aggressive, but problem was he wasn’t efficient. Mitchell went just 1-for-8 to start and was noticeably intentional about getting to the painted area. Three of his shots came from inside the paint, and two were just a step outside. Unfortunately, he went just 1-for-5 in those opportunities.
  • The Cavs ran a diverse offensive battle in the first quarter: 8 players scored but no one player scored over 5 points. Somewhat similar for Phoenix as they had 7 players score but no one player over 6 points.
  • The Suns highest first quarter scorer, Kevin Durant, got the Cavs best defensive player when substitution patterns started to take hold – Georges Niang. Or so says Kenny Atkinson.
  • Coming off a game where Niang was lauded for his defense, he was tasked with Durant in some of his second unit minutes. In his postgame comments, Niang spoke to the matchup saying all the guys on the team know when your number is called it’s your time to step up. And to his credit, he did.
  • Without concrete numbers to back it up at this point, Niang held his own against Durant. While physically and athletically superior in every way, Niang did enough to bother Durant into some contested shots and turnovers. Not bad for the G-Wagon, or D-Wagon.
  • The Cavs shot just 38% to the Suns 57% in the 1Q but still came out tied? Well, what we talked about at the open. They were a +3 in OREB, +5 in turnovers, +5 in second chance points and hit one more three-pointer. All those add up.
  • The Cavs did just enough to keep the Suns at bay to come out of the second quarter gates firing to the tune of a 15-5 run. The Cavs perimeter attack started to get rolling with two three-pointers by Darius Garland and one by Sam Merrill. Mitchell mixed in some successful paint attacks as well.
  • And just like that, after being tied, the Cavs had a double-digit lead in a few minutes. The Suns managed to make a mini run to cut it to 5 but as quickly as the Suns did that, the Cavs pushed back again with a 15-7 run to end the quarter.
  • Being a warm weather team like Phoenix is, they likely don’t experience too many Cavalanches. So, when they got hit twice in the second quarter alone, it’s a hard hit to recover from.
  • With rotational players out, Kenny continued to go deep into his bench giving rookie Jaylon Tyson some minutes. Tyson rewarded Kenny with 5 points and one steal in almost 7 minutes of play. That included a terrific two-way effort collecting a steal on one end and converting a spot-up three on the other. (Sean Marks, are you watching?)

  • Tyson’s emergency is only possible with other players out and speaks to how deep the team is at the wing/guard spot that Tyson has been buried on the bench for most of the year after being billed as an NBA ready talent coming out of college.
  • We talked about margin for error at the top and another way that shined through is with Garland’s second quarter play. One of the benefits of his resurgence is the team’s offense not crumbling if Donovan’s play is momentarily crumbling.
  • Donovan had a bit of a rough first half going 4-for-13. But the point of having dual, dynamic ball-handlers is the offense can function with either, or both, going. In the second quarter, Garland had it going. Garland had 10 points, and 2 assists and really had it going from deep (3 3PM).
  • We sincerely hope the Suns brought their skis and snow boots because they were once again swimming in a Cavalanche to start the third quarter. After a quick bucket, the Cavs went on a 11-0 run to push their halftime lead to a 22 point lead just three minutes into the third. The Suns still had under 50 points at this time, too.
  • And it wouldn’t be a good ham sandwich if we didn’t put the other side on the sandwich to complete it. We just mentioned about the sharing of playmaking and scoring duties, and Mitchell in the third quarter stepped forth as Garland stepped back.
  • Garland still had five assists in the quarter, but Mitchell came back with an efficient third quarter effort with 12 points on 7 shots. Again, this is why you have these two together. They finished with 49 points and 12 assists compared to 38 points and 5 assists for Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
  • The one spot offensively that’s worth noting (it wasn’t all roses) was the absence of Evan Mobley. The Cavs scored 118 points but there were times when the offense seemed to be waiting for their perimeter shots to drop. Enter Evan Mobley.
  • With Donovan’s interior effectiveness waning a bit this year, and no other true inside presence, the role that Mobley plays being able to get the Cavs paint points when they need it shined through a bit against the Suns. Sometimes there’s a need for an easy bucket and Mobley has developed into a player that can get them one when they need it.
  • He’s also been someone to anchor the second units, oftentimes going on scoring runs himself. With no LeVert either to take some of the scoring load from the second unit, that’s where the team can struggle without secondary playmakers and shot makers.
  • Once the Cavs had their 20-point lead, they never looked back. The Suns were out of sync offensively and were never able to put together a sustained offensive run to compete with the Cavs on the night. Call it an off night, call it the Cavs defense but the Suns simply did not have the offensive firepower to deal with the Cavs.
  • Perhaps the Cavs caught the Suns at the right time, in the middle of a road trip. Phoenix has been on the road for a week at this point, playing their fourth road game, and have one more left in Brooklyn. Or perhaps the Suns are just not as good as their talent suggest.
  • If there was any doubt, or any remaining hope for the Suns, the Cavs did their best to put it all to rest in the fourth quarter. Mitchell came out blazing and scored all 11 of his 4Q points within the first four minutes. By the time he scored his 33rd point, the Cavs were up 31 points at that point in time. The Suns had just 74 points.
  • Mitchell’s perimeter shot got going in the second half which helped spur his 23 second half points. After zero three-pointers in the first half, he had four in the second.

  • His finishing in the paint is still a part of his game to continue watching moving forward. He was 2-for-5 in the paint in the first half and 3-for-5 in the second half.
  • After Mitchell put the finishing touches on the fourth quarter, the team’s emptied their benches the rest of the way. Despite playing in the third quarter, Tristan waived Kenny off and elected to play 15 straight minutes to end the game.
  • Allen had a quiet but efficient double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Paramount in that was his 5 offensive rebounds which is more than the Suns had as an entire center rotation.
  • Max Strus got the start with LeVert, Okoro and Mobley all being out, and continues to work his way back. He nailed three three-pointers and is now shooting nearly 40% from 3 for the month of January.
  • It had to feel good for Kenny Atkinson to get a win against Mike Budenholzer – it’s like pupil versus teacher. Atkinson got his moniker of running the “Spurs East” offense from his time spent as an assistant on the Atlanta Hawks staff when Budenholzer brought his offensive philosophies from San Antonio.
  • So, when Atkinson’s team was a +9 in 3PM and +5 in assists against the person who helped shape your pace, movement and passing offensive attack, you know that had to make Kenny feel good.
  • Within all that, defense was really the calling card for the Cavs. They didn’t allow more than 27 points in any one quarter and didn’t allow more than 24 points after the first quarter.
  • The Cavs best lineup? Mitchell, Merrill, Jerome, Niang and Thompson. They played 13+ minutes and were a +17 for the game – more than 11 points better than any other 5-man group.
  • The Cavs will now hit the road for a mini two game road trip with Houston and Philadelphia before they come home with a long-ish homestand.
  • Up next: Wednesday in Houston at 8:00PM (EST).
 

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