RCF Recap: Cavs Buck Things Up

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• Georges Niang having 20 points at half time and Thanasis Antetokounmpo playing in the 3rd quarter is all one needs to know about how the game went. The game got close-ish (under double digit lead) at one point but the Bucks never led, and the Cavs led by as much as 47 points.
• DonovHIM was HIM early. Mitchell set the tone coming out aggressive and looking to get his shot. He scored 12 of his 14 first quarter points in a three-minute span which ended with the Cavs going up 20-2 to start the game. There was step back jumpers, drives to the rim and finesse finishes – he had it all going out of the gate.
• How does a 22-4 start sound?
• Giannis Antetokounmpo was a late scratch but as many super powers as he has, he might not even been able to make a difference tonight.
• Aside from the offensive outburst led by Mitchell, the Cavs defense as the other noticeable part of the fast start. They did a great job of being physical without fouling. If the Bucks were able to get past the first defender, they were almost immediately met with a body through their shot attempt. The defense was active and made sure nothing was easy. The Bucks were 1-6 from mid-range and 1-6 in the paint in the 1Q.
• The point where the Bucks got some traction in the first quarter is with their three-point shot. They ended the 1Q 4-11 from 3 and got back into the game with some Cavs turnovers. After 3 turnovers in 3 minutes, the Bucks got within 8 after trailing by as much as 20.
• However, the Bucks could not stop Georges Niang, they could only hope to contain him. Niang came in with 9 straight points off the bench, and finished with 20 points in the first half (8-8 FG). To give you an idea of what was occurring, these are the shot makes as described by NBA.com: 7' driving floating Jump Shot, 17' turnaround fadeaway Jump Shot, running finger roll Layup, 3PT pullup, 7' turnaround bank Jump Shot, 26' 3PT.
• If the game couldn’t get any better, CRAIG! Porter Jr emerged from witness protection to get some first half minutes. This was the first time since Christmas he’s seen minutes more than 20 minutes. A lot of them were in garbage time, but still.
• The starters did their job (+41! on the night) but so did the second unit. The grouping of CRAIG!, Sam Merrill, Caris LeVert, Niang and Tristan Thompson posted a +16. The next best 5-man lineup was a +5.
• By halftime, Mitchell had 19 points which was the same total of the entire Milwaukee Bucks starting lineup.
• Perhaps Giannis is that big of a loss but the Cavs doubled up the Bucks in rebounds (36-18) at half. Jarrett Allen had 7 of them while Max Strus and Thompson both chipped in 5.
• Speaking of Allen, the Cavs were attacking Brook Lopez on the pick-and-roll all night and Allen was making him pay – inside and out. Allen was finding space around the basket but also at the free-throw line area where he was making the Bucks pay for sagging off and giving him that shot.
• For as much as Allen is a solid free-throw shooter and shown to be adept in the mid-range, I’d be interested to see what his above-the-break and corner three looks like.
• If anyone thought the Cavs would let-up in the second half, they would have been wrong. After taking a 27-point lead into half, they pushed it to 41 by third quarter’s end. By the 6:48 minute mark in the 3Q, Adrian Griffin threw-up the human white flag that is Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
• The starters played deep into the 3Q but did not play in the 4th. That was reserved for the Cavs reserves who battled out the likes of AJ Green, and Robin Lopez.
• Max Strus still looks to be finding his way offensively. Since the Paris knee injury, Strus has not hit a three in 3 consecutive games and is 0-9 in that span.
• Isaac Okoro had a very productive night: 10 points, 7 assists (tied for team lead), 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. Also acting as the primary defender on Damian Lillard, he was 4-14 from the field for 10 points in the first half.
• Cavs starters +/- on the night: +37, +37, +37, +33, +40. If you guessed Dean Wade had the highest plus-minus, you’d be correct.
• Meanwhile, despite his career-high 33 points, Niang was a net neutral on the night. For a game the Cavs won by 40 and he posted a career high, that’s just as spectacular as his offensive outburst.
• 36 assists was one shy of their season high set just a few days ago against Washington.
• They did set a season record by shooting 59.1% from the field.
• This kicked off a weird stretch of games where they will play Milwaukee 3 times in 9 days including an away back-to-back in Milwaukee. I have to imagine we’ll see this outcome likely even out on the road when Giannis returns.
• Up next: Cavs start a 4-game road trip in Atlanta on Saturday for 7:30PM (ET) game.

BOX SCORE
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