The last game before the All-Star break and the Cavs played like it. After a disappointing home loss to a ravaged Sixers team and a chance to make the league’s longest win streak, the Cavs started off where they left off… unfortunately. But good teams win games even when they don’t play their best and the Cavs did just enough to end their first half on a positive note.
Just ball up and throw away the first quarter film along with the Sixers game. Please.
The Bulls shot 59.1 FG%, out rebounded the Cavs by 5, led by as many as 11 and the Cavs were 4-13 from 3P.
An 8-0 run on your homecourt versus the lowly Chicago Bulls on a nationally televised game after asking for more national respect issssss not the best.
The Cavs were 0-6 from 3P to start the game and Max Strus started 0-3. If it’s any indication of where the Cavs are at this point, it took Evan Mobley to knock down the Cavs first made three-pointer on the night nearly seven minutes into the game.
Another spot-up three for Mobley who has made a three-pointer in three straight games and in five of his last seven games. You have to go back to Mobley’s 11th through 14th career games to find a similar stretch of consecutive three-point makes. If he keeps up this pace…
If Mobley’s spot-up three wasn’t enough, Isaac Okoro decided to have a say about shot development and nail two spot-up three-pointers. This isn’t new anymore but the consistency in which he’s making them combined with the volume is.
Despite only putting up 25 first quarter points, the Cavs managed 10 assists. Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert each had three.
Aside from that, there weren’t many positives. For the most part, the Cavs looked like they had early morning flights scheduled for various vacation destinations. The offensive pace and defensive purpose were lacking… severely.
JB Bickerstaff mentioned it at one point later in the game but the Cavs were overhelping and overreacting to drives putting them in awkward positions to rehelp and creating open looks for the Bulls. There’s a balance to manage to helping and showing a presence but there’s also overhelping to put yourself in a difficult position to rotate on kick-out passes. The Cavs were being overly aggressive and it hurt them.
I’m not sure how the Cavs survived the second quarter but they did despite Mobley, Mitchell, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen combining for seven total points. They scored 18 for the quarter while the Bulls only managed 17.
Speaking of Allen, Doris Burke was raving about Allen doing the little things and rightfully so. Offensively, Allen was creating screen assists on several occasions providing the needed spacing to create an open look off his screen. Defensively, one possession he was going up against a big like Andre Drummond or Nikola Vucevic creating a missed shot, and the next he was hanging on a guard like Coby White on a switch.
Midway into the second quarter the Bulls went on a 8-0 run and pushed their lead to 17. Yes, you read that right.
MVPMitchell had about a damn ‘nough pushed the Cavs on a 9-0 run in response which snowballed into a 14-3 Cavalier run to end the quarter.
Give LeVert some credit towards the end of the second quarter too: he had an assist and two buckets to help make it only a six-point lead for the Bulls at half.
At the half, the Cavs were 5-21 from 3, while the Bulls were 6-13. The Cavs only made 12 on the night but were able to be much more efficient in the second half with a 7-16 showing.
Without Dean Wade, the Georges Niang first half minutes were rough. 11 minutes, 2 points and 1 rebound. Thankfully, the second half brought a much more productive Niang who had 9 points (1-2 3P) but also fouled out.
The third quarter was really Mitchell’s quarter. He scored 12 of his 21 second half points going a perfect 5-5 from the free-throw line. Despite taking 21 shots to put up 30 points, he made 12-13 free-throws which really supplemented his offensive output.
At one point, Mitchell scored or assists on 12 straight Cavalier points. He was involved in 19 of the Cavs 28 points for the quarter. Without Mitchell’s third to keep them afloat, the Cavs would have been in a perilous spot.
The longer the game went on, the more the question persisted of who else would step up to help Mitchell? While Mitchell did not have his most efficient night it not stop him from being impactful. Okoro was the only other Cavalier in double-digits outside of Mitchell through three quarters. Allen had his moments, but the Cavs needed one of their other parts of the core to step forward and help shoulder the load.
After the Bulls shot 59 FG% in the first quarter, they shot 40.9 FG% (25-61) the rest of the game. Meanwhile, the Cavs saved their best for last with a 37-point fourth quarter.
It wasn’t until the 10:30 mark in the fourth quarter when the Cavs gained their first lead of the night.
Mitchell had his third quarter but the bench bunch had their fourth quarter to keep the Cavs in the game and gain the momentum they needed. The Garland-Okoro-LeVert-Niang-Mobley crew were a +5 in four fourth quarter big minutes. They provided 4+ minutes of rest for Mitchell and really allowed the Cavs to make a push once Mitchell reentered.
To that point, the Garland-Mitchell-Okoro-Mobley-Allen finishing lineup was a +7 in 3 fourth quarter minutes. With Strus’ rough night (1-6 3P, -8), Okoro earned fourth quarter finishing minutes. On the night, Okoro put up 16 big points (4-8 3P) and was a +12.
The fourth quarter saw seven lead changes – it was a very back and forth game all the way down to the end. To the Bulls credit, any time the Cavs punched, they punched right back. There were a few times where it looked like the Cavs might start to pull away but the Bulls would pull it back close. Coby White played a big part in that with 13 fourth quarter points and some big, big shots.
Garland has taken some heat of late, some valid and some not, but the clutch time performance is reason why he can be and is so important to this team’s future. Garland provided a step-back three-pointer over Alex Caruso to put the Cavs up three with 98 seconds left. He followed that up with a drive-and-kick attempt to Okoro, and two clutch free-throws after the Bulls were fouling late to get the ball back. His play was uneven for most of the game but the ability to create and finish when needed is an ability not too many players have.
After a missed game winner against Philadelphia, hopefully this is the type of momentum boost Garland can carry into the second half. Garland is a player who plays with emotion and the emotion level hasn’t been what it has been in the past. He’s a player who plays with joy and it hasn’t consistently been there this year.
Billy Donovan went with a Vucevic-Drummond starting lineup to combat the Cavs Tower City. Those two combined for 19 points, 23 rebounds and 1 block while the Cavs duo provided 27 points, 19 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Strus’ legs look like they’re ready for the break. The shooting has come back as Garland has but the consistency doesn’t look like what it did to start the year.
The Cavs managed 30+ assists in five of their eight February games. They had 31 against the Bulls.
22 points off turnovers and 17 fast break points are opportunistic ways teams can gain the edge, and in large part, the Cavs have taken advantage of that this year. They had 13 fast break points alone in the second half. They averaged 15.9 per game on the year, good for 6th in the league.
Despite a low-scoring output, LeVert had 9 assists which led to 24 points created on the night. Credit to him for finding other ways to make an impact when his shot isn’t effective.
I will say: The Cavs really miss Dean Wade. On nights when Niang isn’t bringing it, Wade’s consistency, at the very least defensively and on the boards, is welcomed. He allows so much flexibility around him in lineup structure that Niang simply does not – you’re always giving something up with Niang.
The Cavs will now get some rest, and they’ll need it. Their strength of schedule is 15th the rest of the way including a stretch of 13 games between March 13 to April 6 that requires travel between each game (h/t Rafa Hernandez-Brito).
They’ll get a stretch of New York, Boston and Minnesota in a four-game span. They also will have a five game, eight-day west coast road trip to wrap up the season. In between, they’ll go Miami, Minnesota, Miami. Moral of the story: They’ll be tested some in the second half and will need the core four clicking to keep that two seed.
Up next: They take-on Orlando at home out of the break for a 7PM (ET) game on February 22.
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