Let it fly may be what you do to a Hawk in the wild but it was also the Cavs offensive approach against the Hawks. They chucked 57 3PA which would have been second only to the regular season finale last year against Indiana. The Cavs did just enough down the stretch, led by a Donovan Mitchell takeover, some timely Lonzo Ball organized offense, and some clutch Jaylon Tyson shots, to hold off the Hawks and get back in the win column. A De'Andre Hunter revenge game it was not.
By the Numbers
57: Number of Cavalier 3PA for the game
+11: Hawks first half rebound advantage which turned to...
+9: Cavs second half rebound advantage
8: Second half offensive rebounds for the Cavs led by Craig Porter Jr (3) and Lonzo Ball (3)
50% but 103.8: Atlanta's FG% and oRTG
21.9%: Atlanta's TOV% which weighed down their oRTG
33: Cavalier points off forced turnovers
27: Cavalier fast break points nearly double Atlanta's 14
13-for-19: Restricted area shots for the Cavs yet they had as many corner 3PAs (18) as restricted area attempts (19)
+9: The Ball-Mitchell-Tyson-Hunter-Mobley lineup in the 4Q that helped put the game away
24: Donovan Mitchell second half points
5: Jaylon Tyson's 3PM, a career high. Three came in the 4Q.
13: Rebounds Ball and Porter Jr combined
By the Players
Donovan Mitchell: For a guy who was going to "give it a go", a 37-point effort on 57% shooting (8-for-15 on 3's) is quite the performance. Mitchell had an inefficient 1H (2 TOs, 36.4% FG%) but largely carried the Cavs offensively through a rough 3Q stretch with 15 points. There's a balance of how much do the Cavs need to fail to learn versus Mitchell bailing them out offensively, and it's an ongoing process right now -- especially with not a full roster.
Jaylon Tyson: A +16 says he was the Cavs most impactful player and it's hard to argue with it. 15 of his 18 points came from deep but they came at critical points, and finding a manageable defender (with energy) that can consistently put in spot-up three's is like gold. In his postgame comments Kenny called it a $20M-a-year player in today's NBA and he wouldn't be wrong. Kenny also spoke to the fact he's early in making a case for a rotation spot when everyone is healthy.
De'Andre Hunter: A so-so shooting night largely driven by his perimeter shooting (2-for-9 on 3's) but still pulled down 7 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and most importantly got to the line six times -- a team high. For a team that gets to perimeter heavy at times, Hunter's ability to generate easy offense will be key to season.
Larry Nance Jr: For all that he does well is currently being overshadowed by his struggles scoring the ball. He was 1-for-9 including 1-for-5 in the paint + restricted area with a few uncharacteristic misses right at the rim. He came into the game shooting just 44% at the rim on the year, and is just 1-for-18 over his last three games.
Evan Mobley: It was a rough first half -- 6 points (3-for-9), 4 rebounds (-7.4 net REB%) and just not playing with the type of assertiveness that has come and gone. The scoring didn't improve much in the second half (8 points) but he dished out 4 assists, helped control the boards better (+1.3 net REB%) and patrol the defense (+1.6 net dRTG). Kenny's postgame comments on adjusting how they approach his offensive role is case-in-point to the trial-and-error his offense is right now and will correspond with ups (like Toronto) and downs (like Atlanta).
Lonzo Ball: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 37% shooting, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls probably doesn't look great. But the Cavs oRTG with him on the floor was 145 versus a oRTG of 125 with him off in the 4Q. After posting a -5 in the first half, Ball posted a +11 in the 4Q. The Cavs desperately need his offensive organization right now with no offensive controllers with Darius Garland shelved and Max Strus too. His shot seems to be coming around as he's shooting 37.5% on 3's over his last 3 games.
Craig Porter Jr: The scoring is there but it's always going to be what else he can provide that will raise his ceiling. 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and a +22.3 net dRTG will do just that. His role will be reduced when Garland comes back but staying ready, especially to contribute as a microwave scorer and on-ball disruptor, will be needed.
Tyrese Proctor: When he enters the game, things will happen. It's just unclear if it's good or bad yet. Over the span of a few minutes in the 4Q, he had two fouls, a missed poster attempt (leading to 2 FTMs) and a badly missed 3PT. Despite that, he turned out a +2 in almost 7 second half minutes. There's confidence and vigor there it just needs some further reifinement into a finished product.
Dean Wade: 6 3PA (despite just two makes) and a couple of finishes around the rim off cuts is the type of offensive flashes Wade will need to show to hold off Tyson. He also posted 6 rebounds and 4 assists (with no turnovers) however he was a team worst -10 for the game.
Thomas Bryant: He got some first half run and looked like Dikembe Mutumbo with blocks on back-to-back possessions but that apparently was enough for Kenny as he did not garner any second half minutes. The Cavs went with some smaller second half lineups that helped facilitate a faster pace and some more switchability on defense.
Game Notes
- There's been a focus on creating more turnovers this year, and is facilitated by the additions of guys like Nance and Ball to the rotation, and it's been working so far. The Cavs had 4 steals in as many minutes to start the game and finished with 12 on the night. They're currently 2nd in opponent turnovers per game and 4th in steals per game.
- Nance was credited with 5 deflections on the game, a team high. Mitchell and Tyson were behind him both with 4.
-There was also a talk of playing faster. The Cavs possessions per game are up, their pace is up, and their average seconds per possession are down. On the game, the Cavs had 20 more FGA and posted a better oRTG despite the Hawks shooting 50%. This is where creating more opportunities can create a larger margin for error and erase some strong offensive numbers by the opposing team.
- The Cavs continued to have stretches where they just go completely cold and it's not a surprise when their 3PA to restricted area ratio is what it is. They started the game extremely hot but once the averages averaged back out it left them scrambling for offense. This is where Garland coming back will help but it has to be a team recognition as well as Mitchell, Hunter, Porter Jr and Mobley are all capable of getting to the rim and changing the offensive flow when they need to.
- Going 7-for-20 in the first half offensively from Mitchell and Mobley was not a recipe for success so seeing them correct it in the second half (11-for-17) was a big part in the Cavs also going from a 102 oRTG to 124.1 oRTG.
- It felt like in the 3Q the Cavs might be pulling away only for some of their past problems coming back to bite them. The Cavs were up 11-points, and the Hawks went nearly 6-minutes without a field goal, but a quick 11-2 run to quickly pull back into the game.
- There are a lot of lineups Kenny is throwing out there that probably won't happen later in the year but the Ball, Mitchell, Hunter, Tyson, Mobley one to finish the game is one that likely will. They were a +9 in the 4Q and helped put the game away.
- Speaking of that, Proctor and Porter Jr managed 4Q minutes and weren't negatives (which is a plus). But those days of having to scuffle while managing rag-tag lineup combinations will hopefully be coming to an end soon-ish.
- Kenny has quickly found out that Proctor and/or Porter Jr need some type of offensive chaperone paired with them while on the floor whether it be Mitchell or Ball. There was hope they could provide some offensive initiation and/or game management skills but at this point Kenny may have been burned one too many times at this point of the season.
- It's fun seeing Tyson's confidence grow each game. He absolutely was the best role player on the Cavs, and as his shot paved the way for his effort and defense to show up more consistently. Ball noted the energy that he plays with his consistent, even in practice, and for a team that can look as flat as the Cavs do at times, they need that type of player.
- Kenny switched up the starting lineup with Allen out and they posted a +13 in 9-minutes - perhaps something to come back to as a second unit lineup once the team is whole.
- A -26 in paint points simply cannot happen even if Jarrett Allen is on the shelf. Part of that is on Evan Mobley to hold down the paint but it's also on shot selection. Kenny noted in his postgame comments the Cavs have probably gotten too three-point happy and it shows in stats like these.
- The Cavs are still very good at limiting paint points -- their opponent average of 44.9 on the year is 6th best in the NBA, so the 60 the Hawks scored is outside the norm. But the 35 restricted area attempts is the case of too many direct line drives leading to dribble penetration.
Box Score & Highlights