The basketball gods must have a sense of humor that immediately after the Detroit game it would lead to another game with an arena delay malfunction, a missed call down the stretch and a foul-up three strategy. But this time the Cavs got the last laugh with a win. In James Harden's and Keon Ellis's first game back from their finger issues was a bit too close for comfort but the Cavs managed to out-execute the Nets in the end. Kenny Atkinson, Jarrett Allen and Ellis all spoke postgame about how the Cavs energy and focus was not where it needed to be. The second half defense was on par with the first half (just okay) but the second half offense picked up the slack, cut down the turnovers and went from 46 points to 60 points, and a win.
By The Numbers
95.8: Cavs first half offensive rating
127.7: Cavs second half offensive rating
73.5%: Cavs assist rate (11th highest on the year)
22.9%: Cavs first half turnover%
12.8%: Cavs second half turnover%
+12: Nets points in the paint advantage
48.8%: Cavs 2P% -- their 7th lowest mark this year
67.6%: Cavs FT% -- they hit the ones they needed to down the stretch but...
52.9%: The Cavs highest free-throw rate on the year
12: FTAs by James Harden -- tied for his most as a Cavalier, and 4 more than his previous 4 games combined
28: Fouls by the Nets (tied 2nd most by a Cavs opponent this year)
8: Stocks for Keon Ellis
+24: Evan Mobley's plus-minus
By The Players
James Harden: In his first game back from the thumb injury, Kenny said Harden played pretty good but the first half he could tell Harden wasn't 100%. 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 turnovers isn't bad for not being 100% but Kenny called out a couple of turnovers as uncharacteristic of Harden and on the thumb. But as the game went on, the calls finally came. After getting just 8 FTAs the last 4 games, Harden hit 12 FTAs through three quarters of play. The Nets were rather bland in how they played Harden in the first half but cranked up the pressure off picks and across half court which was forcing the ball out of Harden's hand. It didn't stop him from a 12 point, 4 rebound, 2 assist 3Q but it did change how the Cavs played offensively. Harden had some pretty creative shots and pretty creative passes.
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Sam Merrill: Shooters shoot. Harden seems to have a connection going with Merrill (here and here). There's a lot of impressive parts about Merrill's game but the two Harden clips highlight how quickly he's able to get passes off and even if they're not perfect passes. He was right alongside Mobley with a +20 on the game. Merrill talking about getting hit with a rock in Nicaragua make sense as to how, and why, he's able to take charges from guys like Jalen Duren and Day'Ron Sharpe.
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Jaylon Tyson: 3-for-6 from deep is good. He's been one of the best spot-up shooters this year, and the Cavs are going to need it with the new core more than ever. Otherwise... he looks to still be searching for his spots. He had a chance to put some good tape out there against Michael Porter Jr, and it didn't quite come to fruition (and spoke to how valuable Dean Wade can be). There's some things he has to continue to clean up such as his closeout discipline and awareness off the ball defensively. These are fixable things but show areas he still needs to grow in, and can drive a coach crazy.
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Evan Mobley: Your game's leader in plus-minus at 24. Mobley now has back-to-back double-doubles this time with 17 & 13. The face up dribble drive middle seems to be developing into his bread and butter, and he's put some good tape on it over the last few games. But there's also work to be done to be more diverse in those areas, and be willing to use his left hand. He was solid for most of the game but saved his best for last -- 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist in the 4Q. With Allen receiving most of the looks early on the Cavs funneled more P&R through him to start the quarter along with Mobley looking to attack the rim with many of his touches (5 fouls drawn, 10 FTA). He left some points out there at the free throw line (5-for-10) that he has to clean up. But, he cleaned up defensively where the team had a 51.4 point defensive rating improvement with Mobley on the court versus off.
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Jarrett Allen: The offense kind of runs through Allen at the big man spot, and can you blame them? Allen had 20 points on 12 shots and drew 6 fouls. Allen's finishing around the rim has been very good, and has stepped out more recently to test his mid-range game. Allen joked on a recent podcast that Merrill has improved his lob throwing, and it's hard not to disagree. Schroder got into the lob throwing mix, too.
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Dennis Schroder: 4 assists in the 1Q but then just 1 assist in 18 minutes the rest of the game. It sort of encapsulates both sides of the coin for Schroder. There's the good where his penetration can be disruptive and provide an offensive lift on the second unit. There's the bad when his penetration becomes holding the ball, and trying to do too much and putting the Cavs in late shot clock situations when his probing doesn't pan out. The 4-for-7 shooting and 0 turnovers is a trend of better efficiency of late but he finished the game a -8, and the team was only slightly better offensively with him on the floor. There's a happy medium to find but it's Schroder so we may never find it.
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Craig Porter Jr: 18 minutes and a -10 -- a team worst. Kenny went small a lot of the game, and it put a lot on CPJ's plate to play up and off-ball for the majority of it. He's shooting just 31% over his last 10 games and has been searching for his shot efficiency despite some games where he's popped assist wise. It may explain his hesitancy to shoot some open shots, and instead attack the rim, but the Cavs are going to need him to hit some perimeter shots as has been the question for the most of his young career.
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Keon Ellis: Only one finger but 8 stocks. His stat line is something that's only happened 9 other times in Cavalier history. Kenny spoke to his defensive disruptiveness, and called him one of the most unique players he's ever coached. Where Kenny singled out, that doesn't show up in the stat sheet, is his multiple efforts. Ellis's effort is always high but he's so quick to recover and is able to cover a lot of ground, in a little time. Part of it is his athleticism and quickness but the other part is his determination to never die on a play defensively -- and you can tell Kenny enjoys it. The question is does it come at the expense of overall defensive impact (Cavs were +21.3 points worse with him on the floor defensively). Where the finger may be most impactul, and an area to watch, is his shot which will be needed come playoff time to stay on the floor. The steal and save is becoming a staple.
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Nae'Qwan Tomlin: Speaking of a shot -- there seems to be a lid on the bucket for Tomlin. For a guy who tied to dunk everything, Tomlin had three finesse finishes around the rim and wasn't able to convert on any of them. It's safe to say Tomlin has hit a bit of a rookie wall and it likely says something Kenny went with CPJ over Tomlin, and had more trust in going small with CPJ than going with Tomlin at this point. He had a 4-ish minute shift in the 2Q and after it was obvious he didn't have it, Kenny didn't put him out there again.
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Thomas Bryant: Bryant provides a lot of energy but he also provides spacing -- part of the reason he's out there. He went 0-for-2 on 3's and is shooting just 18% over his last 6 games from deep. Guys go through slumps, and it may be one of them for Bryant, but it takes a hit on his effectiveness. His minutes may be fading soon as Mobley's minutes ramp back up but has been solid in spots despite the lack of perimeter shooting of late.
Game Notes
- We're starting to see some of Kenny's opening sets that he did so well from last year, and he's put some good ones out there of late. The latest is a good example of how to make a two-big lineup work by opening up roll space for Allen and using Mobley as a screener.
- It also gets to a question: Does the offense kind of run through Allen now? Maybe it's part of getting Mobley back into the fold, and riding the hot hand in Allen, but with some complaining about the lack of Mobley FGAs as an indictment against him may really be how the Cavs offense runs right now, and it's through Allen. Allen is the guy who seemingly most of the P&R screener opportunities go through with Mobley acting as a cutter, spot-up shooter and ancillary piece. Mobley is also the guy who is a more willing, and capable passer, and his P&R roll chances are more likely to end in a pass than a finish compared to Allen. The types of sets they were running for Mobley early in the year aren't really there and a lot of his shot opportunities come off Mitchell/Harden creating for him or him being a spot to create for himself in a face up situation. We'll see how it evolves but the Allen seems to be the big the offense is built around when both are on the floor.
- And the beginning of the 4Q is a good example of where Mobley can still be effective. When he's attacking the front of the rim off perimeter catches, he can be really good.
- The Cavs may have found some looks they can also utilize with both bigs, and when teams are aggressive in trapping Mitchell/Harden. With Wade on the floor with the starters, he's a much better spacer than Mobley while Mobley is the better passer than Wade. Mobley flashing to the middle of the floor and being a face up threat off the dribble either as a finish or as a playmaker with a dump off to Allen or kick out to Wade seems like something to watch for as teams are aggressive on the Cavs guards.
- The end of game scenario provided another foul-up three situation to which won out this time. The strategy has proven to be very effective and the Cavs were better at executing against the Nets. They fouled when the player was on the floor, and guys like Schroder got free throws late and not CPJ.
- Kenny went super small for most of the game off the bench -- he played Tomlin sparingly in the 2Q and put Mobley with Bryant for some minutes but outside the starters, it was four guards around the big. With Tomlin being ineffective, and no Wade, it makes the Cavs generally a smaller team. Kenny going with CPJ over Tomlin feels like where he stands on Tomlin more than it does going small for sake of going small.
- One pairing to continue to watch is the Schroder and Mitchell duo. They were a -9 on the night and have a -2.1 net rating on the year (with just a 110.7 oRTG). Kenny didn't have too many choices but to play them some together with who was available but it's a pairing that possibly should be avoided with Schroder's minutes coming with Mitchell or no Mitchell/Harden.
- The second unit spacing was a bit wonky and maybe that's what happens when you have four guards on the floor but Kenny having to play Harden 36 minutes is a direct result of how the second unit fared without Harden's navigation offensively.
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