These are the types of recaps you never want to write.
That is a tough loss, and one that will sting for a bit. The home game versus the Rockets in three days is already being circled.
The 1-point loss was only the second one possession loss this season – the last one was versus the Celtics in November before Thanksgiving.
It should have been a one possession win but two missed free throws by Darius Garland at the end of the game after being fouled on a three-point attempt is surely the image that will linger most from the game.
Garland came into the game having only missed 14 free-throws on the year on 142 attempts. He had attempted 12 free throws in what NBA.com defines as “clutch time” and his two misses late were his first clutch misses all year. Including that miss, he missed two of three free-throws twice during the game.
Before those come calling for Garland: The Cavs would not have been in the position they were in without Garland. He led the team in scoring (26 points), and tied the team lead in assists (5), three-point makes (3) and steals (3). He also led the Cavs in fourth quarter scoring with 8 points.
Sometimes things don’t go the way you want them to. In his postgame comments, Donovan Mitchell quipped he’d rather Darius do this now then in June – explaining better to go through this now, and get it out of his system, than rather when it really matters. He went on to praise Garland for what he did to get the Cavs back in the game, and defended any criticisms lobbed at Garland.
The uncharacteristic misses by Garland late capped off an uncharacteristic game in a lot of different ways. The last minute of the game felt like it took an eternity. Alperen Sengun and Jarrett Allen’s battle escalatedbut somehow not to the point of a foul. Sam Merrill was credited with a missed three-point “bank shot” on a wide open corner three. Garland was fouled on a three-point attempt with seconds left and it was deemed a flagrant foul.
There will focus on the late game execution and understandably so. The Cavs have the league’s highest offensive rating in the clutch and it’s not even close. Despite, that, the Cavs didn’t score a bucket in the last two minutes of the game and did not get a shot attempt closer than 19 feet.
There were two turnovers (one by each Mitchell and Garland), three missed Mitchell jumpers and the missed Garland free-throws. The Rockets did not fare much better, but they did score one bucket in under two minutes which proved to be just enough.
The Cavs were unable to convert from the perimeter most of the night, and were outshot by the league’s 24th ranked team in three-point makes per game – add that to the wonkiness.
Ironically enough, three of the Cavs 13 made threes came in back-to-back to back possessions within the first three minutes of the game. The Cavs would only make another 10 over 45 minutes of play.
After the Cavs initial 11-4 run to open the game, Amen Thompson, starting for injured Jabari Smith, came back with a 6-0 run of his own. One was off an offensive rebound; one was in transition, and one was off. Cut. It got us thinking why can’t that be Isaac Okoro?
Despite shooting just 24% on 3’s for the year, Thompson finished 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Thompson has elite athleticism, and that athleticism accentuates his skill but his energy, effort and hustle to make plays without the ball and around his core players is what makes him so productive.
And that’s been part of the dig on Okoro: What can he do to contribute when he doesn’t have the ball? He’s never been a prolific rebounder, his steal rate is just okay, he’s not creating hustle point – where are the other skills at? One way to overcome a lack of a refined offensive skillset is by all the other little things and little things would mean big things to the Cavs.
Speaking of rebounding: The Cavs got outworked on the glass 15 to 7 in the first quarter including five offensive rebounds within the last three minutes of the quarter.
The Rockets finished with 13 second chance points which helped them get out to a seven-point lead and 39-point quarter.
When the second unit is Sam Merrill, Georges Niang and Tristan Thompson, how do you deal with the league’s best rebounding team?
Cam Whitmore was spark for the Rockets, leading them in scoring with 10 points. It’s hard to imagine he doesn’t get minutes on a consistent basis.
Whitmore was part of a Rockets bench that was a +11 in the first quarter. With no Caris LeVert off the bench, Max Strus starting and no Evan Mobley to anchor the second unit, it was a question of who could step forth to carry the unit? The second quarter wasn’t much better than the first quarter and the Cavs went to have -15 on bench points.
At half time, the Cavs starters were a +11. The Cavs non-starting lineup was a -19.
It felt like the second unit was trying to find its way without Mobley there to run offense through. For as much as he’s continued to develop, he’s also continued to anchor the second unit offensively (where a lot of his suns have come). He’s like a crutch the unit can lean on and being out the last few games has made the Cavs second unit a bit wobbly.
Fortunately for the Cavs, they gave the Rockets a taste of their own medicine to start the second quarter and augment their offense. They had five offensive rebounds in the quarter’s first two minutes of play and was part of an 8-0 run.
For a unit with Merrill, Niang and Thompson, they hustled, and second chance pointed their way to an impressive mini run. After that… well….
Between the 9:47 mark of the second quarter and the 3:09 mark, the Cavs did not score a bucket. Not. One. Bucket. If it was a draught, it might have been called the Sahara.
The Rockets went on a 13-0 run of their own over that span, and the Cavs just could not get anything going offensively. They committed six turnovers over that time span, and the offensive just looked like it was in quicksand.
Part of it was the Cavs just really struggling to find their shot offensively but also give credit to the Rockets defensively – they’re a good defensive team. They have a bunch of long, athletes all over the floor and they know how to play to their strengths. They were so quick to cut off angles on drives and recover laterally that while the Cavs got into their drive and kick game, Houston thwarted a lot more of those opportunities with their defense.
Somehow it felt like only being down 10 after the Cavs finally broke the scoring draught seemed to be an accomplishment for how long it lasted. So when the Cavs responded going on a 10-2 un over their own it probably seemed like the Great Dam had just opened.
The Cavs struggled to put up 21 points, and no player had more than five points in the quarter. They shot just 28% from the floor and was a team looking for some offensive rhythm.
After 18 points in the first quarter, Mitchell and Garland combined for just 7 points in the 2Q. With the injuries and missing players, they had, Mitchell and Garland could not afford to have extended stretches of ineffective player or else the Cavs would not stand a chance.
Like that note: Jarrett Allen only had five points at half. When your partner in crime is out and the touches can all go through you, there needs to be a more concerted effort to get Allen more than three shot attempts in 15 minutes of play.
But part of that was Allen having to guard Sengun. While we’re not sure if Allen has any rivals in the NBA, Sengun may be on that list. After the first, second or third elbow, it was surprised that one of them got called. Sengun’s a skilled and strong player but was consistently moving Allen with his ‘bows.
And quite frankly, those two were going at it in the paint. And to the extent that Sengun was backing Allen down on the block, it’s been a while since seeing a guy like Sengun going directly into Allen’s body every time and winning that battle.
One of the primary hopes of the deadline is it brings another playable big. God bless Tristan Thompson, but he is not a consistently playable big. In situations like these, even with Mobley is back, to be able to have a different physical presence to throw out there in 3–4-minute stretches to bring energy, be physical, take some fouls and really be a shit (like Kenny’s zone defense). That player doesn’t have to cost a lot it just can’t be Thompson. He finished with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and zero points in 8 minutes of play.
It’s just like in baseball: Not many pitches survive on just fastball and changeups unless one is truly elite (which they are pretty good). But if you can throw a slider or curveball to change the eye angle and keep the hitter off balance, that’s even better. Same thing when it comes to bigs and perimeter defenders – the more you can rotate through the better.
And speaking of zone: Kenny is turning this team into Jim Boeheim prime Syracuse defense. This isn’t just a “throw you off your game zone” as much as this is now a consistent part of their defense. They do it more than to just change the game but truly do it because they’re good at it and it positively impacts their defensive success rate.
The opening of the third quarter is exactly what you want to see after struggling offensively in the first half: Mitchell attacking, Allen finishing and Garland probing the paint. It seems when Garland can work the middle of the defense and create opportunities for others, it gets them through some cold stretches of shooting they may have. His ability to create from the inside out is a special part of his skillset and this team.
The Rockets were attempting to push their lead further out in the 3Q and had some good success in doing so. They were up by as many as ten points in the quarter and continued to connect on their three-point shooting (5-for-9).
There was a time where it seemed like the quarter was teetering on the Rockets really extended their lead out of reach and the Cavs finally getting some shots to fall to go on a little bit of a run. Ty Jerome helped that problem by chipping in back-to-back three’s that brought the Cavs off the brink and back to within four points.
Only problem is there was time left in the third and the Rockets weren’t going to let their lead slip away that easily. They went on a quick 6-0 run to push their lead back to 11.
Good teams know how to close out quarters, point blank. There’s been plenty of times throughout the year where the Cavs have been able to steal points at the ends of quarters to dampen any momentum teams had. So, the Cavs got a taste of their own medicine.
The fourth quarter rolled around and all sudden the Cavs remembered the temperatures outside were a perfect for a Cavalanche. Over the course of 7+ minutes the Rockets did not score a point – not even one. The Rockets committed six turnovers in that time which did not help their lead.
When the Cavalanche started, the Cavs were down 13. By the time it finished, the Cavs were up by six. The Cavs did all this with only threes and instead hunkering down and consistently beating the Rockets inside. Once they got past their initial defender who was there to truly challenge their shot – Steven Adams, Sengun?
While his shot has fallen off a cliffiside, Merrill was a key part of the fourth quarter comeback. He did not make a three-pointer but did score four points in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell specifically called Merrill out complimenting the development of his overall game but especially rebounding where he was really attacking the glass and helping with gang rebounding.
For as much as Merrill’s shooting has fallen, the other parts of his game have risen to the occasion. He’s become a solid rebounder. He’s always willing to mix it up. He’ll take charges. He’s an underrated passer. And more than anything, he’ll do all the little things to win. But all that doesn’t feel the same when the shot’s not dropping. He was just 1-for-6 from three on the game.
It certainly felt late with the Cavs up 6 with under four minutes left after a large run they had this one put away. Welllll, Fred VanVleet said not so fast. He quickly connected on two three’s and brought the game right back even.
For the year, the Cavs are 2nd in the NBA with 44 10+ point scoring run at 44 – just behind the Thunder. The 16-0 run paved the way for a comeback win except they didn’t do enough to validate the comeback.
After that run ended, the Cavs scored just four points in under four minutes while the Rockets scored 11. For as good as the Cavs had been in clutch time this year in a multitude of ways it just wasn’t it.
It gets into a larger issue/discussion at play, but the score was tied, and the Cavs had the chance to basically the last possession. Mitchell ran down the clock but took a shot with about 6-7 seconds left that allowed the Rockets to be fouled go up a score.
The shot Mitchell took was a step back contested three-point at best. They also had no need for a three pointer. So, when shots like this happen and he was 0-for-2 on shots in the paint, you begin to wonder if there is something going on with Mitchell.
He continues to take as low of frequency of shots at the rim than ever before and has as low of accuracy around the rim as well. The jump shots are a microcosm of that affect and has only further plagued him as he’s been so jump-shot dependent if he’s not hitting his outside shots his ability to navigate the paint hasn’t quite been what it’s used to.
Is it age? Is it tread? Is it an injury? Hard to say but he’s attacking and converting at the rate that he’s never used to, and the explosiveness just doesn’t look all there now.
Allen is not one to seemingly get into squabbles on the court with players but I’m not sure if he and Sengun will be exchanging Christmas cards next year. One play after another Sengun was getting into his body like no other player we can think in recent memory. Credit to Sengun for being the offensive player he is but Allen was visibly frustrated with how Sengun’s elbows and offensive physicality were being refereed.
Speaking of Allen: The team came into the game 101-28 when Allen records a double-double. So of course, the FanDuelNetwork team showed the stat and then Allen went ahead got a 17 point and 13 rebound game in a loss.
Is it also too much to mention the Rockets scored 33 points in the third quarter on 55% shooting?
Jerome was huge for the Cavs off the bench with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 3PM. He stepped forth in a big way against the Rockets and picked up the slack for his other rotational teammates.
The Cavs held the rockets to below average shooting accuracy across the board…except at the three-point line where they shot in the 82nd percentile versus the 34th percentile for the Cavs. Lose the three-point battle, most likely lose the game.
Interestingly enough both teams were terrible in the halfcourt but yet awesome in transition. The Cavs were a 10th percentile in points per play in the halfcourt yet 82nd percentile in points per play in transition. Meanwhile, the Rockets were a 3rd percentile in points per play in the halfcourt yet 90th percentile in points per play in transition.
It’s hard not thinking Jalen Green has the Zach LaVine/Bradley Beal/Brandon Ingram type career arc on his horizon where the talent is there, the ability to put stats up is there but what does do for winning? How does he impact success? Green was a team worst -17 on the night for the Rockets.
Tari Eason was “wish he woulda been a Cavalier,” as the Cavaliers passed on Eason for Ochai Agbaji. But, we all know how that worked out.
Eason was a team best 19 and put up 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals off the bench. His presence, length and activity were all impactful and if only the Cavs could still have that pick back or the option of someone like an Eason because his skillset and fit is along the lines are what the Cavs idealistically need at that spot.
Surprisingly, Allen and Sengun took the scuffle spotlight while Mitchell and known rival Dillon Brooks stayed relatively quiet – too quiet.
In games like this, the Cavs need more from their role players – they need it. Jerome was the high man but outside the core no one else scored more than 8 points. The Cavs can’t sustain a Mobley and LeVert loss and the bench to be unable to consistently contribute or hit the drive and kick opportunities they get.
The Cavs will have to move on quickly as they head to Philadelphia for the 76ers on Friday and then head back home for a rematch with these Rockets.
Up next: in Philadelphia on Friday at 7:00PM (EST).
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