Game Summary
Welp, that was disappointing. After the Cavs came out crispy, in rhythm offensively and playing through their big men the wheels quickly came off in the resulting quarters. The Lakers would go on to be a +29 in the 2Q + 3Q with a 45-point 3Q which was enough for Kenny to waive the white flag at the start of the 4Q. Usually coaches look for something to build upon, and it's hard to find some meaningful takeaway other than the bigs have to be consistently involved, and the Cavs won't win with defense like that.
By The Numbers
57.3%: FG% by the Lakers through 3Qs
110: Points allowed by the Cavs through 3Qs
+10: Lakers FTM net differential
7: Offensive rebounds by the Lakers through 3Qs
42: Points by Luka Doncic
51: Points by the Cavs 'core four'
43.4%: FG% from your starting backcourt in Cleveland
1: FGA from Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in the second half
1st: Lakers FG% in paint + restricted area rank in NBA this year -- they shot above their regular season averages
-9: Cavs new starting 5 +/- with Max Strus starting
By The Players
James Harden: Just okay? But probably not good enough. If he got the whistle Luka Doncic gets, it may have been a different story. The Lakers were ushering him into the mid-range area for most of the game, and he shot well -- 3-for-6 in the mid-range + paint area but had just 2 restricted area shot attempts and the Lakers were clogging the roll after the 1Q burst by Allen and Mobley. There's these defensive lapses that are killer, and hurt even more in the postseason when every possession matters.
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Donovan Mitchell: Not okay. Definitely not good enough. Mitchell looked like he had some bounce early but it didn't translate to an efficient offensive night -- 4-for-10 (0-2 3P), just 2 FTAs and 10 points in 24 minutes. He did generate 6 assists to 2 turnovers but it wasn't nearly enough to cover up for the other blemishes on offense. Mitchell had just two points at halftime and while his 8 points in the 3Q helped, it was too little too late. Not sure how you break Mitchell of his late shot clock selection habit but too the settling of perimeter jumpers are killer.
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Max Strus: Kenny put Max into the starting lineup due to injuries (and maybe for good?) and it looked great to start the game and didn't by the end of the game (like pretty much all things Cavs in this one to be fair). Strus had the assignment on Luka and when Strus was on Luka he had 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting with 4 assists. Luka started out a bit slow (had 10 FGAs in the 1Q) but got going as the game wore on. Strus was picking up Luka full court for most of the first half. If Strus can be healthy enough defensively, there's no denying the value he brings in other spaces -- rebounding (3 in 23 minutes), connective passing and shooting (3-for-7 3P).
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Evan Mobley: For as good as the Utah game was this was equally as bad on the other end. 4 points on 4 shots with 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 21 minutes is a rough night. Part of it seemed to be Mobley and Allen still working out how the pairing is going to work. All of the roll touches and finishing opportunities Mobley had as the 5 went to Allen, and Mobley shifting back to the 4 puts him in different spots on the floor. There was some good -- Mobley as a decision maker is usually a good thing, and the passing between the bigs was strong to begin the game. On the other side, the fervor to rebound wasn't the same as the Utah game (3 dREBs, and dREB% dropped 15.7% with him on the floor). Those are opportunities not only to clean defensive possessions but start offensive possessions with the ball in his hands. The three-point shot fell short but he did go 2-for-2 from the line and is now 8-for-9 over his last three games.
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Jarrett Allen: In a game for a rain, he was the Cavs shine. He single-handedly carried the Cavaliers offense in the 2Q, and 3 of his 5 FGA in that span were of the unassisted type -- so he was creating things off the bounce on his own accord. The 11 FGA in the first half, with him hitting 9 of them, only to see none in the second half is frustrating. Albeit, he was on a minutes restriction and Kenny pulled the plug before he could get more minutes but the fact he was playing that well and didn't see more touches is part of the issue with the Cavs at times. Like Mobley, the defensive rating and defensive rebounding both suffered while he was on the floor (as it did for most during the game). Allen pulled down just 2 defensive rebounds, and did not record a block. The Lakers are one of the best rim shooting teams and went 9-for-10 with Allen on the floor.
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Dennis Schroder: He came out hot... until he was not. It looked like we may get the good Schroder with a pull-up jumper and spot-up three to go along with an assist within his first shift but then he was a -13 during his time in the 2Q and 3Q. Kenny still looks to be figuring out how to construct the second unit lineups and just can't help to think the Schroder + Harden pairing is a clean one (even though the net rating of those two is +4.8 in 189 minutes) and it partially contributes to that alongside a rotating cast of 3's and 4's alongside the two. The second unit that Schroder was a part of let the game get a bit out of control as the offense stalled, the Lakers offense took off and the rest was history.
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Keon Ellis: He continues to be the first player off the bench for Kenny, and we'll see how/if that changes with Wade and Merrill due back soon. If we're being honest: The individual defense wasn't worth the squeeze in this game, and the shot not falling (1-for-4) can quickly condense his value on the floor. His direct matchups shot 3-for-3 on the game, and Reaves and Luka didn't see much offensive participation with him on them, but the overall team defense was lacking. Ellis is part of the bench brigade that needs to bring a bit more juice offensively.
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Craig Porter Jr: It's only his second game back after a long stint off so will try to give him the benefit of the doubt. But if he's not good enough defensively to play in some of the three guard sets, demoted to off-ball situations offensively and doesn't quite shoot it well enough or is aggressive enough to live with his lack of shooting, then what is he? And that's not to be harsh -- Kenny seems to value his versatility across lineups but there's a certain level of productivity in these lineups that's also expected. Kenny seems to be looking to CPJ as an alternative POV defender, disruptor, energy guy and opportunistic scorer. He didn't record an offensive rebound, had 2 turnovers, missed all 3 of his 3's and the spark he can bring offensively wasn't quite there. It's why he'll likely be on the outside of the playoff rotation but still leaves you wondering where he fits exactly.
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Nae'Qwan Tomlin: He hit his first three-pointer since February 20 in the 1Q...and then proceeded to go 0-for-4 after that. Like CPJ, Tomlin is still trying to recapture some earlier magic and part of that is rediscovering what his fit is offensively. The spot-up shooting has been an issue. In the 4Q he found some rhythm and moment as a play finisher with 3 FGM around the rim and 2 offensive rebounds -- that's where he needs to live. With Wade out, Kenny threw him out there defensively much in the same way he does Wade. To Tomlin's credit, he held Luka to 1-for-5 in direct matchups.
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Thomas Bryant: Bryant is a good player but is also a very matchup dependent player. And like any player, looks a lot better when he's hitting his shots. With as much P&R as the Lakers ran, it made it hard to keep Bryant on the floor due to that not being his biggest strength. Luka got the switch and went 3-for-4 on Bryant in those settings. This is a good example of... wtf. With Allen on a minutes restriction, it didn't afford the opportunity to keep Bryant's minutes down so the Cavs had to live with it of sorts. His production really popped in the 4Q when Kenny waived the white flag and Bryant saw his opportunities go up.
Game Notes
- If the Cavs expected to play similar type of defense against the Jazz and expect it to work against the Lakers, they were painfully mistaken (and the scoreboard shows).
- When people see the Cavs struggles to defend the three-point line, it's not inherently the three-point line that's the issue. It's their continued issue to allow penetration, and how they react to it, and their communication and effort at times when it calls for it. This is a perfect example of the latter -- how Harden expects this to be acceptable effort, who knows. And to the first one, here's an example of that. These plays are nothing special yet the Lakers generate such clean looks out them it's hard to watch.
- The Cavs closeouts off of any type of threatening move by the offense also partially puts them in the position they get in -- flybys and easily avoided closeouts creates an advantage for the offense to operate under and makes it hard for the Cavs to recover. It's one thing to recover but to do so out of control makes it even harder to recover from that.
- There's also the low level of urgency displayed on defense that makes it hard to take them seriously. We've seen the Cavs issues in how and when they trap pop up in other situations and it's oftentimes because they're too slow and too obvious in how they do it, any smart player will easily expose them in doing so.
- The Lakers were right around their regular season average of 11.9 3PM per game (they made 13) but they did so on +6.1% efficiency. The issue is much less how many three's the Cavs give up and more so the efficiency they allow on them.
- This game is a good example of something Kenny said earlier: We're not going to be able to outscore everyone, and the defensive effort has to be better. The Cavs went through their lull in their lull in the 2Q on the offensive end (part of it was being sloppy and the other part was not being able to connect on 3's) but it can't bleed into ther defense. The Lakers 143.5 oRTG in the 2Q was somehow their second highest for the game but speaks to there needs to be a better baseline level of defensive play to sustain when the offense goes quiet for stretches.
- Kenny called out the lack of energy in some of his postgame comments specifically as how it shows up on the glass, and he's not wrong. They were victim to some wonky bounces off long shots but also did themselves no favors in the way the perimeter players helped the rebounding effort. Rebounding is as much a team effort as anything -- 4 guys can be boxing out but if the 5th doesn't then it allows an easy opportunity for an advantage on the boards. The Cavs perimeter players spectate when the ball goes up and rely too much on the bigs to clean the glass every time but the ball doesn't always bounce the bigs way every time and that's where it hurts the Cavs.
- The Cavs were rather vanilla in how they defended Luka, and was a bit surprised they didn't try more to switch things up. They came out in early pressure on Luka up the court and put their bigs in drop for much of the game with Luka's matchup trailing on any screen action. Some of it was Luka just being so good it didn't matter how the Cavs guarded him but they also didn't make the puzzle too easy to solve either. Considering the Cavs are not to see the Lakers until the Finals, would have thought they would empty the bag a bit more on defense than they did.
- Part of the challenge (in the time they have it) is discovering how the Mobley + Allen pairing can fit with Harden and Mitchell. We've seen how one big can fit with those two but the last few games will be really critical to find how both can be successful on the floor at the same time. Spacing and positioning will be a key part of it and it also might rely on more big-to-big passing that they seemingly do well.
- Will say it again: The Cavs role players going 6-for-17 on 3's through the 3Qs continues to be another concern come playoff time. The fluctuation in production from the role players at that spot is a concern. If they can't get perimeter production out of the guys they have (and getting Merrill and Tyson back should help with that), it really seems to sink their offensive ceiling.
- There were all kinds of interesting lineups in the 2Q, as Kenny continues to experiment and see what works and what doesn't. He kept to the Bryant + Mobley pairing, although it was short lived. There was Harden, Ellis, Schroder and CPJ all together. There was Bryant, Mobley and Tomlin together. There was Mobley, Tomlin and CPJ with Harden and Mitchell. As we've said before: How Kenny handles his bench players and matchups with the depth the Cavs have will really show his coaching chops come playoff time.
- The Lakers are a good team and they're a really hot team. They've lost once since March 6 and it was a 3-point loss. The Lakers are a team that have found themselves while the Cavs are still searching in the midst of the shuffling of bodies in and out of the lineup. It was a good reminder there's still an emphasis that needs to be on the defensive end, there's still chemistry to build with the starters and bench health and shooting will play critical roles come playoff time. This was not a good game, and the competition level was not quite there.
- But... let's also not lose focus. The Cavs have the 7th most wins since January 1 and February 1 and 6th best net rating since January 1 and February 1. So underneath all that, there's still been a productive and effective team despite the roller coaster ride.
Box Score & Highlights