In his postgame comments recanting the impact and growing relationship with Evan Mobley, Donovan Mitchell uttered that statement with a big smile. He knows if Mobley keeps on his upward trajectory like he has, only good things can come from it.
Mobley may have taken steps in prior years, but he is taking the leap this year. He had four, 30+ pts regular season games coming into the year. He’s at two through 34 games this year. He had 15 2+ three-point makes in a regular season game coming into the year, he’s had 7 2+ three-point makes in a game this year.
Caris LeVert was also asked about Mobley’s development postgame and while he mentioned his perimeter shots falling this year, he said his aggressiveness and confidence is the biggest difference Mobley.
The team knows they’re good but Mobley being good raises their collective ceiling. He’s currently 14th in win shares, 17th in WAR and 31st in EPM – that’s damn good. Keep that up and the more the odds increase for a deep Cavaliers playoff run.
Speaking of someone else who can help a deep playoff run: Caris LeVert. Yes, we just typed that. But when he plays like he did in the first quarter especially, it makes all the difference in the world. He finished the 1Q with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and was disruptive defensively. If there’s an X-factor on the team, it’s LeVert.
The entire bench unit came in and provided a lift in the first quarter. Both team’s offenses got off to a bit of a slow start with neither team shooting well early. Eventually the Cavs got it going (finished with 6 3PM and shot 52% FG) but it took some time.
Mitchell gaveth (7 points, and 2 assists) but also taketh away (2 turnovers) early. He had a hand in every one of the first five baskets that the Cavs starters had. Usually, he had been taking a more passive role to start games but likely sensing the Cavaliers offensive need tonight, he took more of a commanding position early.
Give credit to the Mavericks for fighting all night. The game eventually ebbed and flowed between larger and smaller double digit leads but they hung in there. Their 8 offensive rebounds and 5 second chance points in the first quarter should have been a sign this team was willing to fight despite being down Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
While there is winter weather already in progress for a large part of the Midwest, including Ohio, it started early in Dallas. The Cavs closed the 1Q on a 15-0 run. For over 3 minutes the Mavericks did not score as the Cavs kept on rolling.
Four different Cavaliers scored during the run, and Georges Niang was the high scorer with 6 points. This team continues to have diversified offensive attacks and not be reliant on any one player.
To that point, four different Cavaliers finished with 2+ assists in the 1Q – Mitchell, Mobley, Darius Garland and Max Strus. Scoring is one thing but even how the team creates offense is spread across its multiple playmakers.
The Cavalanche briefly extended into the 2Q to make it 20-0 – it’s the largest scoring run the Cavs have had all year.
Not to be lost in that is Mobley knocking down three-point shots. He nailed one to start the 2Q and it made us wonder: Do people question the shot going in anymore? It’s not that long way but Mobley is shooting it so well and with so much confidence, it’s not a question of if he should be shooting it but how many can he make on a given night.
If the Cavalanche wasn’t enough, Dean Wade may have had one of the dunks of the year. As John Michael put it afterwards: “An aggressive Dean Wade is a good Dean Wade.”
Too often Wade can get passive on closeouts and kickouts. One of the reasons he fits around the core is because he’s a low volume player and doesn’t take away from the core. However, there’s a fine line of also being aggressive with the opportunities provided to ensure defenses still must respect Wade. Because if they do, it opens opportunities for the core.
So, when Wade can be aggressive in given opportunities it’s a welcome sight. And one that he needs to keep up especially on closeouts.
The second quarter was a thing of beauty. The Cavs were flowing on both ends but particularly offensively. They were moving people, moving the ball and ended up with a game high 37-point quarter.
The offensive was flowing because the fountain of Mobley was free flowing points. The second unit when the offense can run through Mobley has continually produced significant offensive explosions for Mobley. This time it was to the tune to 18 points. While not to be outdone by the 23-point first quarter against Charlotte earlier, the 18-point outburst was the second best on the year.
In his postgame comments, Mitchell said he’s stayed close to Mobley this year and consistently challenged him to continue taking steps. Yes, you scored two buckets in a row, but what about three in row. Mobley scored 8 in a row towards the end of the quarter.
The Cavs creating turnovers continues to be a storyline for the defense but also turning it into easy offense. They forced five Dallas turnovers and turned it into 12 points in the 2Q alone. Off steals for the night, they were 95th percentile in points per play.
It feels like prime Warriors with how quickly they’re able to change ends and how dangerous they become with the shooters on the floor. If a team isn’t able to recover off a steal, it’s an easy way to start a run and we know how quickly those can build for the Cavs.
In almost six first half minutes, the Garland + Max Strus + LeVert + Niang + Mobley lineup was a +18 with an ORTG of 220 and DRTG of 36.4 – that’s quite good.
Strus’s shot has been inconsistent since returning, which is expected as he works through a return from a lower extremity injury, but his impact has been consistent.
Despite only two first half points, Strus 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 charge drawn and was a +16 (second best to Mobley). Even when he’s not hitting shots, he’s consistent in finding other ways to impact the play.
Stop if you’ve heard this before: The Cavs started the quarter (third) on a 9-0 run. As if a 16-point halftime lead wasn’t enough, the Cavs pushed to 25 before fans even got back to their seat from halftime refreshments.
But, the Mavs would fight back. They would quickly go on a 10-4 run themselves, and it would start the second half Quentin Grimes show. Yes, that Quentin Grimes the New York Knicks refused to put into a Donovan Mitchell deal.
(Come back Isaac, we miss you.)
Really what sparked the Mavs offensive success in the third quarter, and bulk of second half, is their challenging of the Cavs inside. The Cavs were not able to contain drives for the second half, and the Mavs were not afraid of Mobley or Allen.
The Mavericks scored just 6 of their 32 third quarter points outside the paint + restricted area. They were wearing out the inside of the Cavs defense and converted on six free-throws.
The ironic part is the Mavericks won the quarter by one, yet they shot significantly worse than the Cavs (44.4% to 52.2%) and the Cavs making double the 3’s (4 to 2).
But the Mavericks did not turn the ball over, had five offensive rebounds, only fouled three times, limited the Cavs to two combined second chance and fast break points and only seven bench points. So basically, all the things the Cavs do well, they did just okay.
Over the last four minutes of the third, the Mavericks (well, Grimes) went on a 13-0 run to cut the Cavaliers lead to 15 heading into the fourth quarter.
Over that stretch, LeVert was 0-for-4. It’s one of those true yo-yo performances by LeVert where you never know what you’re going to get quarter to quarter, possession to possession. For just the 3Q, LeVert was a -4.
So it’s only fitting in the LeVert experience that he would hit a ridiculous shot that could only fittingly encapsulate the LeVert experience. What looks like an easy fast break attempt turns into one the “Oh no! Oh yes” shot attempts by LeVert.
The start of the fourth quarter continued to be more of the same for the Mavs. A Jaden Hardy three-pointer was the first shot made outside the paint in nearly 12 game minutes.
Ty Jerome really helped manage the fourth quarter flow for the Cavs and keep their offense rolling. And they needed it with the Mavericks managing their best scoring quarter with 37 points. Jerome put up 5 points and 4 assists and was responsible for 9 straight points at one point.
Jerome may not be producing at the rate he once was earlier in the year, but these are the type of stretches why you keep him involved. You can never have enough playmaking, and Jerome does it as good as anyone on the roster.
The Mavericks made it close. Yes, it was a double-digit win, but the Mavs cut the Cavs lead to 12 points under 7 minutes and it looked like it may be a closer game than anticipated.
But this is what good coaches do. They take timeouts and manage post timeout possessions to set up his team for success. Kenny did just that with the Cavs going on a quick 11-2 run over the next three minutes that put the game away.
Kenny has displayed a good feel for momentum and how to use his timeouts accordingly. Away are the days of JB Bickerstaff letting his team “figure it out” on the floor while a lead and momentum withered away, and here are the days of Kenny consistently pulling the strings to ensure his team is aligned.
I particular enjoy this post-timeout play by Kenny despite LeVert’s best attempt to make it look awkward. He involves a wing as screener (which usually is Isaac) and the utilizes a bit of a decoy screen with Garland being screened to flare to the perimeter to occupy those two defenders away from the P&R down the middle of the defense. Meanwhile, Mobley’s success shooting makes Washington freeze, and play up to Mobley just enough where he’s too late rotating. By that time, LeVert is at the rim.
The Mavericks waived the white flag at the 4-minute mark following a timeout… or so we thought. Kenny countered with his bench too, and almost had to go back to his regulars.
The Mavs deep bench unit went on a 9-0 run to cut the Cavs lead to 10 with over 2 minutes left. A comeback is improbable but not impossible.
Luckily the Cavs were able to pull off just enough offense in the following possessions to avoid any further sweating by Kenny. Game over.
Without Luka and Kyrie, the Mavericks still managed to score 101 points the final three quarters. While the Cavs defense has been good as of late, that’s a bit excessive. Hopefully they chalk it up to tired legs finishing up their west coast road trip.
The Cavs 38 assists is their second most on the season. Only 40 versus Denver a few days prior had more. They only had 10 turnovers in the Denver game and 7 tonight.
Dean continues to do all the little things – rebound, have two blocks, hit two threes. It’ll be interesting to see how Kenny manages the starting SF spot with Strus getting back into rhythm, and Okoro close to a return. However, we continue to feel Wade is the perfect connector between the core.
A lot has been made about the Cavs needing another two-way wing, but can we take time to appreciate our two-way big for a moment?
The Cavs wrap up their West Coast road trip going 4-0 against Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic and LeBron James. Yes, the Cavs play a soft schedule.
They now head home for four straight including a marquee matchup versus Oklahoma City next Wednesday. Hopefully Okoro should be back by then.
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