Game Thread | Game #55 | Cavs @ Pacers | Feb. 5, 2023 (5:00 p.m. start)

[KilgoreTrout]

That 1986 line-up was before the last set of moves. I think Price came off the bench, for Bagley, and KJ hadn’t been drafted or traded for Nance yet.

 

[jjvors]

JB postgame interview:

 

[jjvors]

Okoro highlights:

 

[jjvors]

Garland highlights:

 

[Jscc]

Okoro highlights:

That last 3 on Haliburton's late close out was awesome. Haliburton threw his hands up and looked over at Carlisle like he wanted to say, "the scouting report says he can't shoot! WTF?"

 

[Tlyons]

Look at the mass difference in DG's forearms. Get this man a girlfriend.

 

[jjvors]

Standings. We're 1/2 game out of 4th place.

Eastern Conference​

TEAM	W	L	WIN%	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	OT	LAST10	STREAK
1 Boston Celtics	37	16	.698	--	21-11	7-1	20-7	17-9	3-4	6-4	L 1
2 Milwaukee Bucks	36	17	.679	1	21-13	7-4	23-5	13-12	2-1	9-1	W 7
3 Philadelphia 76ers	34	18	.654	2.5	19-12	5-4	20-8	14-10	3-1	8-2	L 1
4 Brooklyn Nets	32	20	.615	4.5	22-11	6-5	16-8	16-12	0-1	5-5	W 1
5 Cleveland Cavaliers	33	22	.600	5	19-10	9-3	22-6	11-16	6-0	5-5	W 2
6 Miami Heat	29	25	.537	8.5	13-16	6-3	17-9	12-16	2-1	5-5	L 2
7 New York Knicks	29	26	.527	9	20-15	4-7	14-15	15-11	3-6	4-6	W 1
8 Atlanta Hawks	27	27	.500	10.5	17-17	5-4	13-11	14-16	3-1	5-5	L 1
9 Chicago Bulls	25	27	.481	11.5	20-15	5-4	15-11	10-16	1-4	6-4	W 2
10 Washington Wizards	24	28	.462	12.5	13-16	5-3	12-11	12-17	1-1	6-4	L 2
11 Indiana Pacers	25	30	.455	13	17-15	3-5	17-12	8-18	0-1	2-8	L 1
12 Toronto Raptors	25	30	.455	13	15-19	4-9	15-12	10-18	1-3	5-5	W 2
13 Orlando Magic	22	32	.407	15.5	11-22	3-7	13-13	9-19	1-1	6-4	W 2
14 Charlotte Hornets	15	40	.273	23	8-27	5-7	7-17	8-23	1-4	4-6	L 4
15 Detroit Pistons	14	40	.259	23.5	6-23	0-8	7-20	7-20	2-1	3-7	L 1

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Most of the game I was thinking, "This is how it's supposed to look."

Balanced scoring - 33 assists against 13 turnovers.

Solid defense - holding the opponent to 103 points gets you a win most every night.

Hitting free throws - 15-for-16. Contesting 3's - the Pacers only made 8 and they average 14 per game.

Bench contributions - Wade and Rubio were +13 and +8, respectively. Wade is coming along nicely with a line of 6/6/3 plus great defense
while Rubio had 9 assists in 20 minutes.

Garland was a +28 and Okoro scored 20 points on 9 shots and was a +23 in 29 minutes.

JBB noted that they didn't wait until the 4th quarter to make plays; they kept the pressure on the entire game. It looked to me like an arm wrestling contest where the stronger guy slowly but surely forces the other arm down.

For the Pacers I was very impressed with Myles Turner with 27 points and 10 rebounds. He kept the Pacers in the game with 12 points in the 3rd quarter, hitting two 3's and making a 3-point play. He had the Cavs fouling him all night. Even when he missed he grabbed his own rebound and scored.

Haliburton had respectable numbers (15 points, 11 assists), but was a -30 in 31 minutes! Garland was +28 and clearly outplayed him.

Holding the Pacers to 8-for-32 from deep at home was the key to the win, IMO. The team defense was excellent other than against Turner, who got pretty much whatever he wanted.

 

[jjvors]

Jarrett Allen's fastbreak dunk is straight from Dr. J's playbook:

The Fro with the one hand JAM #cavs #letemknow #shorts

www.youtube.com

 

[Dr. Claw]

This game is what you hope to see after so many weeks of utter frustration.
Okoro's progression toward "3 and D rotation guy" continues to go up. Can't say enough about what he does on the court now, because the little things are now turning into things you see in the box score.
Ricky Rubio (who likely won't be available for the Wizards game) and Dean Wade taking the place of LeVert and Love respectfully continues to bear fruit.
Donovan is still struggling and there were points I were wishing he sat. Without his game-breaking movement the Cavs stumble. However, he had 2 absolute LASER passes that showed he can break the game in a different way. Would love to see more than that.
Evan Mobley continues stomping his way into "taking over". More than developing that 3 ball, I want Mobley to get his handle in order. That more than anything results in turnovers. I love seeing him accepting all smoke on both sides of the ball.
And JA. Especially seeing his contract versus others in the league, there is NO ONE I would trade him for. Myles Turner is often cited. Watching him versus the Cavs bigs, he is a spacing merchant -- benefitting from Buddy Hield and others being in the line up. Otherwise, he ain't getting those wide open looks. And he doesn't have the defensive impact of our guys, an impact that makes blowouts like these possible.

Cavs need to add more reserve power in the mold of Wade and Okoro with more shooting. Easy thing to say, difficult thing to do. The sooner JA and Evan don't have to deal with perimeter defense (of which they are good, mind you), the better. More rebounds. Okoro leading the way with boxing out is huge.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I loved how the Cavs adjusted from their loss in Indy on Dec. 29 when they gave up a season high 135 points as the Pacers were 19-for-31 on 3's. This time the Cavs did a much better job of contesting the 3's and held them to 8-for-32, an improvement of 33 points just on 3-point shots. As a result the Pacers scored 32 fewer points than last game.

The Cavs' offense was the same (122 versus 126 points) but the perimeter defense was way, way better.

 

[Dr. Claw]

Didn't get to watch live but this thread and the box score were nice to see.

With Okoro playing at the level he is lately, the Core 4 may just end up being a very balanced starting 5 for quite some time. Need to see his confidence continue to grow and get that man locked up this offseason.

They need to move LeVert - team is playing well without him, which I find very telling. He's very nice insurance for when Garland or Mitchell goes down, but that's the primary reason I'd keep him. If there's a move that turns him and/or Love into McBuckets and Richardson I make it yesterday. Want to turn his expiring money into a player that's here beyond next year.

I may be the only one, but I want Osman kept. I think he and Wade are solid bench forwards. They need 1-2 shooters but that's all in my book. Who they can swing with their full MLE this summer will be crucial to filling out the roster and really setting up to make extended runs.

Agreed with this.
Cedi is a "soft keep", Okoro is a "HARD keep". Cedi and Wade work well with Rubio running the offense.

 

[Los216]

A WINE & GOLD WINNER