RCF Recap: Cavs front row to the Lakeshow

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• They giveth, and they taketh away. The Cavs are like a sputtering car right now – just when you think the engine is going to turn over, it dies on you. That’s how these games have felt, and the back half of the season has felt.
• Western Conference road swings are always tough, and it doesn’t help it’s coming at the time it does now in the season – team is reeling, they’re fighting to find their mojo, and they’ve been on the road for what seems like a month. But, faced with three playoff teams and they lose by 29 to Nuggets (without Jamal Murray), lose by 21 to the Suns and lose by 19 to the Lakers. That can’t make you feel all rosy inside heading into the playoffs.
• Thing is, Cavs had stretches in the last two games where they actually looked *good* but it was fleeting, and any lead they had quickly evaporated.
• Evan Mobley started the game off with a three-pointer, and it was just about the only thing that went right for him all game. He would turn the ball over on a drive to the rim in a subsequent possession which was one of three on the night. He would follow that up with a two first quarter fouls that plagued him all day. Despite that, three rebounds in almost 29 minutes are rough.

• The Cavs did show some life early. Their offensive rhythm looked to be there, despite some careless turnovers, and they were in a good flow. 33 points, 56% shooting, 9 assists on 14 FGM – all good things. They were also pushing the pace on misses and turnovers early.
• A phenomenon that seems to happen every game: The Cavs have success with Jarrett Allen in the first quarter, and then completely forget it the rest of the game. Allen had 8 points on 4-6 shooting in the first quarter. He had 4 points and was 2-6 shooting the rest of the game. The roll looks that were there in the first quarter, weren’t there the following quarters.

• 33 points is usually a positive sign, but the Cavs couldn’t even win the quarter with that offense. They let up 36 points to the Lakers on 59% shooting, and 5 3PM. If there was defensive resistance, the Cavs sure didn’t show it.
• The biggest issue was the Lakers getting to the core of the defense with ease. They made 7 of their 13 field goals in the restricted area and were 7-8 in that zone. The Lakers were easily passing the Cavs point of attack, and when they did, they rarely met much deterrence at the rim. This allowed easy looks at the rim and kick out looks which the Lakers consistently knocked down all day.
• The Lakers didn’t do anything special on offense. They created penetration, played off help, found the open man, and that open man converted.
• If you’re going to play two big men, you better expect a wall up around the rim. They had 0 blocks today. Now to their credit, when both were on the floor they posted a 102.9 defensive rating. But on the other side, Anthony Davis had six blocks and single handedly disrupted many more shots. It was a night and day difference on how the paint was controlled.
• Without Donovan Mitchell not healthy and unable to generate much off drives, it’s going to be on others to create kick out opportunities and put pressure on the rim. To his credit, Caris LeVert did that today. He came out aggressively looking for his shot and getting good looks inside. If there’s one role LeVert must play moving forward, it’s being a catalyst to create free-throw attempts and put pressure on opposing bigs at the rim. This was already a relatively uninspiring team when it came to drives, so it’ll be on LeVert to take this task on with Mitchell’s ailment.
• The Lakers quickly went on a 12-2 run to start the second quarter. As it has seemed to so often, it came with Mitchell off the floor and with Garland on the floor.
• I’ve continued to harp on it but Garland has to have a better feel when on the floor on how to navigate runs. Too often it seems like he allows them to snowball and really cut the Cavs deep.
• With Mitchell, it’s hard to explain, but he seems to be a calming presence when he’s on the floor. He knows when to make the right play at the right time to control the game when it’s getting a bit hairy.
• In the three minutes with Garland on the floor, the Cavs were a -10. The Lakers went on a 14-4 run without Point Mitchell out there.
• Once point Mitchell came back on the floor, the Cavs were 19-14 the rest of the quarter.
• The biggest difference in the first half was the Lakers hitting their 3’s and the Cavs not hitting theirs. The Lakers doubled up the Cavs with 10 to 5. D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince (revenge game?) were 8-11 from deep in the first half. It didn’t help Max Strus and Sam Merrill were 0-5.
• Whatever fight the Cavs had, they showed it in the third quarter. They came out red hot to go on a 11-0 run. Of course, in that span they nailed three three-pointers.

• In the third quarters first five minutes, they held the Lakers to two points and caused five turnovers. It was really the only time all day the Lakers offense looked out of sorts.
• The Cavs came all the way back from 16 points down and went up by three at the 6-minute mark in the third quarter – thanks to a Mitchell triple.
• Shortly thereafter, Mitchell subbed out and the Lakers went off. In the three minutes off the court, the Lakers went on a 9-1 run. It only got worse when Mitchell returned, as the Lakers finished the quarter on a 12-2 run.
• At one point, the Lakers went on a 19-0 run in four minutes. Any lead the Cavs had dissipated, and the Lakers pushed their lead close to the largest it been all night to 15.
• The Cavs were a +2 in 3PM for the quarter and still couldn’t win the quarter.
• Despite holding the Lakers to their lowest point total of any quarter, the Cavs followed behind with their lowest point total of any quarter.
• LeVert was really doing his best to keep the game close in the fourth quarter. A couple free-throws, a spot-up three-pointer, a hustle layup in transition – he had nine fourth quarter points in total.

• The Cavs were able to get it within 10 points within the 7-minute mark but from there the Lakers just ran with the game. They went on a 10-4 run to put the game away and allowed the benches to empty.
• The Lakers had four offensive rebounds, and six second chance points in the fourth quarter with some of those being back breaking type plays. When you’re trying to make a comeback, those little things are hard to overcome.
• Garland was the Cavs leading scorer which is the first time he’s done that since March 22, and had his highest point total (26) since March 13.
• JB Bickerstaff should really consider keeping Mitchell on-ball more, like how he had LeVert absorb more point guard duties with teams pressuring Garland. Mitchell’s health will considerably impact his ability to be a dynamic scorer. But it won’t impact his ability to lead, control and manage a game.
• Shifting to more Point Mitchell will allow Garland to focus on scoring more. It may be a bold strategy, but it seems like the Cavs best approach now. Try to get Garland cooking and hope he can do enough scoring to pick up the slack. Also, when Garland is scoring, the rest of his game seems to follow behind as well.
• People are going to hate to hear it but the Cavs core four was a +9 while on the floor together – tied for the best of any four-man pairing against the Lakers. They were also a +9 against Phoenix.
• Mitchell played the most minutes of any Cavs player (38) and while he didn’t have his typical scoring output (10 points, 4-13, 2 FTA, 2-9 3P), he had the highest plus-minus of any Cavalier at +10.
• JB is really not expanding his rotation much as the playoffs near. LeVert played 28 minutes, Niang played 22 minutes and Merrill played 12.
• The Lakers had 32 fast break points – 18 more than the Cavs.
• Call me crazy: But the first-round matchup is more important than the seeding is. Yeah, a Central Division title would be nice, but would it really mean anything? If the Cavs must face the Heat or Sixers, then a title is a lot less exciting. If they can somehow a Magic or Pacers first round matchup, it’ll mean more than any seed they get.
• The way they’re losing is hurting a lot more than them losing because of the matchup conundrum. If the Bucks hold onto the 2 seed, they’re going to be in for a slug fest with their first-round matchup.
• Up next: The Cavs stay in Los Angeles for a back-to-back with the Clippers at 3:30PM (ET) on Sunday.