- You want a recap? This game doesn’t deserve a recap.
- The game was so bad JB Bickerstaff did a full line substitution early into the third quarter. The starters were yanked, and it was a full bench unit. That’s how bad the starters were.
- At half, the starters were -11, -19, -11, -20, -14. By game’s end, they were -22, -17, -17, -26, -20.
- There’s not a whole lot to say after a loss like that. Tonight was the fourth worst loss in the Bickerstaff Cavalier era. The top-10 worst losses all came in 2021 season with the exception of November 2023.. to the Miami Heat.
- Bickerstaff is now 6-10 versus Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat as a Cavaliers head coach. Games like these are painfully obvious what a coaching disadvantage the Cavs be faced with in the playoffs.
- When people ask if coaching matters, go back and watch the second quarter. The Heat’s defensive strategy single handedly changed the game. The Heat offered initial pressure on the in-bound which fell back into a zone. This sped the Cavs up to get it past half court, and when they did 6-8 seconds was already off the shot clock. Then when asked to run half-court sets versus zone, the Cavs looked like a fish out of water.
- This stymied the Cavs offensively, but it’s not like they really had anything going anyway. The Cavs simply didn’t know how to deal with the pressure, and deal with the rubix cube of solving the Heat’s half-court zone. It also didn’t help the Cavs couldn’t hit a shot. They were 1-7 on 3P in the second quarter, and 5-9 on 2P.
- The book is out on Darius Garland: Bring pressure early, and often, and push him out on pick-and-rolls. They teach you at a young age to get rid of the ball early when pressured on pick-and-rolls. Reason being: Two on you means three on your other four players. Getting the ball out quick doesn’t give the defense a chance to settle in defensively behind the pressure and allows your team to move the ball to take advantage of the advantage. All too often the opposite happens, and Garland tries to use his dribble as a problem solver when it really should be his passing.
- A lot of focus has been on the physical – how his shot is coming along, too many turnovers, how he’s performed in the clutch, but mental tonight was the most concerning. Garland was in foul trouble early and further got himself into trouble late into the second. With :24 seconds left in the half, and already having three fouls, Garland tried to draw a charge on the three-point line. The call didn’t go his away and he picked up foul four.
- What great benefit does trying to draw a charge that far away from the basket have? Garland gets a foul call, great. You get the last possession and are still down 16 points.
- That foul was a frustration foul, and just not smart. If you’re the team leader at this point, you cannot put yourself in that position.
- This was supposed to be a refreshing game – Evan Mobley was back, and the Cavs were getting closer to getting healthy. Mobley came out hitting a spot-up three to start, and then the Heat went on a 10-0 run and never looked back. That would be the only Cavs lead of the game.
- Mobley ended up the leading scorer with 15 points. He was also the only Cavalier to reach double digits. But hey, he was 2-2 on 3P.
- Speaking of double digits, Okoro has only scored in double digits once in his last six games. All this coming as a starter and getting starter minutes. The outside shot has deserted him, and he does not look like the same, confident offensive player he did earlier in the year. He’s shooting 27% on 3P the last six games.
- The one noticeable thing on Okoro’s shot is he’s not getting a lot of clean shots. When he’s able to take catch-and-shoot threes versus threes he must reposition his feet or readjust is a noticeable difference. Okoro is a good stationary shooter but anything outside of his shooting pocket or anything on the move is not a high percentage shot right now.
- What’s this team’s offensive identity right now? Do they have one? They’re averaging 102 points per game in the games Mitchell has sat post All-Star break. That would be dead last by three whole points.
- They’ve had 4 sub 100-point games out of those 13. They’ve failed to reach 106 in 8 of the 13 games – 106 is the league’s worst offense.
- Yes, the Cavs are missing players. Mobley has been out. Strus has been out, who may be an underrated loss. Wade has been out. And most importantly, Mitchell has been out. But this team isn’t scoring because they’re missing those players as much as the offense looks lost, and the flow is gone.
- Mitchell’s return is uncertain at this point as he nurses a creaky knee – those are never certain. But the Cavs can’t wait for Mitchell to return to save their offense. There’s going to be times when Mitchell is off, or Mitchell is off the floor and it’s going to be reliant on the rest of the team to produce.
- Whatever it is, they better figure it out fast. Any cushion they gave themselves earlier in the year is quickly being eat up by their freefall and other team’s going on runs of their own. The Knicks are only .5 game back, and the Magic are a game back. The Cavs are oh-so quickly falling out of hosting a home playoff series.
- I can’t help but come back to @stick talking Bickerstaff’s post All-Star win percentage. It’s certainly looks like it’s mirroring his in-game coaching which is mired by his inability to adjust.
- In the post-game press conference Bickerstaff said this game was an uncharacteristic performance. The schedule and injuries have caught up to them, and that they’re worn.
- If injuries weren’t an asterisk during the win streak, it can’t be used as an excuse now.
- The schedule is tougher, but they haven’t had a back-to-back in seven games, and have played 6 games in 12 days. Their last seven games have all been in different cities. It’s not about losing the games of late, it’s how they’ve looked in those games that’s concerning.
- The Cavs have 11 games left to get healthy and get on the same page. At this point, it looks like they may be running out of time. Even when healthy, the starters have had just under 600 possessions together – that’s just 11% of the team’s total possessions.
- By contrast, the Celtics starters have had 1157 possessions together which is 17.5% of their total possessions. The Knicks original starting lineup had 464 possessions together. Their new starting lineup has had none. Put Isaiah Hartenstein in there and it’s at just 374 possessions or 5.7%. It hasn’t phased them as they’re 7-3 over their last 10 and 9-6 post All-Star break. That’s what happens when you have an identity and players stepping up.
- The Cavs are currently 8th in total games missed and 11th in cash earned while injured. The Heat, Lakers, Suns, Hawks and Pacers are all high on the list too. The Cavs have the best record, but currently look the worst.
- Enough rambling, onto Charlotte. They have the chance to make this loss a quick memory with the Hornets on deck. Do they rise up, or let things further unravel? We'll find out soon enough.
- Up next: Cavs face the Hornets Monday at 7:00PM (ET)