A strong 31-point showing from Donovan Mitchell wasn’t enough to get the Cleveland Cavaliers past the New York Knicks on opening night. They fell 119-111.
The Cavs currently lack shot creators. Darius Garland (toe) and De’Andre Hunter (knee) were sorely missed in this department. The offense had a difficult time getting anything going toward the basket that wasn’t created by either Donovan Mitchell or Evan Mobley. You can’t have a truly healthy offense if you’re that over-reliant on two players for that much of your shot creation.
This showed through on the statsheet. The Cavaliers took 11 fewer shots at the rim and 18 fewer free-throw attempts than the Knicks. This was a direct result of Mitchell and Mobley being the only ones who could get any type of dribble penetration. This left the Cavs settling for more threes and midrange shots than you’d ideally like. You obviously want to take a lot of threes, but that isn’t the only barometer for a good offense. If it were, the Charlotte Hornets would be the best attack in the league.
There’s no reason to be concerned about the offense long-term, but this will remain an issue as long as Garland is out. The Cavs don’t have the margin for error in shot creation that they had last season with the loss of Ty Jerome.
Right now, their offense is only as good as Mitchell and Mobley. And even on a night when both played well, it wasn’t enough.
Basketball is a game of runs. The best teams find ways to take over games with extended runs while also limiting their opponents’ ability to do the same. The Cavs had plenty of runs that allowed them to get back into Wednesday’s game, but they allowed the Knicks’ hot streaks to last far too long.
The Cavs clawed back into the game with a 37-22 third quarter, but allowed the Knicks to take all that momentum away by opening the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run of their own, which all but sealed the game.
The Knicks are a great team. You aren’t going to keep them from changing the momentum of a game in their home building. However, the Cavs will need to do a better job of limiting the effectiveness of those spurts if they want to be a team that can consistently win road playoff games in hostile environments.
Mitchell’s third-quarter takeover changed the game. He made it a mission to single-handedly will the Cavs back into a game his team was down 15 at the break, and he did just that. The New York native scored or assisted on Cleveland’s first 20 points of the quarter. This included scoring 14 of his own in that five and a half minute stretch.
This was the superstar takeover his team needed. This game would’ve stayed out of hand if it wasn’t for this short burst.
The Jaylon Tyson minutes were rough. Starting preseason games and starting the season opener in Madison Square Garden are completely different things. Tyson’s energy was much needed during lifeless exhibition games. It wasn’t as welcome in a game that actually counted.
It’s easy to mistake energy for being a good defender. Tyson certainly hustled — which is good — but if that isn’t coupled with good awareness of the situation or body control (this is how you get four fouls in 20 minutes), then it isn’t that useful. He was often in the wrong place on defense and didn’t offer much resistance when he found himself on an island. That isn’t ideal when Tyson isn’t adding much on the offensive end either.
Tyrese Proctor looked good. He showed good defensive instincts, stayed with his defender, and knocked down a triple when given a chance to do so. As a result, he was rewarded with nearly five fourth-quarter minutes in what was a close game.
This was an encouraging start from someone getting their first NBA minutes.
Jarrett Allen is taking advantage of the NBA rule change that doesn’t count an end-of-quarter heave as a shot attempt. He attempted two heaves from over halfcourt at the end of the first and third quarters. The one at the end of the first had a chance of falling and hit the rim. He might make a handful of these throughout the season if he continues to take them like this.
The Cavs need to find a way to get Allen the ball. He only attempted four shots in 28 minutes. That isn’t going to cut it.
It’s fair to blame Allen for this. The ball finds energy, and he oftentimes wasn’t doing much to command the ball. At the same time, there weren’t many creators out there who were able to find him and get him involved in the offense.
Allen’s game was always going to take the biggest hit while Garland is out, but it can’t be this big of a hit.
Sam Merrill demonstrated why the Cavs rewarded him with the largest payday of his career this summer. He was excellent as an off-ball shooter as he went 5-10 from deep en route to 19 points. More impressively, he held up well on the defensive end even when guys like Jalen Brunson unwisely tried to target him.
Larry Nance Jr. is really going to help this team. He has a multi-faceted skillset that other recent reserve big men haven’t had. Nance knocked down a few threes, finished an alley-oop from Lonzo Ball, and just played an overall competent game.
The best part about Nance is how his and Dean Wade’s skillsets don’t overlap too much. He provides something different, which allows head coach Kenny Atkinson more versatility in how he uses his bench lineups.
Speaking of versatility, Ball showed how useful he will be for this team even though he couldn’t get the three-ball to fall (1-7). He stuffed the statsheet, controlled the pace, and cleaned the defensive glass. That’s exactly what the Cavs need from him.
Ball’s unofficial minutes restriction will be tricky to manage. The Cavs needed him down the stretch in the fourth quarter, but he wasn’t available to play from the four-minute mark until the last 30 seconds. This resulted in a closing lineup of Mitchell, Merrill, Wade, Mobley, and Allen. Even though Wade had a good game, that group is severely limited in the ball handlers and creators.
The Cavs know that they need to be healthy if they’re going to play up to their potential in the postseason. That will require limiting Ball’s minutes as much as possible. That is far more important than the outcome of a regular-season game. However, that also means that you may end up with some less-than-ideal closing lineups like this.
Evan Mobley needs to carry his aggressiveness over to the second half. He came out of the gates ready to shoot as he led the team in shot attempts in both the first and second quarters and had 13 at the break. But in the second half, Proctor had as many field goal attempts as Mobley did with five. That isn’t ideal.
Mitchell’s third-quarter takeover plays a part in that. He had the hot hand and willed the team back into the game. It’s not like the Cavs would’ve wanted Mobley to take the ball out of Mitchell’s hands when he’s playing that well. At the same time, there’s a better balance to be had.
The Cavs will go as far as Mobley takes them. For that to happen, he and the team will need to be comfortable with Mobley’s shotmaking deciding the outcome of games. Based on tonight, we aren’t at that point yet.
Source link
