The streak is over, but the Cavs really are. But get Evan Mobley the ball! – Terry Pluto’s Scribbles

On November 20, 2024By Littum

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Scribbles in my notebook after the Cavs lost 120-117 in Boston. The winning streak ends at 15-0.

1. I stare at the box and see 3 for 21. That’s what Darius Garland shot from the field. Boston stuffed Garland almost from the moment he brought the ball over the line of scrimmage. The Celtics have two great defensive guards in Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. Forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are capable of defending almost anyone on the court.

2. Lost in the obsession with Boston shooting 51 shots from 3-point range per game, is that the Celtics are an elite, athletic defensive team. I know Boston entered Tuesday’s game ranked 13th in defensive efficiency. What’s so great about that? A year ago, Boston was no. 2. When the Celtics decide to defend, they are huge. They showed that on Tuesday night.

3. As Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said in his postgame press conference, “They have playoff strength and physicality, we have regular season strength and physicality.” This was especially true in the first half.

4. Wait a minute, the Cavs only lost by three points. They were down by 21 points in the third quarter and they kept coming back and coming back. They never caught Boston, but were within two points several times. They came close to beating the Celtics despite shooting just 10 of 29 (34%) on 3-point shots.

Cavaliers at Celtics on November 19, 2024 — Darius Garland had one of the worst games of his NBA career, shooting 3 of 21 from the field. AP

5. Where do I go with these scribbles? Why start with Garland’s woeful shooting and how Boston’s defense seemed to physically overwhelm and frustrate him at times? Because the Cavs almost beat Boston … in Boston … with Garland having perhaps the worst shooting game of his NBA career.

6. Atkinson on Garland: “I think he just hit a wall. He’s been really good for us all year.” Garland was the NBA Player of the Week coming into the game averaging 21 points.Instead of diving into why Garland was struggling, he just used the poor game commentary know Garland had confidence issues at times last year, no need to do anything to bring them back.

7. The Cavs almost won in Boston despite the following players being out with injuries: Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade and Max Strus. The Cavs were so depleted they started Sam Merrill at small forward. They only played eight guys. Still, they nearly knocked off the defending NBA champions.

8. The Cavs were down 65-48 at the half. Watching the game, I kept yelling at the TV, “The middle is open! Stop settling for long, contested 3-point shots!” Boston’s approach is to defend the 3-pointer tightly. They turn on nearly every screen, meaning the Cavs could get big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on smaller defenders while rolling to the basket if they were patient.

9. I like 3-point shots, but not when players are rushed and off balance. Boston forces you into that type of 3-point shot.

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, back, collides with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell — Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum collides with Donovan Mitchell. The Cavs guard ended up with a bloody mouth.

AP

10. Meanwhile, I thought back to the 2024 playoffs against Boston. Mobley averaged 21.4 points and 9.4 rebounds. He punished them inside. In the Game 5 loss that ended the series, Mobley scored 33 points on 15 of 24 shooting. The middle was open for his drives, for his post-ups…just about anything he wanted. The same was the case on Tuesday.

11. Mobley finished with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He was perfect on five free throws. That said, a 30-point game was available if the Cavs had looked to him more often.

12. After the match, Atkinson said the line “That’s on me”. I heard that and sighed. But then he explained that they made some adjustments at halftime to go to the rim more often. “We didn’t get Evan the ball enough,” he said.

13. That’s a helpful “That’s on me” line from a coach. Because he explained what he meant … and what many of us saw. I also like how he mentioned the Cavs’ lack of physical play in the first half. They opened the game shooting 2 of 10 with three turnovers and trailed, 12-4. Boston’s tight defense and push had the Cavs mentally off balance. They didn’t play against some of the other NBA teams that just want to run, shoot and let you do the same.

14. The Cavs changed their strategy in the second half and scored 40 points in the third quarter. Overall, they outscored Boston 69-55 after halftime. Donovan Mitchell drove to the rim more often. He was 3 of 11 on 3-point shots. He still ended up with 35 points. He also had eight rebounds. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. He is a tough player.

15. Atkinson came up with a new combination that worked: Craig Porter Jr., Georges Niang, Ty Jerome, Mobley and Mitchell. It gave a spark. Porter was sensational, scoring 15 in 25 minutes on 6 of 8 shooting. He made all three of his shots from 3-point range.

16. The best plus/minus stats for Cavs: Niang (+15), Jerome (+12) and Porter (+12). They shot a combined 15 of 21 for 36 points. Niang has been the Cavs’ most underrated reserve this season.

17. That foul near the end of the game when Boston’s Jayson Tatum dropped his shoulder and crashed into a dribbling Mitchell should have been an obvious one. That might have left Mitchell with something more than the bloody mouth he received. Atkinson called a timeout and twice asked the officials to review it. They refused.

18. Bottom line: The Cavs could have easily been blown out in this game. Instead, they fought back. Atkinson kept shuffling his lineup, finding combinations that worked. I liked the grit of the team.