The Cavs played a great night of basketball.
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 141-118. Let’s see who won the night.
WINNER – Welcome back, Cavalanche
The Cavs haven’t had many opportunities to use their Cavalanche machine. They even flooded the arena with fake snow for a somewhat forced segment of ‘Let It Snow’ on the Jumbotron. But they had a chance to hit the button for real tonight when the Cavs built their 25-point lead.
As someone who has been tracking Cavalanches, I honestly can’t tell you when their last Cavalanche was. Maybe against the San Antonio Spurs back at the start of December? I really don’t remember. But it’s been a while. And it’s been a long time since the Cleveland crowd went multiple games without having to boo their home team for poor effort.
We’ll take the Cavalanche over that any day.
WINNER – Player Movement
We now have two games in a row where the Cavs played offense as efficiently as last season. It’s a sight for sore eyes.
It’s no coincidence that Cleveland’s offense has opened up as Darius Garland and Sam Merrill get healthy. Their reacclimation to the lineup has made it so that everyone on the floor is encouraged to move and pass the ball. Garland, of course, as the team’s quarterback, and Merrill, as the never-ending battery that keeps the team moving without the ball.
Merrill is always moving. That makes it harder for the rest of the team to be stagnant, because there’s a good chance Merrill is going to bump you off your spot throughout any given possession. His off-ball movement, paired with Garland’s ability to penetrate the defense and allow his teammates to fill the gaps, has helped make the Cavalier offense an elite force once again.
WINNER – They Finally Played Defense!
The Pelicans scored just 22 points in the first quarter. That’s the fewest points Cleveland has allowed in any quarter since they held the Golden State Warriors to 12 points in the first quarter, all the way back on December 5th.
Unlike their performance against Golden State, this time, the Cavs actually earned this one by playing legitimately good defense. The Warriors, in that previous game, just flat-out missed good looks. But the Pelicans were disrupted by an active and aggressive Cavalier defense tonight.
I wish I could tell you they carried this into the second quarter and the Pelicans didn’t score 38 points in that frame. But the Cavs momentarily let their foot off the gas after building an 18-point lead, and Zion Williamson started to punish them in the paint for 10 points in the second quarter.
However, the Cavs tapped back into their identity in the third quarter. It wasn’t a totally dominant defensive effort — but it was cleaner than most of their recent games. They were connected and defending on a string. One rotation led to another crisp, clean rotation. All in all, they showed some life on the defensive end for the first time in what feels like weeks.
WINNER – Dean Wade
Listen, I get as frustrated as anyone when Wade delivers his classic ‘Cardio Dean’ performances. No one likes to see a player running the floor for 20+ minutes and rounding out as a net neutral.
That is, unless you enjoy having a 6’9” wing whose floor is being a serviceable defender who just doesn’t take enough three-pointers.
We understand that Wade isn’t going to develop into a gunner anytime soon. We’ve known that for years, at this point. But Wade’s floor is much higher than other players, who can turn into absolute negatives when things aren’t going right. At least Wade usually just turns invisible. He doesn’t tank lineups.
All this to say, Wade has actually played great during this two-game stretch. He’s burying three-pointers, playing better defense than we’d previously seen this season, and grabbing rebounds on both ends of the floor.
Again, I understand why you might feel the urge to trade Wade to the void and salary dump him when things aren’t going as planned. That urge might seem cathartic, but it would be a mistake. You don’t lose 6’9” wings who can provide all of this for nothing.
If Wade is your 8th or 9th most important player, that signals a healthy and competitive roster. He’s more than qualified to fill that role. Don’t be so quick to forget how bad the Cavaliers’ wing-depth can get.
Category: General Sports
