This is starting to get old. Stop me if you have heard this one already, the Cavs drop a disappointing game then bounce back the next game to win and hover around .500. The Wine & Gold got back on track Wednesday night after beating the Blazers 109-95. Nearly a month into the season, are the Cavaliers contenders or pretenders?
Lesson learned?
After the loss on Monday night against the Kings, Donovan Mitchell was quoted, “I said come to me after Game 10. Well, this was Game 10. Gotta figure this s— out.” Well, now that we are past that point, are the Cavs going to figure it out? Time will tell. One major thing to figure out is their defense. As pointed out previously, it is not going well if the Cavs are going to be 19th in Defensive Rating.
The Cavs Get Job Done
Finally, Wednesday night was the last game of the Road Trip and it ended on a good note. Evan Mobley got it going early scoring 10 points in the 1st Quarter and ending with 21 pts and 12 rebounds on the night. Donovan Mitchell got 30+ points for the 5th time this season and Caris LeVert continued his 6th Man of the Year Campaign with 17 points off the bench. The Cavs held the Blazers to 37% Field Goal Shooting and 34% from 3 Point Arch. That needs to continue. Also, the Cavs need to build on this victory and get back to .500 by taking down Detroit on Friday night in the In-Season Tournament.
Progress is not Linear
Sometimes to go forward requires two steps backward. The Cavs won 51 games last year and they added some nice additions to their roster in the offseason. Therefore, logic dedicates that they were poised to take another step forward. The NBA does not work that way. To get to the next level, you must suffer. This period of the season seems like the Cavs’ suffering. Let’s hope they figure it out and watch for brighter days on the horizon.
