This time last year the Cavaliers were 8-4. Let that sink in. Yes, this is a different season and yes, the roster is different. Yet, they are not looking like a top 4 seed, more like a Play-In team. If only the Wine & Gold could play the Warriors more often… Saturday night’s 118-110 win was encouraging, but the Cavs need to be more consistent if they want to go far.
The Boys win in the Bay
Thank goodness for Caris LeVert. (Please don’t trade him!) Caris has been the leading scorer for the Cavs for the past two games while coming off the bench. Also, a strong 10 points in the 4th quarter from Evan Mobley helped seal the win.
The Cavs played fantastic basketball in the first half. But they allowed the Warriors to creep back into the contest in 3rd Quarter when they only managed to score 16 points. Fortunately in the 4th, the squad got their act together and put the game out of reach.
Cavs Week 3 Recap:
The Cavaliers went 2-1 this week with both of those wins coming against Golden State. Cleveland has yet to win back-to-back games this season, so there’s a goal for this coming week. But for week 3, let’s recap the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
The Good
Offensive Balance: All of the starters have scored in double figures in the last 4 games (including tonight). This balance gives opposing defenses a lot of difficulty with the multiple options for each possession. That is not even including Caris LeVert’s terrific contributions off the bench.
The Bad
The Defense: In this early part of the season, the defense has a Defensive Rating of 112.86, which is #13 in the league. Last season, the Cavs led the league in Defensive Rating of 111.69. Not terribly concerning at this point. But, the defense has taken a bit of a step back this season. If the Cavs want to be competitive come playoff time they will have to get their defense into Top 10 shape.
The Ugly
After tonight, the road trip continues and 7 of the next 9 opponents were playoff teams last year. Including, NBA Champion Nuggets, Western Conference Finalist Lakers, and Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat. Oh, and Nov 17th’s opponent the Detroit Pistons look like a young hungry team trying to make some waves. Hopefully, the Cavs can get on a roll and show why they won 51 games last year.
