Recap: Orlando 94, Cleveland 85 (or, Nobody puts Larry in a Corner)

There were a lot of subtitle possibilities on this one: “Square pegs, round holes;” “John F-Lein;” “Failing to plan is planning to fail…” In the end, I opted for an homage to Patrick Swayze. Just like baby, no one should put Larry in a corner.

Now I get it. There’s a line between trying to expand a player’s game and trying to have guys stick to what they’re good at, but to say Larry Nance struggled at times trying to be a 3/4 in Beilein’s offense would be an understatement. Larry went 1-5 from deep, and those were all “he’s wide open for a reason” shot attempts. Still, Larry had some nice moments, finished the game with 9 points and 14 boards,  was only -3, and was key to the Cavs multiple runs that kept this close.

And close the wine and gold came, having cut a lead that was in the high teens to just six at the end of the third, and then dropping it to six again with 42 seconds left after a garbage time surge. But it was all too little too late. John Beilein’s substitutions were painful, as he tended to platoon the Sexton/Garland and Dellavedova/Clarkson back-courts. The chemistry was not there for either unit.

Sexton/Garland spent a lot of the game going your turn/my turn in an attempt to run an offense they didn’t quite understand (as did no one watching). They looked at their best when running pick/and roll, but absolutely could not feed anyone in the post. Unfortunately, they spent much of the game chucking up shots instead of feeding their big men. Collin Sexton finished 5-15 and Garland 3-9 while Kevin Love only got 10 shots and often spent long stretches without touching the ball. Someone needs to tell Garland that he can get a 20-footer any time he wants and that eight seconds into the shot clock shouldn’t be a time he wants to shoot it.

The Cavs’ guards have to/have to/have to have it drilled into their heads that they should never take more shots than the Cavs’ lone all-star. One thing that often happened was Sexton and Garland getting the ball on the wing or the corner and then getting hard doubled by the Magic. Orlando seemed completely prepared for this, and likely picked up a tidbit from scouting the Cavs in preseason. Sexland was unprepared for this tactic and the Cavs’ little guards were engulfed by the Magic’s bracketing. Each finished with three turnovers, and more than one of Sexton’s misses was due to this. It was also a reason the Cavs couldn’t get the ball to Love on the block.

Of course, there were multiple open looks for the Cavs’ big men, but there was also an inability of the Cavs’ guards to even spot post entry angles or note when the Cavs’ big guys got position or a mismatch. It’s a shame, too, because the Cavs big trio played fairly well. While Love was a game low -15 much of that came because he played in a lot of the Cavs’ strange lineups that featured too much Jordan Clarkson and Kevin Porter Junior. Love still put up 11/18/3 while Nance posted 9/14 and Tristan Thompson looked particularly spry with 16/11 on 8-11 from the floor. Thompson’s hook is a thing now, and he has become deadly accurate finishing with it in the paint. He out-muscled the Orlando big men all day and then got to the hook. More of that, please.

While Sexand expectedly struggled, the real disaster this game was bench law firm of Clarkson, Dellavedova, and Porter Jr. Delly was anemic offensively, and his jumper has fallen off a cliff. He launched multiple bricks from three. (I’m being nice. He was in danger of shooting down low flying planes), and Orlando was practically giving him the lane to drive through and he wouldn’t take it. To his credit, he did throw in some knuckle floaters later in the night as the coaching staff probably told him he had to look for his own shot inside.

No, the big issue this game was the Cavs’ two “wolves” who had been empowered in the pre-season to take stupid hunt for shots. Chucky Clarkson and Karmelo Porter Jr. Combined for a mind numbing 2-18 from the field with KPJ posting an 0-fer. Jordan dribbled around for long stretches, refused to move the ball, and then launched odd shots, or just came down and jacked up threes a couple seconds into the clock. KPJ seemed completely out of his depth and pairing these guys with Love and Delly for long stretches was a disaster.

The guy Beilein owes the biggest apology to is Cedi Osman, who had a really solid start, then didn’t see the floor for a huge stretch of time. Cedi put up 13/3/2, two steals, and led the team with +6. Sadly, Cedi missed two triples in the fourth when no one was within 12 feet of him. Those misses were demoralizing. But he hit some shots late and finished 3-6 downtown. Cedi needed to play at least five more minutes, and KPJ at least five fewer.

Also strangely absent was Brandon Knight who had a big preseason and posted a DNP. Maybe he was salty about not starting. Honestly, he’d have been better starting. Garland and Sexton should be staggered more. If any member of the media had any guts, they’d ask coach if the decision to start Garland was his or the front office’s. I’m betting it’s the latter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVQxl02Mc80

As for the Magic, Vuc looked great: 21/9/3. Markelle Fultz is all the way back from the brink and was explosive with 12 points and 6 dimes, including this monster dunk. Oh, and Mo Bamba is gonna be really really really good. He cashed an easy seven and seven in 14 minutes. If there’s a place to trade Kevin Love to, Orlando would be a good fit, and the Cavs would do well to get Bamba. That’s probably not happening.

We’ll see what happens going forward, but I can’t shake the feeling that the Cavs shouldn’t be putting Larry in a corner and away from the basket and the middle of the floor. I also can’t shake the feeling that the Cavs could have played a lot better in this one with a more cohesive offense that involved guys, you know, moving towards the basket, and designing a game plan with a more cohesive substitution patterns and lineups. Of course, when you’re openly tanking, maybe that’s the point.