Recap: Houston 116, Cleveland 110 (or, Wickedly Close)

This was such an evil game. Though it seemed as if Houston was coasting at times, the Rockets took a 14 point lead in the third, and then the Cavs’ bench unit came storming back. The Cavs executed an improbable 24-0 run across the close of the third and start of the fourth. Key to that run, was the unselfish play of Delly, Nance, and John Henson as they fed Jordan Clarkson and Kevin Porter Junior, who were scorchingly hot. KPJ put up a career high 24 and went 6-9 from downtown before, sadly, the house fell on the Cavs.

The Rockets came back behind the most boring 55 points you will ever see anyone score by the wicked witch of the south, James Harden, and took advantage of the fact that the Cavs stink at closing games right now. When Kevin Love and the Lollipop Guild replaced the bench crew, Cleveland stumbled to the finish line. (OK, it was just Sexton – so half of the Lollipop Guild).

Cleveland’s lead shriveled up and died in the last minute when KPJ closed out on the wrong side (The Beard’s right). No one stepped up to contest the ensuing Harden drive, Clarkson threw the ball away, and Kevin Love failed to even try to close out on a P.J. Tucker triple that put Houston up four. Porter Jr. then gifted the Rockets two consecutive inbound passes to seal the deal for Mike D’Antoni’s team. It was a frustrating loss to an exciting game that called into question John Beilein’s decision making in close games. Still, it was a lot of fun.

Kevin Porter Junior is a witch. The dude has an enormous competitive streak and it showed as he relished the opportunity to take on his heroes, Harden and Westbrook. KPJ scored some difficult finishes in transition, played hard, engaged defense, and hit a series of catch and shoot jumpers crazy rotation jumpers that I think surprised even him. Junior went 24/2/3 on 15 shots and was +5 in 29 minutes. His D on Harden and Westbrook was a part of that insane 24-0 run. The triples he hit were lifeblood for the Cavs, as he and Nance were the pressure release valves for the Clarksolation offense. He showed some swagger in isolation, p/r, and on drives, including more than one impressive pass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR4m9ZcunhQ&t=2s

Unfortunately, egos took over down the stretch. Sex, Love, and Kardashian Daddy got real stagnant on offense and only a KPJ bailout triple from the right corner scored points for the Cavs between the 4:52 mark and the 1:42 mark. Missed Js and turnovers were the norm for some poorly conceived and executed sets, and at the two minute mark I wanted the bench unit back.

After Houston retook the lead that had once stood at 11 for Cleveland, the Cavs were down four with 37 seconds left, and KPJ was sent to the right sideline to trigger the inbound. On the play, Collin sexton came off a TT screen at the top of the key and didn’t even look for the ball as he turned the corner and Porter Junior passed it behind him. One of three things happened there: Sexton was a decoy (in which case, he still should’ve been looking for the ball), he wasn’t a decoy and failed to look for the ball, or he was cutting towards the baseline and Porter Junior should’ve sent the ball there. In retrospect, I suspect the last possibility was what should’ve happened as a pass towards the baseline with no corner help is hard to defend and would’ve been open.

Regardless, it was a strange decision to not have one of the team’s better passers (Delly, Nance, Osman, or Love) passing there, and the coaching staff didn’t put Kevin the Younger in a position to succeed. The subsequent turnover was also oddly conceived, as I guess the coaching staff didn’t figure Junior would do it again. He did, and this time, the pass was a bad decision as he put it in a terrible spot. The look was also really poorly designed as there seemed like no secondary option on the play if Houston sniffed it out (which they did). Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Let me not underestimate though what a breakout night it was for the 29th pick of the draft. It was super fun, and reinforces my notion that the kid should be starting.

Kevin Love looked more engaged, at least through three quarters, and the team made a concerted effort to get him the ball. Kev was pretty good on Js from the mid-post, but he still doesn’t seem to want to back down anyone and go to his hook anymore, even though he had the shorter Harden on him through much of the second half. (P.J. Tucker was in foul trouble). Love finished with 17/11/2, but a team low -23. Aside from rebounding, KLove was listless and failed to give defensive effort, and very often failed to rotate or contest around the basket. (Though he did have a block late).

In the most galling play of the game, Love just stared at Tucker as P.J. had time to tie his shoes and lace up a wide open right corner three that hammered a nail into Cleveland’s coffin. Love also took several low lift Js down the stretch, and got blocked by James Harden at the end of a shot clock.

J.B. Bickerstaff's reaction to Kevin Love's non-closeout is a mood.

(Did I do this right, @mellentuck?) pic.twitter.com/QRb8uay6w1

— Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) (@MikePradaNBA) December 12, 2019

Kevin still looks depressed. He and the Cavs need to keep working on getting him out of his funk. You can complain about his play and his lack of effort, but the Cavs org, the coaching staff, and Kevin himself need to get to the bottom of his issues and get him better. Koby Gilbert has $90 million invested in their tin man. They’ve got to figure this out. I hope this was a step towards crawling out of the hole, and not the new normal.

Love’s running mate, Tristan Thompson struggled to finish against Clint Capella or to keep Clint from getting 5 o-boards. Thompson’s four turnovers also loomed large, and Houston had him and his hook shot scouted really well. In crunch time, Thompson went to the left hook instead of hitting Love on the High-Low or kicking to a shooter and Harden immediately doubled and forced a shot clock violation. Thompson’s 11/7/2 show he’s coming back down to earth from his early season surprises. He’s still getting his share of O-Boards, but he has to get counters to his offensive moves, and the Cavs need to get him places to pass to when he flashes to the top of the key.

Collin Sexton was more deliberate about passing the ball, but still had the occasional hijack mid-ranger. He only got blocked once tonight. The number probably should’ve been two, but Capella got whistled for a foul on a Sexton drive when Youngbull went hard. Collin did a decent job scoring in transition and went 18/1/2 on 14 shots. He was mostly a traffic cone on D, and Westbrook and Harden got most anything they wanted against, but he did a nice job of pushing Harden to his right at times. Sexton still looked better. Just not great.

Who did look great and also terrible at times? Jordan Clarkson whom the Cavs run their entire bench offense around. As David Wood noted in an email to me last week, JC is in the 90th percentile on isolations this year, and Houston elected not to double. The results? 17/4/4 in 29 minutes and +5 from the floor with only one turnover, and lots of open looks for Jordan. Clarkson was a huge part of the Delly, JC, KPJ, Nance, Henson lineup that keyed Cleveland’s 24-0 run with spirited defense and passing. Gassed as the fourth ground on though, JC started forcing and put up some low percentage settle shots, and while he did manage to make one, it started to key Houston’s comeback.

Clarkson dribbled into no-man’s-land late and committed the turnover that put Houston up four, as well. You hope this is the kind of game that draws the eyes of opposing GMs for the Cavs’ ability to install an entire offense around him.

Larry Nance Jr.‘s defense was key, as was his screen-setting and selfless passing. Larry was 3/6/1 and +13 in 17 minutes. He was frankly too selfless, and more than once turned down a shot or a look in the post against a mismatch to move the rock. It led to bad shots late in the clock at times. Larry’s got to shoot and score when open. I want him to get starter’s minutes so badly.

John Henson and Matthew Dellavedova were +17 and +13 respectively, and were absolute defensive anchors against the Rockets’ admittedly weak bench. Delly was dealing during the Cavs big stretch and finished with three dimes and a scrappy and-1 at the end of the third. Henson getting healthy is a huge development, as his wingspan seems to grow each game. He’s also a sneaky good finisher with really solid footwork to get to his hook. Henson finished with 6/1/3. Frankly, the Cavs would’ve won the game if they’d put the bench lineup back in down the stretch.

Another guy the Cavs missed down the stretch? Cedi Osman and his passing. While Cedi was cold from the field (0-3), he dished seven dimes in his 19 minutes and had a play of the game to get a steal and assist to Garland to help the Cavs off to a surprising start. Cedi should’ve been initiating that inbound late instead of Porter Jr. Not quite sure what the coach was thinking.

Finally, Darius Garland didn’t play in crunch time, but had a nice night shooting: 3-6 from three. Garland was one of five Cavs with multiple turnovers (2), and most of the Cavs turnovers were of the careless and sloppy variety. Cleveland won the turnover war 15-18, but in a game like this, every one mattered. The other super annoying thing the Cavs and especially the Sexland lineups seem to do: give up layups after made baskets. The Lollipop Guild are really bad at floor balance and getting back on D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JouapsFycA

As for the Rockets, they coasted for 3.5 quarters and won down the stretch against a Cavs’ starting lineup that was worse than its bench. James Harden was annoying and mainly scored his points by isolating from the right wing or top of the key and dribbling till he got his rhythm for a 26-footer. It was mind-numbingly boring, and he’s my least favorite scorer maybe ever. He’s good at what he does. How good? 10-18 from three, 20-34 from the field, and 55/3/8 on the night. He did have six turnovers, but the Cavs tried again and again to stop him and they couldn’t. Only KPJ seemed to have success at times, but even he got smeared by the Golden Turd more than once.

His running mate, Russell Westbrook doesn’t have to do much with him: score in transition, cut and drive from the weakside, and move the ball. 23/7/6 with four steals, he complements Harden well, especially against a bad team. It was grating and against teams like Cleveland, Houstons big three (Harden, Westbrook, and Clint Capella) are enough. Capella provided the size around the rim (10 and 13 w/ three blocks) to keep the back end of the Cavs’ defense honest.

I was impressed with Houston’s scouting and defense in crunch time. They seemed to know what the Cavs were going to do before they did, and James Harden was a solid, switch, help, and double-team defender. It’s hard to say if the bench would’ve done better for Cleveland late, but it’s fair to say they couldn’t have done worse.

At least this one was entertaining, and we saw a world of potential in KPJ. We need a nickname for him and Henson. K-Nasty and Rejector Gadget? Eh. That seems so gen X. Cavs take on the Spurs tomorrow and the Bucks Saturday. No rest for the wicked, I guess. Hey, that’s a good nick name. K-Wicked, because he looks and plays like a witch (and that curveball J has unnatural powers)? Plus, he is Kwick. What about Kaos? He channels a lot. Think about it. Go Cavs.