Recap: Cavs 128, Pistons 119 (2OTs) (or, Both Sides of the Drum + Live Thread)

Okay… so I’ll admit it’s been a while since I’ve watched (or been able to watch) the Cavaliers play ball. As unfamiliar as I am with this current iteration of the team, I found myself torn between the bias of what I remembered about certain players and what my eyes were telling me as they gutted and gritted out an entertaining and impressive double overtime road win against the Detroit Pistons last night.

Things like the improved backcourt play, the ball movement, the team defense, the intelligent rotations and the depth of this squad stood out in stark relief to what’s transpired previously in the second post-LeBron era of Cavs basketball. Although, I suppose those trends began when JB Bickerstaff took over for an overmatched John Beilien for the final few games of the abbreviated 2019-20 campaign.

I didn’t see those games, or any of the games featuring Andre Drummond wearing wine & gold, but given what I know to be true about the big man, I could imagine essentially what that resembled. It probably looked a lot like last night, as the frustratingly paradoxical center showcased his often bafflingly polarized skills. The difference was in the energy, dependability and resiliency of his supporting cast.

At the risk of giving the appearance that I’m ignoring the contributions of the other eight guys who shared the floor with Dre, I’d like to focus on him for a minute… especially given that this was an early in the season revenge game return to the building of the team that drafted him. Drummond got to come back and bang on his few remaining former teammates (there are only four… Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Svi Mykhailiuk and Sekou Doumbouya)… and they got to experience the other side of the hack-a-Dre strategy (which surprisingly backfired ultimately).

But, there’s one thing that separates Drummond from some of the other elite men to man the middle in the NBA… actually two things… his right hand, and his left one. The really weird part is the incongruousness of said hands depending upon which side of the floor they happen to be residing at the moment. There is no tangible explanation for why Drummond’s hands are so good defensively… yet so poor offensively. Much like a drum (well, of the snare variety anyway)… one side can make a lot of noise… and the other is just an open hole.

This disparity was on full display last night, as Dre got his fickle mitts all over the ball on defense… snaring a game high four steals (including two game changers towards the end)… swatting three blocks officially (though I counted at least five)… and snatching a game high 16 boards. Yet, his brutal shooting start (1-9 in the first half) led to a ridiculously inefficient final line (7-21). Granted, he seemed amped to face his former team early on… but, his absurd lack of touch around the rim was enigmatic to say the least.

Ironically, it was his former achilles heel (er… wrist?) that helped the Cavs close the gap in the fourth quarter, however, as Dre calmly drained 5-6 free throws in the final two and a half minutes (including his last four in a row to force the overtime). Like I said… a riddle wrapped in an enigma.

But, I digress… since this game was anything but a Drum(mond) solo. The Cavs got the whole band jamming, with contributions from nearly every member.

The starting back court has made quite a bit of noise through (admittedly) two games so far. It was a second straight strong showing for Sexland, as Collin Sexton got off to a blistering shooting start (7-8 in the first half)… while Darius Garland looked very much unlike the player I remembered from last year, dishing out sweet no-look treats like a Pez dispenser (a career high dozen dimes). After combining for 49 points against the Hornets on Wednesday, the diminutive duo racked up a total of 55 against the Pistons on 24-37 shooting (5-6 from deep). For the most part, they looked comfortable and smooth taking turns running the offense, and showed an increased attention to defense. Garland, in particular, seemed to slide through screens with relative ease, while Sexton wreaked havoc on poor Derrick Rose late in the game with two timely steals.

Cedi Osman was also in rhythm coming off the bench to supply some much needed firepower. The Jedi has seemingly embraced his role, and his shot looks extremely pure right now (7-12 and 4-6 from downtown). Likewise, JaVale McGee and Dante Exum provided sparks when called on with the second unit. JaVale had an extremely busy 14 minutes… somehow using ALL of his allotted fouls (to be fair, at least two of them were spent covering for blown Sexton coverages), and racking up 11 points, including the sixth triple of his storied career. Exum brought much needed order to the end of the first quarter after the Cavs had thrown the ball away half a dozen times, allowing them to claw back to even. Then, his passing and long-armed defense helped build a decent lead in the second.

On the flip side, it was a cold shooting night for the Ice man, as rookie Isaac Okoro got blanked (0-4, 0-3 from beyond the arc)… and ditto for Junior Nance (0-3, 0-2 from deep). But, both were integral to the overall defensive scheme that contributed to 13 steals and 22 turnovers for Detroit. There was one sequence Okoro had late in the game where he chased Piston high-scorer Jerami Grant off the three point line, then hounded him to the baseline and forced a shot clock violation. In the pre-season, Ike got burned on a similar play… but clearly made the adjustment on this occasion. It’s this type of defensive play and awareness that should get Cavs fans very excited about this kid.

Oh yeah… and Kevin Love was back! KLove had about the quietest 15/9 line you can imagine in 38 minutes, and his calf is probably still on the mend (I’d say it’s a solid bet against him playing in the back-to-back tonight vs. Philly). Yet, it was good to see him out there hitting crucial threes and using his slo-mo, three point pump fake to fill more tailpipes with bananas. With proper usage and rest, Kev could be the luxury item on this team that spells the difference between the lottery and a fringe playoff contender.

Color me at least a little surprised to not see Coach Bickerstaff work Thon Maker and Dameyan Dotson into a game that featured two extra periods with McGee fouling out and Sexton in a bit of foul trouble. Aside from that, and the ongoing inbound play struggles late in the game, I’ve nary a bone to pick with JB (well aside from coughing up leads in successive third quarters). Congrats coach on having a winning record with your new team (7-6 since he took over last year)! It’s awesome to see these young guys buying into both the ball-movement offense and overall defensive schemes.

On the Piston side of things… watching Derrick Rose taketh and giveth away in the fourth quarter and overtime periods made me shudder a bit at the memories of his time as a Cav. Also, Blake Griffin should probably legally change his name to Blak3… since his total abandonment of any type of dribble drive game is painfully obvious.

Play of the Night… (Ice’s defensive gem notwithstanding)

🌉 JaVale coast-to-coast 🗽#KiaTipOff20 on NBA LP pic.twitter.com/jnv1MqPVD9

— NBA (@NBA) December 27, 2020

It’s a quick turnaround for the Cavs, as they take on the Sixers tonight at home. Though the Hornets and Pistons are both re-building teams to a degree, Philly should pose a much stronger early season litmus test for Cleveland. Tune in tonight at 7:30pm on Fox Sports Ohio to catch all the action, and see how the beat goes on for Drummond against an elite big man in Joel Embiid.

Until then… GO CAVS!