Recap: Cavs 94, Grizzlies 90 (or, The Brute Squad)

Q: What do you do when you’re down to your last healthy guard?

A: Call in The Brute Squad!

That’s exactly what the Cleveland Cavaliers did on this short-handed night in Memphis. They won the rock fight with the nearly equally truncated Grizzlies team. They out-gritted and out-grinded their Grindhouse hosts. They had to… because they had no other option, as their extensive list of injured claimed another casualty just before game time when Collin Sexton and his sore ankle couldn’t answer the bell. The final guard, or guards as the case may be, Damyean Dotson and Isaac Okoro were really wings or swingmen cos-playing as guards. There was no true point guard to bring the ball up the court or dish it out on the other side of the timeline. So, they did what any team down seven players, on the second night of a back-to-back, on the fifth game of a six game road trip would do… they let their bigs run the show.

At no point in this game did the Cavs have a single player under 6’5 on the court. It was like watching a forest of giants running, gunning, diving for loose balls and swatting others out of the hands of their opponents. They were everywhere, swarming the Grizzlies with their long arms and nimble feet. Yes, they threw up a lot of meme-worthy rocks (shooting under 40% in the first half), but they caught enough fire as the game wore on to stay within striking distance of Memphis before finally pounding them into submission.

The Brute Squad was, of course, led by Andre the giant… not the actual one (R.I.P.) but the one named Drummond. The big man notched his ninth double double of the season (if you’re counting at home… that’s every game so far) with a team-leading 22 points and 15 boards. He did so while dangerously flirting with a 50% shooting night, ultimately falling just a stone’s throw (pun emphatically intended) away at 9-20. The man who would be Fezzik alternated thundering dunks with mind-boggling forays into experimental shot selection…

Andre Drummond IN THE LAB

😅

pic.twitter.com/qksVr2c40m

— Backcourt Violation (@backcourtv) January 8, 2021

To which, I’m sure he would say…

But throwing rocks through the hoop isn’t everything… as Dre demonstrated with three dimes (including a sublime game winner — more on that later) and two steals, while affecting untold numbers of other shots with his giant frame.

He also wasn’t alone, as Larry Nance, Jr. bolstered the Brute Squad with a PERFECT night of shooting. Nance Junior (we might have to drop the Junior soon) couldn’t miss (7-7 and 4-4 from downtown) on a night when the Cavs really had no idea where their scoring would come from with their starting backcourt and leading scorer out. But that’s not all… LNJ also handled the ball for much of the night, stuffing the stat sheet with three boards, four dimes and three steals against just a pair of turnovers, all while logging a team best +13. After tonight, Larry leads the league in steals with 2.38 per game, and notched his 400th swipe of his career in the third quarter.

The third giant in the Brute Squad was three time NBA Champion JaVale McGee. No matter how inconceivable that sentence sounds… McGee has been a tremendously pleasant surprise boon to this team through nine games. In just 17 minutes, the energetic big man poured in 13 points (on 5-7 shooting), grabbed half a dozen boards and nabbed a steal and a block. He even hit his third triple of the season… tying his entire total from last year. McGee has been a net positive in many of the games he’s played, and this one was no exception as he wound up +10 in his limited minutes.

Cedi Osman had a quasi-redemptive night after his dismal showing the previous game against the Magic. The Jedi scored the Cavs’ first eight points of the game as his fingers were fiery early. However, he hit a real dry spell in the middle quarters, only to regain his touch when it really mattered late with a huge three to give the Cavs the lead for good. Overall, his shooting numbers weren’t spectacular (just 6-19, 4-11 from deep), but he did lots of other things well, notching five rebounds and a team high seven assists as he helped facilitate the offense throughout. His hustle defensively was also noticeable.

Filling in for Sexton, Damyean Dotson certainly aimed for a similar volume of shots as the Young Bull… though didn’t hit nearly the same success rate. Just 3-12 and 1-8 won’t typically get the job done for a shooting guard, yet his six dimes and three steals made up for a lot. Also, his defense, paired with Isaac Okoro in the backcourt, provided excellent length to close out on the Grizzly guards.

Speaking of the rookie… the Ice man put on a hustle clinic defensively. Okoro was everywhere in his 39 minutes. He did a little bit of everything, even though he scored just eight points on 3-9 shooting. Ike made his presence felt… especially in the closing minute. His chase down block of Tyus Jones made me wonder if he was hiding a 23 jersey under his 35…

Chase down artist 😁 https://t.co/SnO9OSlz50

— IsaacOkoro (@isaacokoro303) January 8, 2021

It was initially called a foul by Tony Brothers’ crew… but on the advice of his young chase down artist, JB Bickerstaff used his coach’s challenge, and the play was reversed. After the Cavs won the ensuing tip… Andre the giant rewarded Okoro with a beautiful pass on a back cut, and the rookie elevated to slam home an improbable wine & gold victory…

ISAAC OKORO!!!!#BETHEFIGHT pic.twitter.com/GrKJ9Vr8h5

— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) January 8, 2021

This was ultimately an incredibly (and quite frankly unexpectedly) entertaining game from the Cavs. As short handed as they were, it would have been forgivable and even somewhat excusable for them to phone this one in on the second night of a back-to-back. But they didn’t. They did the thing that Memphis has typically done to them in the past… grind, grind, grit and grind some more. As Nate said on our CtB email chain…

“So remember when a horrible Memphis team with a bunch of guys off the waiver wire beat the Cavs in 2017? This felt like that.”

Yeah, it did feel like that. The Brute Squad showed up big (metaphorically and literally). They won the rock fight by throwing rocks like uncivilized people and grinding down the Grizzlies in the Grindhouse with an effort that would have even made the Grindfather, Tony Allen, proud.

Next up, the Cavs finish off their longest road trip of the year with a last stop in Milwaukee to face Giannis and the Bucks. But, at worst they finish .500 for the trip and the season thus far. Not bad for a team missing 80% of its starting lineup.

Highlight of the Night

Honestly, on a normal evening in January, it would have been really difficult to beat the Iceman Cometh CDB to save the game for the good guys. However, the best moment of the night highlighted why the NBA is still the gold standard in professional sports for encouraging their players to express themselves through an incredible platform for social justice in this country…

United. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/WnmIpwaV3I

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 8, 2021

Until next time… GO CAVS!