Recap: Cavs 103, Hornets 90
2021-04-15The Cleveland Cavaliers earned a nice road win against a playoff team tonight, beating the Charlotte Hornets 103-90. It was a fun watch, with the offense turning in an efficient performance: 27 assists, shooting 48.7% FG, and a scorching hot 41.9% from three on 31 attempts. Some fantastic defense was also on display, with the Cavs holding the Hornets to 40.5% FG shooting, and winning the rebound battle 47-38. Here are my key takeaways from the game:
1. Co-MVPs: Taurean Prince and Kevin Love.
WOW, what a performance from Prince. 25 points, 9-13 FG shooting, 6-8 from three, and a team-high +15 plus/minus. Shot the ball with confidence, hitting big shot after big shot to close this game out. He wasn’t too shabby with the pass (three assists) or defense (a block and steal) either! Prince authored one of the best plays of the night on this block and run out slam!
Love was vintage, turning in a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) with four assists in only 27 minutes of action with zero turnovers. He lead all starters with a +9 plus/minus, and his impact on offense appeared to create many open looks. Down the stretch, the Hornets switched the P/R and Kev posted at the elbow, backed the little guys into the low block and partied like it was 2014. This game could be a spring board for Love the rest of the season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liEWpxgHRqk
2. Defensive MVPs: Larry Nance, Jr. and Isaiah “Hard Rock” Hartenstein.
Nance played his first game in a long awhile and was pretty rusty offensively (1-7), passing up wide open looks and turning the ball over. But that didn’t stop him from impacting the game defensively with four steals(!!!) in only 20 minutes.
Hartenstein was also a defensive terror off the bench, with three blocks and a steal in only 13 minutes (plus three fouls and four turnovers). Having two guys like Nance and Hartenstein who can come off the bench and lock down defensively was amazing to watch. Hart is a perfect bench center who can get in, mix it up, not have to worry about fouling, and just bring the energy. Nance used to be that guy but has slowly morphed into an athletic vet that can play three positions. Bonus: I just learned that Hartenstein is German for “Hard Rock”…. kudos to Charlotte PBP man and Cleveland native Eric Collins for that bit of info!
3. How did the kids look?
Darius Garland had a low key great game, with 17 points on 7-13 FG shooting, 3-7 from three, seven assists and only three turnovers. He also threw in four rebounds, and a steal and block for good measure. Garland came out strong in the first half, had a bit of a shaky third quarter, but rebounded strongly in the fourth quarter leading the guys to the win. Garland’s chemistry with Jarrett Allen and just Garland’s passing in general generated so much good offense.
Isaac Okoro had another solid game at the starting shooting guard position, and while he didn’t shoot it well, he delivered an important five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. He also had several really tight contests on perimeter Js to disrupt Charlotte’s relentless long range attack. I absolutely love Okoro’s unselfishness as a player. He does the dirty work, and he doesn’t care about his own numbers, only team success.
Dean Wade also delivered a lunch pail game starting at the small forward position for the second game in a row, with eight rebounds, two assists, and a couple of big time threes. The added length and size on the floor Okoro and Wade presented by moving down a position really helped win the rebounding battle in my opinion, and defensive rebounding has been a consistent problem this season for the Cavs.
4.The defense was “good enough.”
Cleveland held the Hornets to 36% from three (16-44!) and 40% from the the field and won the rebounding battle 47-38. With real centers starting and backing them up, Love and Nance are not forced to play “up,” and the board dominance can ensue. We saw a lot of Wade at the three because of it. The Cavs racked up seven blocks and nine steals.
5. This was a total team win.
Not one player had a negative plus/minus in this game. The team felt connected offensively and defensively. Hopefully they ride the wave into a tough game tomorrow night against the Golden State Warriors. Go Cavs!!!
updated EPM:
#57 Allen +2.2
#125 LNJ +0.7
#143 Hartenstein +0.4
#188 KLOVE -0.4
#227 Sexton -1.0
#234 Wade -1.1
#284 Cedi -1.8
#290 Garland -1.8
#294 Prince -1.9
#347 Stevens -2.8
#348 Dotson -2.9
#358 Okoro -3.0
#397 Thomas -3.7
#403 Windler -3.8
#424 Kabengele -4.5
#438 Delly -4.9
Cavs offense without Love- 105.4 ortg, 13th percentile. With Love 111.8, 49th percentile. One solid offensive player makes such a difference, and he barely has time with Allen with whom he should be a nice fit. I was happy to see Bickerstaff run the correct style of lineup out there while missing Sexton. Allen/Wade/Love gave them decent size and a lot of spacing, and Hartenstein/Nance is a better pairing off the bench. Hartenstein managed to foul only once, holding his fouls per 100 down at 7.2. To be an NBA contributor (averaging 24+ mpg) you basically need to keep your… Read more »
I suspect Prince will be gone if not the off-season, then next season before the deadline. Would rather Osman but he has two years left and I dunno who is going to trade for him at this point.
The offseason could go any of 100 ways. If Love stays healthy for the last 20 games and the Cavs make the play in tourney they I think they actually get significant interest in him again. He would basically fix most of Boston’s issues if they could get him. Otherwise either Cedi or Prince isn’t going to be here long term, and possibly both. If they end up drafting a wing then that might push both out, but if not they could use at least one. They need a 3rd/4th guard, I would be fine with them going with Okoro/Sexton/Garland/Delly… Read more »
would rather relieve both of them as they arent moving the needle much…sure Prince had great game last night but i cant recall another good game he had with us prior. Cedi is just a bland player who none of us would know if he didnt play for Cavs…Cavs can easily find someone better than him either via draft or free agency.
nice win against a crap team the Cavs should beat…Warriors are next and Cavs got crushed by them last time so will see if there is redemption…end of this month will be key for the team…lot of winnable games and May is going to be difficult…so it will be very interesting to see which team shows up the last 6 weeks.
“DOG BREAKFAST ” LOVE IT SIMMO ——-MY DOG DIDN’T TAKE TO KIND TO IT THOUGH —–WILL THINK TWICE NOW ABOUT –“KISSING THE DOG …..PETTING THE WIFE “——CAN STILL LIVE WITH “PETTING THE WIFE ” :-)
YES GREAT JOB “LMFAO ” —–TRULY APPRECIATE—-HOPE YOU ARE A REGULAR RECAP GUY ——–“HARD ROCK ” HAS TO BE HARTS NICKNAME RIGHT ?—-HE IS SUPER AGGRESSIVE —WHICH PROBABLY DOES LEAD TO SOME UNECESSARY FOULS –BUT I CAN LIVE WITH IT ——-YOU CAN DEFINETELY SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE OFFENSE WITH LOVE// DELLY IN THERE AND “SANS ‘ SEXTON —-REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THIS —-IF SEXTON IS REALLY A TEAM PLAYER HE WILL READILY ACCEPT HIS “6TH ” MAN ROLE——CATCH YOU GUYS TONIGHT
Given a significant % of the fanbase think Sexton is a legit all-star, I doubt he’s accepting a 6th man role easily.
Who thinks that? Twitter people? He is an above average volume scorer that has improved a ton since he was a rookie. Beyond that he doesn’t do much else and is bad on defense though he has become a better playmaker. I suppose that could still trend up towards good secondary playmaker levels, 5 or more assists per game. 25% Ast % (20.8 now). But doubt he will ever be a good defender or acceptable rebounder to pair with Garland, or vice versa. Just doubt cavs would do that. Would likely be an uncomfortable look for Koby considering how much… Read more »
Sexton is a fine pick, but he has limitations that the Cavs couldn’t (and shouldn’t have tried to) address through roster construction. He will look best next to a big bodied, pass first PG and there are a few of those in the league. He is notably better across the board this year- higher TS, higher FTr, higher steal rate, his TO rate is barely lower but that misses his improved passing. He has the same number of TOs per 100 but with 1.4 more assists and 3 more points per 100. Offensively his big questions are where does his… Read more »
Yeah I wouldn’t just trade him for nothing. Dunno how great a trade you would get. I also would be hesitant to sign him on a max though.
He is at roughly the same point offensively as Lavine and Beal were at similar ages/experiences. If the Cavs shopped him they would pull in multiple (outside the top 14) first round picks or maybe one top 10 pick if a team who happened to be there liked him. However that just doesn’t do anything for the Cavs rebuild, even without Sexton they have young/long term pieces at C/PG/Wing, then this years likely top 10 pick and young projects in Windler/Hartenstein/Wade/Stevens. That is 8 roster spots already, and Nance/Love aren’t likely to go anywhere and they have demonstrated this year… Read more »
Anyway- as long as they don’t pull that bullshit obviously terrible move that Chicago just did. I was flabbergasted when people said that that Vuce trade was good.
I did. I don’t know what’s going on there.
His defense has fallen off a cliff this year, Chicago’s DRTg with him on the court is >120 (Orlando was 113.5 with him on) and they have no 2 way players. With Lavine’s defensive limitations they are asking to much of their wings/PFs to cover these major holes. Satoransky and Young are solid defenders, not cover up for 2 major holes- and then the rest of the rotation have major defensive issues (Lauri/White/Williams). Basically they can either try to run a spread offense with Lavine/Lauri/Vuce and punt defense or try to go halfsies and go with 3 weak offensive players… Read more »
He is not Levine and Beal.
I’ve seen a lot of Cavs fans with that kind of thinking. PPG speaks loudly to many people.
I’ll say his improvement over his rookie year to now on offense is the only thing giving me pause on trading him. I would trade him if we actually got a decent piece or pick back. Not sure we would though. If he was willing to sign for about 15- 19 million a year I would be alright for that number at his age with his current improvement curve. But I doubt he would sign for that. Improvement has been incremental from last year to this year. But his passing is statistically better, not by a ton, but it is.… Read more »
I would keep Garland, too, because it’s much easier to see his fit on a good team. I said it when he was drafted, and I say it now: Sexton would make a lot more sense if he were 6’4″. He’s a ‘good’ player, probably not someone you want to pay $20 mill a year.
You are underselling Sexton’s improvements- his FTr is 50% higher than his rookie season, and that is the most valuable trait for a scoring guard, and he is doing that on higher usage and more mins with the same TO rate. His FT shooting is very solid which makes this rate even more important, if he kicks it up one more time next year he will be right on the edge of elite scoring. After that he has a relatively easy path to getting to elite scoring by increasing his 3pt attempt rate and he could be a 27+ ppg… Read more »
Yeah I mean the elite scoring potential is why I would keep him. The other stuff, rebounding and defense (with Garland) is why I might be open to a trade depending on how much he wants or gets in RFA. For a guy like that with what will always likely be deficiencies in defense and boarding in a smaller lineup you’d want him to be around a 60% TS, 5 ast guy to offset. Or you get rid of Garland (who I agree with Mike probably fits better with most lineups), but like I said unless the Cavs get a… Read more »
I’d be OK with a trade, but I think you need to keep him until his scoring ceiling is established and he is locked into a contract. Then you have multiple years to make the right trade. The defense and rebounding is going to be an issue with Okoro and Garland, one of those three has to go long term (but still there is time) or you need to move Allen for a much better defensive center (which isn’t likely). Garland/Sexton would be fine if you could land a 3/4 like Jonathan Issac, and then your Allen/Nance/Issac FC is more… Read more »
Great stuff….Chris! (Feels wierd calling you that). Working my way thru replay, the things I’m noticing: DG is starting to break down defenses with his dribble early, leading to relatively easy layups. Dare I compare to Irving? Maybe. Previously has relied on mid-range Sexton-style shots, floaters or difficult contested layups with english. His ceiling is so much higher than Sexton’s. This is leading to tension in the fanbase since Sexton’s lead scoring is understandably distracting. Prince has played some godawful games that I’ve seen this year. If part of the reason for these has been lingering injuries, I’m stoked. He… Read more »
Is there real tension in the fanbase as it relates to Sexton vs. Garland. Anyone who knows anything about basketball would say that Garland has by far the higher upside of the two, right? To your point, the Cavs need to pump up Sextons trade value and then send him to a dumb team, like the Kings.
I agree with your proposal, and would wish the Kings the best.
The tension is real from what I see on multiple platforms – its mostly comes down to Sexton’s potential – ie, he’s at 25/5 per game at this age, obviously he’s going to be a superstar right? Neglecting to digest the dimensions of (or lack thereof) Sexton’s game itself & the team he has been playing with while generating these numbers.
There’s plenty of fans who think DG should be traded because he doesn’t score like Sexton. Your point about understanding basketball is applicable here.
agree with both of you LMFAOO
I really don’t have the confidence in Koby to make the right choices if they’re leaking not re-signing DG, granted I don’t know who’s Amico’s source(s).
Thanks Simmo… as Bacon(?) said, the ceiling is so high for Garland. Bickerstaff nailed the question about Garland with a funny quote, said Garland needs to find his “nastiness” on a consistent basis.