Recap: Dallas 110, Cleveland 90 (or, Rim Checks)

Lot of doom and gloom in Cavsland. Cleveland lost their ninth straight and the 13th of the last 14, Friday night. The Mavs were totally dominant from the tip, and could’ve won this by 40 if they’d really wanted to. Luka Doncic had a pretty typical game with 24 points, eight rebounds, and only one assist. It would’ve seemed like containment, but he only needed 23 minutes to do it in a game where the Cavs trailed by as much as 29. Also torching Cleveland were Josh Richardson and Tim Hardaway Jr. who combined for 38.

The Mavs didn’t run anything spectacular aside from their always well executed multi-screen sets, but the Mavs got to the basket, the line, and the arc with relative regularity, and won the turnover battle 14-7. Brodric Thomas had a particularly rough night off the bench for the Cavs, as he seemed to be responsible for all of Doncic’s seven free throw attempts and was routinely rooked by the officials. He got the benefit of the doubt on no borderline calls, but Dallas punishes a switching offense by getting Luka into advantageous isolations and exploiting them.

Extremely loud. Even louder because of the mic on the rim here in Dallas. https://t.co/DETiXWrQWr

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) May 8, 2021

This game was all about a brutal first half which tested the structural integrity of the Dallas rims as Cleveland clanked open shot after open shot (2-18 from deep). Cedi Osman was visibly frustrated throughout the first half as he went 4-12 with three turnovers as a starting guard. Damyean Dotson offered literally no relief off the bench with an 0-5 half. That Isaac Okoro led Cleveland starters in field goal percentage with a 3-8 half tells you how rough it was.

Indeed, Okoro was one of the bright spots this game with a 15/5/1 line in 35 minutes on 6-11 from the field. He drove well, and shot open threes. Cedi also improved when the pressure was off in the final 24, routinely making sharp passes and drives to finish with a 22/5/7 line. Cleveland looked like a competent squad in the second half (with the Mavs on cruise control) shooting 47% from the field and 4-11 from deep.

The Cavs had a hard time getting the ball to Jarrett Allen, and with Cleveland shooting the way they were, why wouldn’t Dallas crowd the paint? Cleveland even got called for an offensive goal tend when an Osman oop to Allen got hung on the rim before Allen flushed it. Jarrett finished with just five but added 12 boards and a couple of steals, while leading the starters in plus/minus at just -9. Still, the fact that JA, Wade (a non-factor and an anemic -18), and Osman finished with just two personal fouls among the Cavs’ starting front court shows you how soft the Cavs D was playing.

The Cavs bench struggled too, with Hartenstein still not looking like his old energetic self after returning from a concussion and Dotson not scoring in the entire game. Honestly, if Dean Wade is going to play as soft as he did Friday, Mifiondu Kabengele ought to get some of his minutes. Kabengele played just three minutes of garbage time and scored a bucket. Jeremiah Martin also had an ok stretch in the first half, after he got subbed for a clearly struggling Dotson. Martin scored a confident elbow J and was never heard from again after that. Brodric Thomas struggled covering Luka Doncic, but did everything else ok, especially for a rookie free agent. But only scoring five points on three shots in 24 minutes isn’t enough. Thomas has to look for his shot and his team has to look for him too. He has a nice shooting stroke.

Meanwhile, Anderson Varejao continued his retirement tour, almost drawing a classic Andy flop charge, but our joy was diminished when his foot was in the circle, and it was ruled a block. It still makes me smile, though, to watch the old dude lumber around.

The best part of this game for Cleveland was Collin Sexton, who finished with a 27/4/4 line, and would’ve had more dimes if Cleveland could’ve hit the broad side of a barn. Sexton was strong – routinely pushing guys out of the way as he attacked the rack and got to the line where he went 9-11. He had a couple beautiful dimes, including a pair of touchdown passes to Cedi Osman. Sexton only Youngbulled his way into a couple frustrating no-pass or drive-into-three-guys possessions, but given the rest of the Cavs’ utter reticence to shoot or exercise any aggression, it was understandable. He still got lost off ball on D more than once, but only two turnovers given his usage was pretty good.

Defensively Cleveland at least competed for a lot of the game (even if they lacked the requisite physicality), and they kept it from being a massive blowout, even if they did look like Crash Davis just trying to finish out the season at times.  They play Dallas again in Cleveland on Sunday, so that should be fun. Until then, at least we have some good news…

wolves next two games are against orlando and detroit, so someone has got to win

— Ben Cox (@CoxSportsOhio) May 8, 2021