Recap: Mavs 124, Cavs 97

Last night the Cleveland Cavaliers failed to take advantage of a Luka Dončić-less Dallas Mavericks team in the second half as they were ran out of the gym 124-97. The biggest news of the night was Dončić committing a flagrant two foul in retaliation of some physical play by Collin Sexton. Instead of folding, the Mavs decided to rally around their teammate and beat the crap out of the Cavs with a 30-15 run that put the game away. Let’s dive right into last night’s takeaways…

Game Ball: Collin Sexton

The biggest positive of the night was Sexton’s passing (23.3 assist ratio) as he was able to dish out seven assists to only two turnovers. He also was able draw the flagrant that got Luka kicked out of the game. Beyond that, Sexton delivered his usual non-existent defense (zero stocks) and sub-optimal shot selection (54.3% TS). Watching Sexton throw up midranger after midranger just isn’t fun to watch, so all apologies for the ornery attitude from yours truly.

Honorable Mentions: Mfiondu Kabengele and Brodric Thomas

The truly two bright spots in the game were the scoring of Kabengele and Thomas, who combined for 27 points off the bench on some fantastic efficiency (Kabengele 79.9% TS, Thomas 83.8% TS). Kabengele was also active on the boards, chipping in two offensive rebounds, while Thomas showed off some defensive chops with two blocks.

Quick Notes on the Mavericks

The Rick Carlisle coached Dallas Mavericks put on a clinic of winning team basketball, outassisting the Cavs 33-18 and outrebounding the Cavs 42-38. Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Mavs with 25 points on only 13 shots, 11 of them three pointers. Backup center Dwight Powell delivered a team MVP type of performance with 12 points, nine rebounds, five stocks, four assists, and a team high +28 plus/minus in only 27 minutes. It’s heartwarming to see him bounce back from a devastating ruptured Achilles tendon injury to play some great ball. Jalen Brunson was clearly the best guard on the court last night turning in a masterful performance with 13 points on perfect shooting, seven assists, two steals, and a +26 plus/minus in only 19 minutes on the court. The Mavs are clearly one of the hotter teams (8-2 record last 10 games) going into the playoffs.

CLF Soap Box

While some fans say there’s nothing to glean from these games, one can’t help but notice some disturbing patterns from the Cavs as the season winds down to a close. First off, Kevin Love’s defense is a joke. Love’s defensive EPM (-2.2 def. EPM, ranks in the seventh percentile in the NBA) is worse than Collin Sexton’s, which is nearly impossible to accomplish. Jarrett Allen completely checked out last night with zero stocks, only five points, five rebounds, and an embarrassing 1-4 from the free throw line. Isaac Okoro had an embarrassing one rebound and one assist in 32 minutes of play. NBA reporter Sam Amico alleges that 88% of the Cavs want to get out of Cleveland and the 10 game losing streak seems to corroborate the report. Coach JB Bickerstaff runs one of the most incompetent offensive schemes in the NBA.

Obviously the rebuttal to these critiques is that the Cavs are openly tanking. But Cade Cunningham’s presence isn’t going to magically fix everything that’s wrong with the team. Koby Altman and JB Bickerstaff have their work cut out for them this offseason, and there’s very little evidence that suggests they’re actually cut out for the job. So go ahead and dismiss this abysmal play at your own peril because the Cavs’ record shows a team that hasn’t improved one bit from last year should they lose out:

2019-20 Cleveland Cavaliers winning percentage: .292

2020-21 Cleveland Cavaliers winning percentage if they lose out: .292

Okay, that’s enough… just had to get it out of my system. But I do believe there’s some justification in saying these things as one who’s watched nearly every game this year and has watched this team progressively get worse as the year went on. Thankfully, only four more games to go.