Recap: Cleveland 113, Charlotte 110 (or, the Jarrett Allen Game)

Hello CtB!

The Cavs pulled off a thrilling road win against the playoff hopeful Charlotte Hornets 113-110, which in retrospect didn’t have to be so thrilling. The Cavs came out with one of their best quarters of basketball this season outscoring the Hornets 40-21. They proceeded to ride the coattails of that lead nearly to their peril, until the Cavs were able to pull off some key buckets and stops on the way to the three point win, getting contributions from Lauri Markkanen, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley in the last five minutes of the game. Last night’s takeaways…

1. Game MVP Jarrett Allen

Allen had himself a super star game, with a team high 24 points, 16 rebounds, four stocks, two assists, and led all starters with a net rating of +14.9 in 35 minutes. What’s funny is that his super star game was built on simply doing what he does best: finishing at the rim, crashing the boards, and bringing energy defensively. What really shined about his performance is that he just led the team with good old fashioned effort. The key moving forward is bringing that effort on a more consistent basis, because when he does, he’s one of the best centers in the game.

2. Honorable Mention: Ricky Rubio

Rubio had a game he’s truly known for: a game that can only be measured by impact stats. He led the entire team in net rating with a +35.2. But did he shoot it well? No, he went 1-7 from the field and scored only five points. But the beauty of Rubio’s game is that he can make an impact with his passing (eight assists) and defense (three stocks in only 25 minutes). Without Rubio’s calmness under pressure, the Cavs would’ve lost this game.

3. What happened Darius?

DG started off the game perfectly, helping to build the 19 point lead with his passing and shooting. But DG nearly lost them the game with the worst net rating among starters (-12.3). What happened after the first quarter? Well, DG didn’t have his three ball tonight (1-6 shooting from three) and lost confidence in his shot, which led to terrible turnovers due to over-passing. His first two turnovers he turned down wide open shots he was simply unwilling to take. He lacked the ability to focus on the next play, instead dwelling on the last play.

This is why there’s a constant message to Darius from Coach J.B. Bickerstaff to “be aggressive”. DG is at his best when he’s scoring using his perfectly formed jumper. He should trust it unconditionally and unfortunately it’s not the case more often than not. He needs to start popping the midrange pull up in rhythm to create space for him to score at the rim. He’s shown that ability so there should be an expectation this gets corrected. But credit to DG for making plays down the stretch in the clutch with the assist to Mobley and canning his free throws.

4. Cavs surpass the wildest of expectations.

The Cavs ended up with 3-2 record out of this brutal road trip. Personally, the expectation was that they could compete in one game, against Charlotte. But they have shown tremendous improvement and growth since the start of the season, and there’s still an insane amount of improvement potential for the rest of the season. J.B. Bickerstaff himself has said that he’s reset expectations of the players as they achieve and meet their goals as they proceed through the year. So what is the expectation now? Well, if the season ended today, the Cavs would be a play-in team. Obviously it’s early, but last night’s game was a game that the Cavs would’ve normally lost in the post-LeBron era. So stay tuned, and talk soon… GO CAVS!