Recap: Cavs 116, Wizards 101 (or, Darius the Great)
2021-12-04Tonight the Cleveland Cavaliers served another basketball clinic this time in the nation’s capital, with an emphatic 116-101 victory over the Washington Wizards. The Cavs dominated the game from the second quarter on by being the most unselfish and most competitive team on the floor tonight, outrebounding the Wizards 54-33 and outassisting them 30-21. The Cavs completed a historic road trip with a 3-0 record against three opponents with over .500 records, which hadn’t been accomplished since 1975! Let’s dive in on the game’s takeaways…
1. Darius the Great’s masterpiece
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qfaP8SQsvo
This was perhaps Darius Garland’s greatest performance as a Cavalier, putting up a 32 points, 10 assists double double and eight rebounds and a steal to boot. He led all Cavs in net rating for the game with an astounding +38.7 in 34 minutes on the court. He’s starting to learn how to control the game, when to pass, when to score, where the mismatches are… Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he’s starting to play “the game within the game.” Darius Garland is literally breaking out before everyone’s eyes, enjoy how beautiful it is.
2. Jarrett Allen entering the All-NBA conversation?
Allen punctuated his recent tear by dropping a 28 points, 13 rebounds double double along with three stocks and a +22.6 net rating. He terrorized the Wizards in the pick and roll and completely dominated his matchup against one of the better front courts in the NBA, with Daniel Gafford and Montrezl Harrell. JA will get another chance to establish himself in the national conversation of best centers in the NBA by going against Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz Sunday afternoon, that will be must watch TV!
3. NBA Champion Kevin Love Sixth Man of the Year campaign starts now
KLOVE is becoming a fantastic offensive weapon off the bench with 13 points, nine rebounds (four offensive rebounds), two assists, and +9.1 net rating. In 93 minutes this season, Evan Mobley and Kevin Love are a +12.90 net rating on the court together. One of the biggest pleasures this season has been to see a reinvigorated, joyful Kevin Love in a Cavs uniform balling out and winning with the “kids.” No one can question the type of leadership Love has provided this season, sacrificing minutes and touches for the betterment of the team. Having competitors such as Love that just want to win has the team believing they can compete with any team in the NBA.
4. Evan Mobley’s shot not falling? No problem
Even though Mobley didn’t have the shot falling, he found other ways to impact the game because he’s the consummate team player and winner. Three blocks, four assists, seven rebounds, and a +23.0 net rating… that’s winning basketball. The maturity and mental toughness this young man has is special.
5. “These guys aren’t satisfied”
This was the quote from Coach J.B. Bickerstaff regarding the mood currently in the locker room. It’s the perfect response to the early season success the Cavs have had to start the year. They could easily be satisfied with being a .500 team, but they understand the moment and are seizing the opportunity. Currently, the Cavs are a top eight team in the NBA in point differential, yet they’re ranked the seventh youngest team in the NBA. So not only are the Cavs on the cusp of the elite teams in the NBA, they’re plenty of room for internal growth on the roster.
6. Quick note on the Wizards
What a disasterclass for the Wizards… the Wizards’ starters collectively got their asses handed to them. CtB’s own Evil Genius has decreed them fraudulent and it’s hard to disagree after that kind of performance. In spite of a winning record, the Wizards now have a negative point differential. If there’s a team due for a regression, it’s the Wizards. The lone bright spot was some of their bench, specifically Deni Avdija and Davis Bertans. The Wizards seem doomed to the treadmill of mediocrity, which begs the question: do they blow it up?
7. Next up, a brutal stretch
The Cavs will embark on a five games in seven days stretch, including the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks, and Central Division rival Chicago Bulls. If the Cavs can pull off a 2-3 record this week, reasonable minds would consider that a win. But, when asked if the Cavs dream J.B. laughed and replied, “Yes, we do let our guys dream…”
live thread up!
Matinee today! Let’s hope the early tip screws with the Jazz.
better, let’s just beat ’em straight up!
Exciting run for the Cavs coming up.
We have shown that we can surely beat (soundly in some cases) other middle of the pack teams, even while missing Sexton & Cedi (and others).
The shirthanded Cavs shiwed they could hang with the elite teams (Nets, Dubs, Suns) for 3/3.5 quarters, but could not hold the lead late.
Now we get a shot at 3 more legit contenders. Jazz, Bucks, Bulls. Let’s see where we are.
Eight guys in double figures is amazing balance. And it really is legit because the guys getting mist if Sexton’s minutes with him out (Okoro, Stevens) are not among them.
I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that no other NBA team has eight. Seven is a longshot.
Double figure scorers:
8: Cavs
7: Hawks, Spurs
6: Jazz, Bucks, Cha, 76ers, Lakers, Knicks, Hou, Magic,
5: Phx, Brk, Wiz, Mia, Mem, Bos, LAC, Por, Ind, Sac, Pels,
4: Bulls, Mavs, Nuggets, Wolves, Pistons
3: Warriors, OKC,
Side by side comp
Thunder Dan with the deep dark tan!
And baby Jordan!
In terms of teamwork and balance they remind me of the 1996 Cavs. Terrell Brandon was the best offensive player as he came into his own the way Garland looks right now. But it was a team effort without any one player having super high usage. The rest of the team was solid, especially defensively. They finished 11th in Defense and a net positive point differential. Both teams can be characterized by grit and unselfish play, and some notable limitations: The ’96 Cavs team was supremely undersized, especially for that time. Our current squad lacks enough shooting for the modern… Read more »
Ever since I realized we had 2nd round picks from Houston & San Antonio coming next year, the Rockets have won 5 in a row, and the Spurs three.
SA up 2 at GSW 1 min left
Spot on.So great to watch this team grow in front of your eyes.It’s hard to believe the difference this season.It’s almost Bizzaro World,George Costanza (do the opposite) from the last few yrs. stuff….I think K Love just needed something to grab onto, and he’s killing it.
Last non-LeBron winning Cavs season?
1997-1998. The last of 7 straight winning seasons starting in 1991-1992. That is the longest streak of winning seasons in franchise history. We had winning seasons 3 of the 4 prior, for a tidy 10 out of 11.
Starters in ’97-’98? Brevin Knight, Wesley Person, Cedric Henderson, Shaun Kemp, Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Key reserves: Derek Anderson, Bob Sura, Danny Ferry, Vitaly Potapenko. Scott Brooks also on that roster.
So much winning.
Shump won Dancing with the Stars!
Cedi for MIP!!!!
Small sample size alert! But hard to see this stuff as anything but promising: 3 man lineups: DG, EM, JA: 287 min, +9.9. RR, EM, JA: 168 min, +6.8 LM, EM, JA: 221 min, +6.6 IO, EM, JA: 130 min, +13.9 Mobley & Allen works well with DG or Rubio at the point. Works with Big Finnish. Works with Ice. DG, RR, JA: 169 min, +22.9 DG, RR, EM: 188 min, +15.6 Darius & Rickey work together with JA or EM as the defensive anchor. DG, LM, JA: 236 min, +11.0 DG, LM, EM: 213 min, +8.6 RR, LM, JA:… Read more »
I don’t think Sexton being out is great for the Cavs (one more guard injury, and they have big problems), but Garland running the show is the best thing for DG. He’s really showing what kind of player he’ll be.
My two biggest (pleasant) surprises so far: Mobley playing like a borderline All Star from the opening gate, and DG and Rubio playing together like basketball savant twins.
First quarter of the season the Cavs are in the top three ‘fun’ teams in the NBA.
The real “what if” is whether they would’ve benched Sexton for Rubio because it’s clear Rubio’s a better running mate for Garland than Sexton.
I think JB was showing visible, public signs of frustration with Colin prior to his injury. Feel like it was on the cards, but would have cost JB some political capital?
Allen and Garland scored 60 points on 34 shots. woof
Believe that’s what they call “efficient” LMFAOOOOOO
Kyrie took 32 and 36 shots to score 57 and 55. Pretty amazing considering allen’s zero 3 pointers.
Nice recap! Nice win! Nice streak!
Too bad we embark on yet another tough stretch of schedule. Yikes.
Maybe it was me but I got Garland/Heat highlights on that first clip.
Thanks Jason for letting me know! You were right, ESPN screwed up.
If everybody refreshes, the proper highlights should show up, let me know if it’s still screwed up!
DITTO WHAT EVIL POSTED –( HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US MORE OFTEN )—-AND HEY WE HAD CEDI AND WADE OUT // SOME PEOPLE MIGHT NOT THINK THAT AS A BIG DEAL BUT IT IS MORE MIN’S// FIREPOWER THAT CAN BE UTILIZED// DISTIBUTED AND YES LET’S NOT FORGET OUR TOP SCORER (SEXTON ) FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS IS OUT FOR THE SEASON —-REALLY BELIEVE CAVS ARE BUILDING SOMETHING SPWECIAL HERE —–” ALL GRIT—NO QUIT ” LET’S GET THOSE SHIRTS MADE !!
“AG-NQ” shirts!
100% NOMAD!
Awesome cap, well done Chris.
This exchange caught my attention:
Thank you Simmo as always!
IDK what those guys mean, sounds like Sexton cope though LMFAOOO
Great cap CLF! So much fun watching this team grow up so quickly… and to be around for once to hang out here and see a dominating win over another EC hopeful. Love how confident without being cocky this team is. They’ve acquitted themselves extremely well given the brutal early schedule and injury woes. Basketball is exciting in Cleveland… and it’s revelatory that it’s a true team that’s pulling it off, and not on the shoulders of one home grown supernova. Probably the best genuine team ball glee since the days of Daugherty, Price, Nance et al. Hope to join… Read more »
Thank you EG!
You called the shot at the beginning of the road trip and the Cavs delivered, the EG bump is real!!!
100% agree re: team ball, I believe there are 7 Cavs in double digit PPG, very rare possibly unprecedented IIRC.
GO CAVS! Don’t work too hard EG!!!