Recap: Cavs 111, Jazz 91 (or, Take the DawgPill)
2022-01-13The Cavs served a beatdown in Salt Lake City, overwhelming the Jazz 111-91 on the back of a magical third quarter run to put the game away. The Cavs took advantage of their size shooting over 50% from the field and winning the rebound battle 50-32. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley showed leadership on the offensive end with their unselfishness, tallying 22 of the team’s 28 assists. Let’s dive right into last night’s takeaways…
1. Take the DawgPill
It’s impossible to talk about this game without first mentioning the career night Penn State product Lamar Stevens, who led all scorers with a career high 23 points on 10-15 shooting, collected seven rebounds, two steals, and posted a +18 plus/minus in 30 minutes of action. What’s most impressive about Stevens’ game is how he combines cerebral play with physicality and talent. He appears to be a guy who truly benefited from staying in college to mature in life and in the game so that he was ready as a professional from day one. He rarely turns the ball over and he usually takes good shots. He has the size and strength to shoot and finish over smaller perimeter players. Most of all, he leads on the court with this hustle on the defensive end. Take this quote from Darius Garland:
#Cavs guard Darius Garland share with me Lamar Stevens and Jarrett Allen the heart and soul of this Cleveland squad, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) January 13, 2022
Yours truly has been a big fan of his day one just based on his defensive hustle and unselfishness. He’s seizing the opportunity before him and running away with it, a truly classic underdog story.
2. Darius Garland does his best Ricky Rubio impression
Yes, DG shot poorly last night, going for only 11 points on 11 shots. But as real hoopers know, if the shot’s not working, there are other ways of impacting the game to win. Darius Garland took a page out of Ricky Rubio’s book and dropped a masterful point guard performance with DG’s first career triple-double. His vision and unselfishness was on full display with 15 assists. DG’s defensive toughness and competitiveness was also on full display with 10 rebounds, which is no small feat for the shortest guy on the court. And there’s nothing DG loves more than winning, to that point he sported a +30.2 net rating in 34 minutes on the court. DG took the challenge of facing off against one of the premier guards in the NBA, Donovan Mitchell, and won. You absolutely love to see it.
3. Lauri Markkanen’s haters are in the mud
Along with Top Dawg Lamar Stevens, the Big Finnish was a bucket last night and a problem for the Jazz, dropping a hyper-efficient 20 points and six rebounds, with a steal and assist to boot. Markkanen had all aspects of his game working; the shot was pure, the hustle was constant, and the impact was major with a +30.4 in 35 minutes. Apropos, check out the full court impact of the Big Finnish:
It's the @MarkkanenLauri show in SLC!
📺 #CavsJazz on @BallySportsCLE pic.twitter.com/xKVH2aXfn7
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 13, 2022
4. Point Center Evan Mobley is coming to city near you
Evan “the Professional” Mobley had perhaps one of his best games since being out with COVID, posting an extremely clean double double with 15 points (on 7-9 shooting), 10 rebounds, seven assists, and a block in 36 minutes on the court. The thing that stood out about Mobley’s game last night is the seven assists, indicating that Coach J.B. Bickerstaff is willing to expand Mobley’s responsibilities on the offensive side of the ball. There has been no challenge too daunting for Mobley. This game gives yours truly the feeling that Mobley’s about to show the NBA world a whole new level of play, the likes of which have not been seen since LeBron James? Check out the last two assists and you be the judge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi8oRhz-V8o
5. Daily Reminder
NBA CHAMPION KEVIN LOVE IS THE NBA’S RIGHTFUL SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR.
6. Quick Note on the Jazz
This game doesn’t help quell the widespread belief among NBA fans (shoutout to Fraudball Twitter group chat!) that the “Jazz are frauds.” This game also didn’t help the anti-Rudy Gobert agenda. The Jazz clearly miss their “best” player, and it appears the Jazz system falls apart without their center to clean up defensive messes and provide easy buckets at the rim. Right now is the nadir of the Jazz season. Yours truly expects them to bounce back after Rudy comes back, but the lingering question remains… do they have enough to make real noise this year or will it end in underachievement? Stay tuned!
7. Next up, the Lone Star State
The Cavs start to make their way back home from the West with a back to back in the mid-South, starting with a battle at the Alamo against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are struggling and will be desperate for a win, while the Cavs will be looking to put an exclamation point on their six game road trip. The Cavs can secure a 4-2 road trip record with a split on the back to back. Until then, GO CAVS!!!
live thread up!
Regarding the mins being an issue…teams that play bigs get tired far more quickly than teams that play smalls. The mins for Garland are much less concerning than the mins for Mobley. We have enough bigs to spell everyone and finish games strong. When JB refuses to do so, we get tired by the 4th. It shows in our splits. Coach has to figure this out
GOOD HIRE BY THE CAVS —NO DOUBT HAD RUBIO IN MIND WITH THE HIRE —BUT HE KNOWS THE GAME// GREAT PERSON // AMBASSADOR FOR THE GAME
good stuff here: DG more willing to take the midrange has led to better efficiency at the rim.
https://twitter.com/SaurabhOnTap/status/1482045219285651456?s=20
Love this, he knows ball: https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1482031099744178178?s=20
Haha this is the long game for when we trade Rubio’s contract this year but want to resign him next year
LMFAOOOOOO 100% Scotch!!! Rubio’s staying!!!
That is a solid hire. We had him briefly towards the end of his career, IIRC.
He knows the game.
100% agree
Now, let’s see if we can keep the other Spanish PG around for a while.
Hiring Jose can’t hurt
My general thoughts on the Cavs: 1) They weathered the loss of Rubio better than I thought they would. Rondo and the emergence of Lamar will help. 2) At 6’8″ Lamar starting at the 2 makes a big starting lineup an even bigger one. I love jumbo lineups, especially when you’re trying to make up for a small point guard. 3) Windler and Wade need to play more to spell the starters. I’m especially concerned about Mobley’s minutes. And why is Windler not automatically getting 5-10 mins at this point? He’s showing that he can hit the 3. JB needs… Read more »
great points!!! Lamar’s size really helps. I could not agree more with Windler and Wade. There is just 0 reason those guys couldn’t come in for 5-10 minutes per game. This is an 82 game season and we want all our studs to be healthy and have long, productive careers. I wonder where our main guys are in terms of most minutes average among all NBA players. Also agree on the no trades. Look, we aren’t winning it all no matter the trade so no reason to try and patch two holes (Rubio/Sexton) with an overpay. Only if a sweet… Read more »
just checked, two players in the top 50 in minutes: DG and Mobley. Nobody in the top 25 which is a relief.
yup, 100% agree with you guys about a trade… as I mentioned on the pod, would only do marginal trades of spare parts, although might have to take Stevens off that list for vibes!!!!
Hey Raffy! enjoyed your thoughts pretty much spot on. Slight quibble would be Lauri probably just needs to his 35-36% on volume and the impact jumps a level.
I think one trend that’s clear in the NBA is that generally guys shoot better in empty arenas so some of the numbers guys put up recently were wonky.
Good points.
No apologies needed, great post.
100% with you on all points.
I too have been a bit frustrated Windler doesn’t get more run. But it’s clear JB has him on a short leash. Every 2-3 games JB gives him a chance, and if he sees 1) Windler isn’t assertive looking for a shot, or 2) he can’t keep guys in front of him defensively, he goes back to the bench after 5 minutes and stays there for another game or two.
I still like to think there’s no reason he can’t fill a Doug McDermott type roll with 20 minutes a night, but time is running out.
Yesssss. Let’s get the Professional trending Chris! Lol
LMFAOOOOO i’m trying 100%!!!
The Chasedown podcast guys had Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr on as guests to talk Cavs on their most recent pod. Really good listen. Fyi.
Nekias and Steve generally pretty good stuff, although Nekias can get lost with his “Bam is a top 10 player” foolishness LMFAOOOO
is it a hot take and too ‘prisoner of moment’ to say lamar stevens is pretty much okoro and drop off isn’t THAT big? yes its still small sample size but it looks like similar production between a top 5 pick and undrafted dude. good and bad news, the good being you’re getting insane production from undrafted guy not costing much; bad news this undrafted guy is playing near even with a top 5 pick that costs a lot. be interesting to see how they will insert okoro back in if stevens keeps this up.
Probably. He has 1 20-pt game. I believe Okoro was on a 5 game 20-pt streak before he left the lineup. And he’s much younger than Lamar. But let that not take away from the fact the Lamar has been a great find by the Cavs.
Having both is not a problem!
100%!!!
I think it is a bit “prisoner of the moment.” Honestly Stevens should’ve started last year when Okoro was a rookie, could’ve helped Stevens develop his game further and put less pressure on Ice. But was not to be.
I’d say Okoro’s 30+ point game last season as a 19 year old shows upside that Stevens probably doesn’t have. I think there’s no question they’ll go back to Ice starting, but Stevens I would hope has secured every game rotation minutes at this point, but with JB who the hell knows.
Stevens is bigger. He’s more of a forward playing guard ’cause everyone is hurt. He can guard most 2s, 3s, and some 4s.
Okoro is not as bulky. He’s a 2 guard who can defend most 1s, 2s, and 3s who are not too long or physical.
If everyone is healthy and we needed a stop to win a game, I’d have both out there: Rubio, Okoro, Stevens, Mobley, Allen.
damn that’s such a good defensive lineup.
Cavalier’s Machine Gun Kelly bobblehead give away delayed? Pretty sure he is not on the Cavs. Maybe the Charge?
LMFAOOOOO the universe is trying to tell the Cavs something!!!!!
A real shame to see the Dubs get boatraced like this…
Bucks up 39 at half…
Loved every minute of it.
Nets getting pasted by OKC with 6 min left. No KD or Kyrie. Last time I said that they roared back and won.
will pour one out for them in their memory!
Great recap and videos! The Mobley highlight reel is something, as was the Stevens.
Thanks Philip for the shout out!
VERY GOOD POINT JASON—–READ SOMEWHERE THAT THERE ARE SOME GM’S WHO PREFER MOBES OVER ZION ——–ALSO JA IS GETTING MUCH ATTENTION RIGHT NOW—-DESERVEDLY SO—-HOW FAR OFF IS D.G. FROM JA—–JA HAS THE ATHLETICISM—-D.G. THE SHOOTING ——THOUGHTS ON BOTH POSTS FROM ABOVE
Great cap!
One thing about Mobley that I love (among many) is that he uses both hands. Right and left-handed hooks. That is advanced stuff for a rookie. Some guys NEVER develop that (Dwight Howard).
Also right and left-handed passes. And not little handoffs/dropoffs, legit passes, with either hand. There are PGs in this league that cannot do that.
Thank you Jason!
100%… you could see he’s not completely dependent on the right hand. One of the hardest skills to develop in basketball is off hand dribbling and he can do it at 7 feet tall. Rarest of talent.
As someone who was naturally left handed (eat, bat, etc) but was turned into a righty by right handed school desks, I can attest that a lot of guys overplay guys to the strong side.
I prefered going left and could finish left handed around the rim (or left handed off of the left foot). A lot of guys would just give me where I wanted to go anyway.
A righty who is effective going left can be a huge edge.
100% and hell yeah I’m a lefty too!!!!
From about age 15 to 35 I practiced left handed stuff all the time, but never got decent, other than some left handed tip ins.
LMFAOOO same, was in basketball camps and had good coaches try to get off hand technique down and never got it :(
If I got to a gym or playground first, I would often take 100 left handed shots first for practice. Modest improvement at best.
Someone once told me to always make your last shot before leaving the gym, so in case you died before the next time you played, you are sure to have made your last shot. St. Peter (or whoever is working the door that day) will be inquiring. I always did that.
100%!!!!!!!!!
NICE RECAP –” YOUNG FELLA ” :-) STEVENS EMBODIES THE TYPE OF PLAYER// TEAM THE CAVS WANT TO PUT ON THE FLOOR—–HAVE SAID IT FROM THE TIME OF HIS ARRIVAL—REMINDS ME OF A YOUNG BOBBY PHILS WHO IN A DIFFRENT CAVS ERA CAME FROM NOWHERE AND BECAME A DAMN GOOD BASKETBALL PLAYER HIS LIFE UNFORTUNATELY TRAGICALLY ENDED ——-MOBES WILL GET HIS 1ST TRIPLE// DOUBLE BY SEASONS END—–I SAID BEFORE THE ROAD TRIP WE COULD GO 4-2 BUT JUST AS EASY GO 2-4 —4-2 –IF NOT BETTER LOOKS VERY DOABLE –GO CAVS —-WOOOF —WOOOF —WOOOF !!!
Thank you NOMAD!
Hell yeah great post, NOMAD dawgpilled since the beginning!!!
https://twitter.com/MarcJSpears/status/1481688411731730432?s=20
Need some more love for JA and DG!
100%
Fan voting is so ridiculous. Kyrie Irving?? Klay?? Derek Rose???
https://twitter.com/IanBegley/status/1481666187415195654?s=20
Boom! Nicely done Chris. Great cap, love these takeaways, especially the NOMAD style daily reminder on Kevin Love.
On 6. (re: the Jazz aspirations) it was interesting if a little incongruous with the product on the floor to hear the Utah TV folks talking about championship goals. We will see if they make any moves before the trade deadline — Jazz are 0-1 vs. Golden State this year with another three games to go, and 0-0 against Phoenix with four games to go. I suppose we will know more by mid April.
Also a belated thanks for capping the Golden State game, I was literally too nervous to watch it, am hoping to venture past the first quarter at some point this weekend. Also loved the epic C:tB podcast with you and Nate and Eli Kim, much good substance but also plenty of fun. Loving the writing about Stevens as well and reading the rise of Mobley and Garland via your analysis, well done. Go Cavs!
Thank you Adam, really means a lot to me!!! GO CAVS BABY!
A young person who lives in my house liked one your earlier CtB comments so much he has turned it into a high five / handshake combo – – “central division is back, baby(ALL CAPS!!! )” , makes me smile every time. Listened to the whole Bucks dismantling of Warriors on the radio, hard to disagree with both CLF content and spirit
LMFAOOOO HE KNOWS BALL!!!
CENTRAL DIVISION = DIVISON OF CHAMPIONS!!!
LMFAOOO thanks Adam!
Great point re: Utah making moves, I think they absolutely have to and should, but they have limited resources and so much continuity seems like they’ve taken the conservative route to team building. April and beyond will be VERY interesting!!!
Thoroughly enjoyed this win — especially Lamar and Darius’ achievements and that amazing 3rd quarter — but I don’t think it’s fair to say this game is indicative of much about the Jazz. Even with Gobert out, this is a different game if they’re not decimated by Covid. They had 9 players (none taller than our 6’8″ dawg starting 2 guard) and went down to 8 after Joe Ingles tried to do his best Joakim Noah impression and got himself tossed (who knew he was such an a-hole?) We served up a beatdown for sure, but it was against Mitchell,… Read more »
Definitely agree… I’m mainly trolling the people who feel Donovan Mitchell is the Jazz best player and that Rudy’s a fraud, because they’re the biggest loser with last night’s game!