Recap: Cavs 107, Thunder 102 (or, #DariusGarland #NBAAllStar)
2022-01-16Tonight was one for the history books. The Cavs put together a furious second half comeback, thanks in part to a career night from Darius Garland, as the Cavs take one in Oklahoma City beating the Thunder 107-102. The Cavs had every excuse to lose this one given the circumstances, but they manufactured good offense due to the leadership of their young prodigy point guard and timely fourth quarter defense to get the job done.
1. The Pro-Garland Agenda is thriving
Darius Garland tonight:
27 PTS
18 AST (career high)
2 TOVHe joins LeBron James as the only Cav with that many assists in a game in the last 20 seasons. pic.twitter.com/rFeEmraLnK
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 16, 2022
What Darius Garland did tonight was historic, he’s put his name along with the greatest player in Cavs’ history and he did it in a win. DG is such an easy guy to root for as a basketball fan because his game is pure basketball bliss. His passing, shooting, handles, touch around the basket, competitiveness, feel for the game… he has the makings of a historic player. Above all, what DG’s game is most about is winning. Cavs were down big in this game and he refused to lose. Cavs’ fans need to appreciate the greatness being witnessed again. One way to do that? Vote for Darius Garland for the NBA All-Star game, copy and paste the sub-headline and tweet it out!
2. The Windler (and Wade?) agenda vindicated
The Windler agenda is going to take a victory lap, with Dylan Windler’s appearance being the spark that spurred on the second half turnaround. His fresh legs were painfully obvious, providing defense and rebounding punch along with some timely three pointers. He only passed up one open shot, but fortunately Coach J.B. Bickerstaff stuck with him for a full half. Windler’s success this evening begs the question, where the hell was Dean Wade? This would’ve been the perfect game to save some legs and keep bench guys in rhythm. If there are any Cavs’ beat writers or journalists reading, it’d be a great question to ask!
3. Tower City was clutch
The Cavs’ starting frontcourt and super-sub NBA champion Kevin Love all had themselves a helluva game. Starting with Lauri AKA “The Big Finnish” AKA “The Finnisher” AKA “The Marksmanen” Markkanen, who had a solid game that including a dagger three to finish off the Thunder. Lauri Markkanen has become quite the defender, with four big steals in this game.
Evan Mobley also provided late clutch buckets with an efficient 20 points on only 14 shots, as well as two big blocks. Jarrett Allen turned in a big time double double with 13 points and 13 crucial rebounds. KLOVE led all bench scorers with 13 points and a +10 plus/minus.
Tower City’s defensive identity really shined through in the fourth quarter of the game. There were extra effort plays, the communication was on point, and the all-important “dawg” mindset towards the game rattled the Thunder’s composure. As Lamar Stevens said a few days ago, one of the things that defines this team is their unselfishness. Everybody has each other’s back. There’s probably a life lesson in that LMFAOO…
4. A Quick Note on the Thunder
As it was mentioned in the preview of the Live Thread, Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Josh Giddey looked pretty good. What they clearly lack are the veteran presences they used to have such as Chris Paul or Al Horford to help the young guys learn how to build winning habits. Good luck to the franchise on their tanking journey. They probably should’ve just paid the tax to sign James Harden all those years ago, oh well!
5. Next up, home cooking
The Cavs will be home for the next four out of five games, facing some of best of the Eastern Conference: The Nets, Bulls, and Bucks. The surging New York Knicks won’t be chopped liver either. It’s time for the Cavs to establish to some home court dominance, Cavs’ fans get out there and make some noise! GO CAVS!!!
live thread up!
FWIW, I went scrounging NBA rosters trying to find playable PGs who don’t make a lot of money and who might be obtainable for cheap.
I got Dennis Schroeder in Boston (pass).
And Corey Joseph in Detroit.
Schroder > Joseph all day. Schroder younger and better at creating his own shot. But Corey Joseph is a great idea, exactly who Koby should be looking for. Minimal cost veteran, plays defense and create some off the dribble.
Never happen though, Boston wouldn’t trade to a direct competitor.
Schroeder is a cancer. And a ball hog. There is no way I’d want to keep him, so his age does not matter. Plus he’s a FA next year anyway.
For a stop-gap, I’d take Joseph all day every day.
In a vaccuum, Schroder is the better player, though. Just one I would not touch with a 10 foot pole.
Dante Exum
Just to keep riding this train, it is possible that at the end of play today, we could be 1.5 off the tip spot in the East. All we need is a win over Brooklyn and the Bulls to lose in Memphis.
Also possible we could end the day tied for themost wins in the East. Though we need a lit more help (Bulls loss, Bucks loss at Atlanta, Heat loss to Raptors).
Apologies if someone already posted this but I have to evangelize this simulated season by bball ref as widely as possible
https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/playoff_prob.html
Thanks!
I posted a prediction about 10 games in that the Cavs would be in the top 3 in the East — and I am doubling down. My rational was then, and is now, that the Cavs are young, getting better fast, and the schedule gets a lot easier later on.
They go big on point differential, and we have had a lot of big wins and few large losses.
Also, after this next 5, our schedule really eases up. The last 33 is the softest in the association.
Yesterday, I checked out Young Bull’s twitter. Lots of players don’t post much, and he hasn’t, but I wanted to get a sense of how engaged he was with the team. I was disappointed to see he has only really posted about himself since Mobley was drafted.
Today though I see this!
There’s one of Allen too.
Matinee game against the Nets I see. Makes it impossible to watch where I am. Hope it’s a good one, see you on the other side. Grrrr!
DITTTO WEST COAST —-TOTALLY AGREE——AM SURE KLOVE FEELS THE SAME !!!
Great recap CLF! I so love this team with an emphasis on team. So don’t miss the LBJ – Kyrie daily dramas. Living in LA and listening to the Lakers meltdown on a constant basis, man I’m so happy to be a Cavs fan. These guys truly embody the grit and grind work ethic of Cleveland that was instilled in me growing up with republic steel down the road reminding me where things are made. Keep rocking DG, Mobley, JA, Ice, the Dawg, the big finish, K Love, Cedi, Wade, Windler… Ricky’s spirit still…. Keep working. Keep on. And my… Read more »
totally agree!!
Heck yeah. Well put!
Hell yeah WCC! Appreciate it and 100%!!!
Rondo out for Nets game….😤
Impressive win yesterday and trip as a whole.Good to see Windler making a dent in the lineup and the game.I have to keep reminding myself that this is the same team that couldn’t get the ball inbounds last year,,,,,,,or so many other couldnt’s.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE D.G. GO ” FULL DAWG ” ON CHICKEN SHIT KYRIE
Very good recap and comments, both in the live thread and here. I want to highlight a decision by Bickerstaff that I really liked and might have made the difference in such a close game. If I am not mistaken, Garland played the entire third quarter that was a roller coaster. We started off really slow, but crept back and by the end of the third the momentum was all ours. So, instead of starting the fourth with Goodwin and perhaps ceding the momentum to the Thunder, JB stuck with Garland for about two minutes into the fourth and then… Read more »
Thanks GCF! Great point about DG and JB, also glad to see he went back to Goodwin there to get DG enough rest for the fourth quarter run!
No Durant definitely makes tomorrow much more winnable. Assuming Kyrie doesn’t pull his Chicken Little act, I am salivating at the thought of the showdown between him and Garland. I can think of little that would give me more regular-season NBA pleasure than beating the Nets on MLK Day while Mr. No-Vax Flat Earth sees himself eclipsed by the future of the Cleveland Cavaliers…
Seconded.
I think Okoro has given Harden trouble in the past. And we can also sic the Dawg on him.
I’m on board!
Comment of the week!!!
FWIW, my all-star expectations in the East.
Voted In:
East: Young, DeRozan, KD, Giannis, Embiid.
The frontcourt is a lock and as it should be. As is DeRozan’s spot. Lavine is 3rd and Harden 4th behind Young. No one else has a shot. I’d prefer an actual PG to start (no Lavine) and would pick Young over FatBeard.
Reserves:
Harden, Lavine, ???, ???, Allen.
I think Lavine is secure. Harden has great numbers. I think Allen is pretty safe as the #3 center, moreso because there are not really number of “has to be there” guys at forward.
Butler was before injuries struck. He is back now. Tatum has been so good trading him or Brown is the talk of Boston. Siakam? He missed a good chunk. Middleton & Randle started slow. Sabonis for a sorry Pacers team? Miles Bridges?
DG will be competing with whomever does not make it from those lists of forwards and LM Ball and Van Vleet and Herro for the last two spots.
FWIW, if we get hot and move up the standings a bit, it might help the cases for DG, Allen, and maybe even Mobley.
Nice cap Chris.
Also nice to point out the schedule. Have some heavyweights upcoming in the next 5. If we win 3/5 I’d be happy. 4/5 thrilled. 5/5 ecstatic.
But I am already ecstatic after a 5-1 road trip where 3-3 would have made me happy. Only Philly
has more road wins than us (16 to our 15). The Suns will join them after their game finishes with Detroit, but still. For a young team? Incredible.
Yup, nodding my head in agreement LMFAOOOOO
Maybe Wade is being held out for pending trade?
anything’s possible?
GOOD RECAP—AS USUAL—THANK YOU —-STILL WONDERING IF I AM DREAMING OR AWAKE——YES J.B. SHOULD BE QUESTIONED ON WHERE WAS // IS WADE —HE HAS GONE FROM STARTER TO DNP// ???—–WIND(K) LER IS HITTING ON ABOUT 50% FROM 3’S THE LAST 5 GAMES HE HAS PLAYED—–SOMEHOW J.B HAS TO FIND WADE// WIND(K) LER MIN’S EVERY GAME ——MAYBE LIKE STEVENS– ( GIVING HIM MINUTES )– HE MAY STUMBLE ACROSS SOMETHING ———-IF NOTHING ELSE–( HOPE I AM WRONG )— WIND(K)LER HAS INCREASED HIS TRADE STOCK VALUE
Thanks NOMAD!
Good cap, let’s go Cavs!!!
Thank you Dan! GO CAVS!
Great Game! Great Cap! Go Cavs!
Thank you Raoul! GO CAVS!