Recap: Cavs 102, Hornets 101 (or, Just Get Out of Here Alive)

The Cavs were able to emerge from Charlotte with a narrow win thanks to relentless excellence by Jarrett Allen and Kevin Love, timely guard play from Brandon Goodwin, and by maintaining poise in spite of farcical officiating in the fourth quarter.

Jarrett Allen posted an epic stat line of 29 points and 22 rebounds, slamming home a message that should reverberate around the whole league and linger long in the Commissioner’s shining dome. Kevin Love dropped in 25 points (6-14 from three), added nine boards and won the game by wrestling for the ball and sinking free two throws to put the Cavs ahead with 1.2 seconds on the clock. Brandon Goodwin kept the Cavs offense engaged in the absence of Darius Garland, stretching the floor (4-9 from three) in 36 minutes of action, showing supreme confidence and making generally good decisions as the game went down the stretch.

Some key takeaways from this game:

1. Jarrett Allen is a Superbeast, Man of Action, Calm Under Pressure, Yet Capable of Rage — and Plays Like an All-Star

Jarrett Allen is Lake Erie Gobert with some shake to his game, and should be an All-Star, I am not a crackpot https://t.co/tdhs4MzxGH

— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) February 5, 2022

Allen was magnificent from the jump in this game, dominating the first quarter. He showed off his mid-range jumper, canning two or three from the circle. And it wasn’t quite the dramatics of Willis Reed or Paul Pierce, but in the second quarter Jarrett Allen appeared to knock knees with a defender and suffered what looked like a serious injury that meant he needed to be helped off of the floor. After a few nerve-wracking minutes where trainers attended to the muscle around his left knee on the bench, he returned to action, apparently none the worse for wear.

Allen’s 22 rebounds were perfectly balanced — 11 offensive, 11 defensive. His main defender, Mason Plumlee, fouled out after getting posterized in the fourth as Allen put the finishing touches on his strong performance from the line, going 5-7. Allen’s quick feet also meant he kept Miles Bridges from finishing Charlotte’s final attempt on an inbound pass toward the rim. The Cavs’ defensive anchor and unstoppable offensive interior weapon finally let out a howl with Kevin Love after the win.

2. Kevin Love is In Control of the Situation 

Love’s heady play and focus was simply impressive in this game. Apart from a single possession when he got lost on the baseline arguing with a referee, Love was locked in and a major driving force in the victory, pulling down 9 rebounds, taking charges, and sinking threes over contests and close-outs. The Cavs best-paid star is not just playing in “meaningful games,” but he is turning them into meaningful wins.

The J.B.-Love high five and chestbump after one of Love’s offensive explosions was a memorable feel-good moments in the game. Asked after the game about the meaning behind his wry smirk after canning the game-winning free throws, Love said, “Let’s just get out of here alive, man.” Love went on to cite the hostile environment, playoff atmosphere, and wild shifts of momentum that make the League what it is.

3. Evan Mobley is the Ultimate Defender 

The Cavs star rookie notched zero blocks in this game and put up a modest 8 points and 8 rebounds on 4-13 shooting. But he was essential to limiting LaMelo Ball to 15 points (5-14 shooting with 6 turnovers), Miles Bridges to 12 points, and Gordon Hayward to 7 points (3-13 shooting in 29 uninspired minutes).  Lamar Stevens picked up three quick fouls in the first quarter and JB ran some lineups where Mobley was matched with Goodwin, Rondo, and Okoro — in other words Mobley had a lot of responsibility on the defensive end.

He did however get some help from Kevin Love, who helped keep LaMelo off of the floor by drawing a charge for the Charlotte guard’s fifth personal foul — a call made possible by JB Bickerstaff finally using his coach’s challenge as Love was originally called for blocking. Mobley’s length and discipline as a defender keep elevating the Cavs. After his offensive ceiling went way up in the loss against Houston, Mobley relied on his defense tonight and it helped Cleveland get out of Charlotte with the win.

4. The Officiating in this Game was Beyond Parody

The Cavs went through a game that the officials determined would be very choppy and interventionist in Houston, but nothing could have prepared them for this particular mockery:

Here it is, folks. The worst call you'll ever see. #NBA #NBA75 @NBAOfficial pic.twitter.com/lmLORjYMLr

— RBA (@RedBlackAttack) February 5, 2022

Watching the same sequence with the Charlotte TV feed indicated that the technical foul was in fact assessed to Ed Davis for standing up and brushing Terry Rozier with his hand, not Darius Garland for doing the same. The official in the wrong was Marat Kogut, a 10 year officiating veteran who was focused on the Cavs bench. Kogut obviously did not hear the whistle blown by Brian Forte (who had the correct call in ruling a dead ball as Dean Wade had touched the ball with his foot on the baseline). The truly bizarre thing is that in conference, Kogut somehow overruled Forte and judged that the space-time continuum had in fact reversed, and that Terry Rozier had taken and made his shot from in front of the Cavs bench before Forte’s call had occurred. J.B. kept his powder dry about it in the postgame presser and The Athletic’s Kelsey Russo has a quote from Forte describing the mistake as one of sequencing. Fortunately the Cavs were able to escape unscathed with the W –and no one on the Cavs bench was called for a further technical for what would have been a warranted Bobby Knight-style eruption. Nevertheless the bizarre call swung four points and a load of momentum to Charlotte.

5. The Hornets are a High-Wire Act

Chris Francis called them “a high-flying circus” and it’s hard to disagree. The Cavs steadily widened their lead in this game and even without the officiating fiasco, Charlotte wasn’t going to go down easy. The Cavs interior game ultimately wore them down — Charlotte doesn’t have quite the size or beef of, say, New Orleans even without Zion Williamson — and there were countless drives which ended in leaps into nowhere and desperate bail-out passes to the perimeter. Kelly Oubre and Terry Rozier (one of whom Cavs fans tend to respect, one of whom Cavs fans tend to revile) had solid shooting performances in this that got gradually hotter. With their youth and explosivness, a mid-tier team trying to make a leap in a small market, they are slightly reminiscent of Memphis. Of course absent an unlikely run-in in the Finals, we don’t get any more fun with Grizzlies-Cavs this year, but the Cavs and Hornets will meet again on March 3. Look for more of a game-within-a-game of LaMelo vs. a rejuvinated Darius

6. Behold the Rondo Factor — Wait, Is Rondo a Factor?

The man has way more wit, wisdom, and floor awareness than Andre Drummond, who you may recall was the Cavs’ last major mid-season veteran acquisition who remained an enigma throughout his tenure in Cleveland. Rondo’s salary is affordable, and he is mentoring the young guards, which certainly matters. In nine games with the Cavs thus far, he’s averaging 19 minutes, about six shot attempts, four assists, and two turnovers per game. He’s also shooting 36% from three, which is better than his overall shooting percentage which is 33%, another sign he doesn’t have much explosiveness to the rim. The Cavs tend to have more problems with shot clock management when he’s running point, and end-of-quarter sequences seem haphazard and have nothing like the assuredness of Rubio. In terms of his work with the second unit, CtB commentariat may have the data to hand to substantiate the impression, but Rondo doesn’t appear to be creating the bump in offensive efficiency that might have been hoped for. His defensive effort on the floor has been a little lax, if not entirely Hardenesque. He’s had a small number of moments in late-game situations, but now seems mainly off of the floor as games are on the line.

But it’s a long season, he hasn’t been a disaster, and Rondo continues to communicate and mesh in particular in his minutes with Kevin Love. In between each of Love’s three consecutive foul shots tonight, Rondo extended the conversation with Love, seemingly about a prior offensive sequence. Obviously that’s a good sign but it might also be nice to see Rondo channel a little Ben Simmons (remember that guy?) and push the ball up the floor, turn around to screen a couple of dudes at the top of the circle and granny-pass the ball to Love for a long three.

7. Eastern Fortunes

As the Cavs were winning on the road, Brooklyn continued its plunge toward a seventh straight loss in Salt Lake City. The Raptors beat the Hawks in an empty arena and look poised to leapfrog Brooklyn into sixth place before the All Star break. Knicks fans are wondering about the future of Julius Randle and can only reminisce about what they were able to achieve last year, which is something Cavs fans would love to experience and exceed this year – a single win at home in the playoffs.