Recap: Cavs 103, Pistons 106 (or, Judgment Day)
2022-02-25The Cavs stumble out of the post-All Star Break gate and lose to the hapless Detroit Pistons 103-106. The Cavs were outhustled (losing rebounding battle 49-42) and lost the unselfishness battle (outassisted 23-20). Let’s dive right into the weekend reflections and game’s takeaways…
1. How much is Rubio missed?
The nagging thought over the past three losses has been the absence of Ricky “the Spanish Fly” Rubio. The Cavs posted the fourth best net rating in the NBA while Rubio played for the Cavs (+6.4). The Cavs’ net rating has dropped to +0.9 post-Rubio injury, good for 13th in the NBA during that span. The numbers suggest that losing Rubio took the Cavs from NBA title contender to fringe playoff team. The eye test matches the calculator, the Cavs simply haven’t looked the same without the Spaniard. Interestingly, Rubio’s impact is missing mostly on the defensive side of the ball (103.4 defensive rating with Rubio, 109.3 without Rubio). This commentary isn’t lamenting over spilled milk, but rather in remembrance to the contributions Rubio gave to the team, however small it may have been… also, to remember what will be needed in the future for the team to take the next step in its evolution.
2. The Young Cavs put on an All-Star show
Apologies for the lateness, but wanted to give a shoutout to all the young Cavs over the All-Star break in Cleveland. They put on a show winning the Rising Stars Challenge, Skills Challenge, and All-Star Game. Evan Mobley and Darius Garland’s shooting was sublime. Jarrett Allen had some great moments in the All-Star game. Hopefully it’s a jump off point for a strong second half finish to the season.
3. But… DG sitting out is not a good look
As good as the All-Star Break was for the Cavs, it was a crappy outcome that DG had to sit out for the first game post-ASB. The questions surrounding DG’s status have arisen, why wasn’t he held out of the All-Star festivities? Have the Cavs botched his load maintenance? Whatever the case was, they need to get it right, which means keeping DG out until the back isn’t at risk of locking up again.
4. Caris too?
Caris LeVert’s Cavs’ career is off to an inauspicious start, and now he’s sidelined instead of getting reps. LeVert’s luck can only get better from here!
5. Welcome back Lauri!
Luckily, Lauri Markkanen looks OK, scoring a pretty efficient 22 points, grabbing six rebounds, adding in a block and assist to boot. He had some nice chemistry finishing with Rajon Rondo. Welcome back Finnisher!
6. Game Co-MVPs: Goodwin and Wade
Brandon Goodwin and “James” Dean Wade were huge off the bench for the Cavs tonight. Goodwin poured in a nifty 15 points and five assists while Wade provided some tough, physical defense. They were certainly ready to play tonight.
7. J.B. Bickerstaff lays into the guys
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff didn’t hold back post-game, saying the performance was a “disappointment.” It’s as critical as J.B. has ever been since the beginning of the year. J.B. would also do well to look in the mirror with some of the questionable decisions made in the game. The biggest problem that stands out is the lack of shooters on the floor at the end of the game when the Cavs needed a three. CtB’s own Nate Smith pointed out in the Live Thread, why not challenge the Isaac Okoro “foul”? Also, the Cavs seem like they’re missing the presence of Lamar Stevens on defense, who was a +3 in seven minutes… why not give him a little more run? Bickerstaff rightly says the Cavs haven’t accomplished anything yet, which includes himself.
8. Quick note on the Pistons
It looks like Cade Cunningham is finding his place in the NBA as a primary offensive creator, which unfortunately includes free throw grifting the likes of which James Harden would be proud. Hamidou Diallo continues to impress in the limited time he’s spent with the Pistons, it’s surprising to not see him in the starting lineup to develop further. Detroit’s veterans really helped usher the young guns along to this victory, damn you Kelly Olynyk!!!
9. Next up, homestand
The Cavs have three game homestand starting off with the Washington Wizards, who seem to be finding their footing after a brutal end of January. The Cavs need to decide who they want to be, a nice story that fades into oblivion, or a team to be reckoned with? Go Cavs!
live thread is up
MAN CELTICS ARE RED HOT AND SO IS CADE —NEED MOBES TO STEP UP HIS GAME FOR BOTH THE CAVS AND HIS ROY CHANCES
WATCHING SOME GOOD COLLEGE GAMES—-PURDUE// MICH STATE WAS A CLASSIC —–A GOOD POINT MADE TODAY—–DUE TO COVID THERE WILL BE WHAT THER ARE CALLING THEM ‘ SUPER SENIORS ” PLAYERS WHO HAVE BEEN IN COLLEGE 5-6 YRS // 23 -24 YEARS OLD// MAYBE SOME OF THESE PLAYERS AREN’T 1ST ROUND CALIBER PLAYERS BUT ARE SKILLED // PHYSICALLY TOUGH ENOUGH // MATURE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO HELP A CAVS TEAM NEXT YEAR —AKA: STEVENS AND WHAT JAMES JONES DOES IN PHOENIX —JUST SAYING IF CAVS DO NOT HAVE A 1ST ROUND PICK THEY POSSIBLY STILL CAN FIND HELP LATER IN… Read more »
Whoever they find better be a guard made of adamantium lol
MALAKI’S BRANHAM RECENT PLAY IS BOTH GOOD // BAD FOR THE BUCKEYES —-KID HAS REALLY TURNED IT ON —IS NOW PROJECTED IN THE TOP 20 // DRAFT AND POSSIBLY IF HE CONTINUES HIS TORRID PLAY MOVING UP —-ISN’T HE A ST V KID
SO I WILL JUST THROW IT OUT THERE —-NOT BEING A PESSIMIST —–JUST THROWING IT OUT THERE —-IS ANYONE CONCERNED THAT WITH THE INJURIES MOUNTING AND DEPENDING HOW SOON WE GET EVERYBODY HEALTHY// BACK —COULD WE FALL OUT OF PLAYOFFF CONTENTION OR EVEN WORSE YET FALL BACK INTO A LOTTERY PICK ( BELIEVE IT IS TOP 15 ISN’T IT ) WHICH IS PROTECTED THIS YEAR ——–THOUGHTS —THE BAILEYS IN MY COFFEE MUST BE ON OVERDRIVE :-)
If we lose to teams like Detroit consistently the playoffs are in no way guaranteed.
I think they will remain in the play-in at worst. I’d feel a lot better about the playoffs if DG was 100% and they didn’t have two other guards out for maybe two weeks with a rough stretch of games coming up.
i’d also feel a lot better if they were to go 2-0 out of the All Star break…instead, they may easily go 0-2.
Cavs are 8 games above the wiz for the last play in spot. It is not inconceivable that we go way under .500 (10-13 or worse) the rest of the 23 games. That still would require a pretty nice finish for the wiz to catch us. They’re not going 19-4. I think the play in is safe unless we are actually as bad as detroit without guards.
WIZARDS LOST —2 OT’S —-TIRED LEGS VS THE “CRIPPLES ” TONIGHT
Lakers lose to their big brother. Sad.
This Laker-Clipper game is a prime example as to why replay sucks in the NBA…
Good times.
Per Woj, Rondo out two weeks. We might need to implement point Mobley.
Bring on the tovs!
RONDO INJURED ALSO ?????—-WASN’T AWARE OF THAT —-WTF
Imagine that. That was inexcusable by JB. He might have been worried about losing his last time out, but letting that go cost them the game.
he could sure use an experienced assistant “bench coach” for in-game advice. I think that is a major thing in baseball.
This was so obvious, Okoro was furious and I am all for judicious use of challenges but JB screwed the pooch on this one.
CAVS SIGN TIM FRAZIER TO 10 DAY CONTRACT—THOUGHTS
doing OK with Piston cuts so far.
AND 1 MORE THING —YEAH THE MIN LOAD MANAGEMENT HASN’T BEEN WISELY UTILIZED BUT HEY THEY WERE COMING BACK FROM 1O DAYS OFF AND STILL LOOKED AS IF THEY WERE ‘STUCK IN THE MUD ” —JB DID WARN THEM RIGHT BEFORE ALL STAR BREAK TO BE READY FOR A FAST START —THIS HAS TO START TOMORROW NIGHT !!!—WITH OR WITHOUT DG// LEVERT
PREACH WCC// PREACH—THESE GUYS HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF EVRY GAME ESPECIALLY WINNABLE GAMES LIKE LAST NIGHT AGAINST THE PISTONS—-THERE ARE 3 GAMES —PISTONS TWICE// ROCKETS ONCE THAT MIGHT BE HUGE AND BITE THEM IN THE ASS AT THE END OF THE YEAR AND YES WINDLER HAS BEEN MISSUSED ALL SEASON AND THEN SOME —I GUESS WESHOULD HAVE SOME CONSOLATION THAT WE CAN BE UPSET WITH A LOSS TO THE PISTONS THAT COULD AFFEC T OUR PLAYOFF POSITIONING THIS FAR INTO THE SEASON –‘ UNLEASH THE DAWGS ” !!!
JB’s rep is that he’s a players coach, a father figure type. I think it may be time for Dad to take these kids to the woodshed. We can do all the analysis we want, bemoan the loss of Rubio… the truth is the team simply isn’t playing hard, not like they were at the beginning of the season when they had something to prove. Only three guys played with heart, Goodwin, who’s playing for his NBA life, Wade, who is trying to earn minutes and Markkanen, who’s coming back from an injury and probably still has a chip on… Read more »
well said… the malaise right now reeks of JB’s mismanagement.
Didn’t load manage guys in a meat grinder of a year… icing out Wade and Windler and to a lesser extent STevens when Caris and Cedi have been pitiful on defense and Okoro’s inconsistent… better figure out that perimeter defense quickly.
Rpm is out!
Jae crowder wtf that guy was potatoes for us
I don’t understand either. Maybe MikeO can give us some insight here :)
Is it too late to sign another guard? Release Windler or Davis?
They have an open roster spot still. Goodwin is not officially converted from two way yet. Exum is free from his Euro contract on the 28th. I think he’d be a VERY good fit. Also like to see Mac McClung replace Nemhard.
Excellent points across the board. Loss of Rubio can’t be overstated. He turned Love & Cedi into A+ versions of themselves, steadied the ship when the waters were rough, knew when to take over and when to get others involved. Also, PACE! Every time Rondo slows up and gets us into some miserable half-court set where we can’t break the perimeter, I miss those dark Spanish locks flowing in the wind as he charged upcourt. Really hope we can re-sign him next year.
yup, you see the vision!
SO DG HAS BONE BRUISE ACCORDING TO CAVS SOURCES—-COULD BE AN EXTENDED TIME OFF ( ESPECIALLY IN THE BACK AREA )—–DON’T WANT TO —-AGGREVATE THE BRUISE EVEN FURTHER –OUCH–OUCH –OUCH
Bone bruise is a lot better than some alternatives. That Golden State game was a curse on this team.
mikeo// nate very good points—if dg is able to go—-back not injured —just some pain// play him against the pistons// wizards // etc—rest him against the heat// 76er’s // etc —-OOOPS —MUST BE PISSED– FORGOT THE CAPS —–AND YES NATE I AND MANY OTHERS HAVE POSTED ABOUT GOING AND GETTING DANTE —–COULDN’T THEY RELEASE SOMEONE IN ORRDER FOR THIS TO HAPPEN//LIKE DAVIS
Pretty disgusting game. Pistons were 25-28 from FT line, Cavs 23-34, which was a winning difference all of its’ own. Love didn’t have it, and Cedi wasn’t good, either, which makes it hard to find points.
I have no idea how DG’s back is feeling, but if they are resting him on selected days, I would have played him last night, and on all the nights that one would think should be wins. I’d rather sit him vs the best teams, since they are less likely to win those anyway. They will probably need every win they can get.
yup, great point Mike about the free throws… they should be embarrassed losing games at the line.
https://twitter.com/oldseaminer/status/1497239628503556117?s=20&t=hT2uIkOaldwtCE-VXkGnWw
YEP AC’S 50// 50 BALLS THAT HE ALWAYS PREACHES IS VITAL—NO SKILLL INVOLVED—-JUST HUSTLE AND HEART —–OUR WOOF-WOOF WOOF HAS TURNED INTO A “PURR” —-NEED TO UNLEASH THE “DAWGS ” AGAIN !!!
Half the cavs problems stem from the free throw line. They dont outscore teams like crazy without Rubio anymore. They dont play stifling defense anymore though their d is still really good. They don’t really scare anybody. But if they raise their free throw average to about 78-80% they would still be winning a high percentage of games.
And loose balls/rebounding. It’s about focus and effort.
Yes thats probably more accurate. Focus is lacking and they not longer have the “surprisingly tough” element. Teams know what their up against and the cavs don’t know that. Its on Bickerstaff to communicate that, and on JA and Love to hammer it home to the team. When JA scores 20+ this team is a different animal.
YES THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT RECAP——MOBES MIGHT HAVE READ TOO MANY PRESS CLIPPINGS (AFTER HIS ALL STAR PERFORMANCE ) THAT ROY WAS A LOCK FOR HIM —–NOT TOO SOON —CADE IS GAINING GROUND —RAPIDLY
ALL I AM GOING TO SAY IS….CAVS HAVE GONE FROM HUNTING … TO BEING THE HUNTED—-ALOT DIFFERENT ANIMAL WHEN YOU ARE THE HUNTED—-PLAYERS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT —–SOOON !!!!!!
yup 100%!
team needs to learn how to play well with out their best guys…its a challenge for a young team… DG is good but the drop off shouldnt be THAT stark…other guys need to learn how to step up…when role players and development guys are stepping up..while admirable…its a problem…cant lose to shit teams and act like a contender…this next month will show who the Cavs truly are…either exposed when reality hits..or they are a tough young team molding into a contender. GO CAVS!
agreed Leo, which is why I’ve been clamoring for Point Mobley since Rubio went down
That game really ticked me off. Thanks for a superior recap.
we’re back in the mud Nate!!! LMFAOOOOOOOO
Appreciate the love as always brother!