Recap: Hawks 107, Cavs 101 (or, All Good Things…)

Last night was the end of the road for the 2021-22 Cleveland Cavaliers as they take a tough loss at the hands of Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, 107-101. It was a tale of two halves as the Cavs scored 61 points before half and 40 points the rest of the way. Let’s dive in one last time this season…

1. Bench/Injury woes impossible to overcome

As one can plainly see, the Cavs’ injury woes reared their ugly head one final time. Rajon “Playoff” Rondo wasn’t able to come through, Kevin Love was limited to just more than 10 minutes of action, and Isaac Okoro had normal first big game jitters. It’s conceivable that none of the trio sees minutes in this game if Ricky Rubio, Dean Wade, or Collin Sexton were healthy and available. The NBA is a war of attrition, and the Cavs clearly lost that war this season.

2. J.B.’s gamble pays off

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff took a massive risk by shaking up his starting lineup, but was rewarded with an absolutely dominant performance. Caris LeVert drew the start over Isaac Okoro, even though LeVert had played ZERO minutes in a starting lineup that included Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen. LeVert rewarded J.B.’s trust with a rock solid performance, spreading the floor (4-9 shooting from three) and passing (five assists). The starting lineup posted an elite +17.4 net rating in their 24 minutes on the floor. Too bad J.B. couldn’t play them the whole 48 minutes.

3. Game MVP: Lauri “The Finnisher” Markkanen

The Finnisher put in perhaps his finest NBA performance at the most opportune time with an all-around game last night going for 26 points, eight rebounds, three stocks, and a team high +9.8 net rating in his 36.5 minutes. He displayed incredible shooting touch going 6-12 from three. The Finnisher gave exactly what the Cavs were hoping for when they acquired him from Chicago and rewarded him with a long term investment. Don’t be surprised if this game a springboard to massive year two from the do-it-all big.

4. Top Dawg: Jarrett Allen

Jarrett Allen put in a gutsy performance coming off of his broken hand to give the Cavs over 35 minutes on the court. He clearly wasn’t 100%, favoring his hand and pushing his conditioning to the limits. Perhaps J.B. should’ve spared him some minutes especially after Clint Capela’s injury, but that’s certainly not the fault of Allen’s. The questions about Allen’s heart and toughness splattered across the internet were quite frankly idiotic and shameful. No true fan would want Allen out there unless he was healthy and ready, especially given the five year commitment made between the team and him. Best wishes to JA on healing up 100%.

5. Evan Mobley is built for this

There’s absolutely no question about Rookie of Year candidate Evan Mobley’s ability to elevate his game for the big moments, putting forth a winning all-around performance with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a +1.1 net rating, one of only three Cavs in positive territory. Maybe this is controversial to say, but the Cavs probably should’ve gone to Mobley more in the second half to stop the bleeding especially on offense. It was disappointing not to see Darius Garland stay focused on utilizing the length advantage on offense. Regardless, all summer will be spent by yours truly dreaming of Year Two Evan Mobley.

6. DG takes a rare L

There’s no getting around it, Darius Garland had a tough night getting outplayed by Trae Young especially in the second half. Too many bad shots and too many turnovers on offense, and a poor showing on defense despite three steals, with the Cavs posting a 115.7 defensive rating in his minutes on the floor. Knowing the type of competitor he is, this game will eat at DG and he’ll come back better for it.

7. Quick note on Atlanta

Given their surprise Eastern Conference Finals appearance last season, the Atlanta Hawks certainly disappointed fans and media types with their performance this year in the regular season. But that is all water under the bridge because they’re exactly where they want to be in the playoffs, and there’s a non-zero chance they could end up right back in the Eastern Conference Finals. With their path including an aging Heat team and a Harden-led Philadelphia 76ers team, the Hawks have a star in Young and depth with Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu, and Delon Wright coming off the bench to challenge either team. The knee injury to Clint Capela will loom large especially against the Sixers should they advance that far, but there’s absolutely no question that Trae Young is one tough sonofb**** in pressure situations.

8. And so it begins…

The offseason has now commenced for the Cavs. They have several looming questions to answer: What will happen to Collin Sexton? What will happen to Caris LeVert? What will the Cavs do with their first round pick? How do the Cavs overcome the loss of Ricky Rubio? This is a low key exciting offseason for the Cavs as they now embark upon the work of building a championship contender.

9. Thank you, Commentariat

Before wrapping this up, yours truly just wants to take the time to thank all the readers and commenters throughout the course of this season, it’s been a helluva ride. Without the Commentariat, there’s no community to share the highs and lows of Cavs’ fandom. Also, special shoutout to CtB leadership for their trust and the creative freedom to have fun talking Cavs’ basketball. Stay tuned, the beach side community of Cavs: The Blog is the place to be this summer, Go Cavs!