Summer League Cavs 82, Pistons 79
2022-07-15The Cavs ended the “regular” portion of Summer League on a high note defeating the Detroit Pistons 82-79. It was a game that the Cavs controlled for the vast majority, but nearly lost because their defensive intensity went into the crapper in the 2nd half. But a win is a win, let’s dive in to yesterday’s takeaways…
1. First half defense was immaculate
The Cavs came out of the gate with their hair on fire, holding the Pistons to 26 points in the first half. They forced Detroit into 22 turnovers for the game. It was the perimeter guys who really set the tone on defense: RJ Nembhard, Cam Young, and Ashton Hagans all recorded three steals. Isaiah Mobley had a great bounceback game on defense recording three stocks, including two blocks. Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor dropped this interesting nugget about the couple of lackluster performances this summer:
#Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff got into the summer league team a bit during the team's off day film session about representing the organization in a positive way, competing harder and playing for each other. R.J. Nembhard said the guys took that to heart.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) July 15, 2022
Sounds like the coaching staff was a bit unhappy getting torched on the boards and the lack of ball movement on offense. It’s good to see it addressed and corrected.
2. Ochai Agbaji with back to back blues
It was clear that the Cavs rookie didn’t have the same juice in his jumper that he did against the Charlotte Hornets, going a paltry 4-16 from the field shooting. On the plus side, it was good that he didn’t get scared of missing and continued to shoot his shots. He also made a real impact on the game with seven rebounds and three assists, which as it was said before, has never been a part of his game. The ability to find other ways to impact the game is the mark of a truly good basketball player. Hopefully he recovers in time for the Cavs’ Summer League finale to leave Las Vegas on a high note.
3. Cavs’ next game set
#Cavs Summer League finale is set for 3 p.m. ET on Saturday against the Hawks.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) July 15, 2022
The Cavs will get Friday off before finishing off Summer League against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. According to the NBA website, the game should be nationally televised on NBATV and streaming on ESPN3. GO CAVS!
live thread up
I was peeking in on the NYK/Utah sites on the Mitchell deal. The discussion of where Mitchell ranks came up. For me, a tricky player to rank. Nit quite a chucker, but and undersized 2 guard who is not great on D and has not proven he can be a point (though much better than say, Sexton). Still, he has more 50 pt PO games at age 25 than virtually anybody not named Jordan. I’d go top 20-ish. Tier 1: Giannis, Jokic, Embiid, Curry, Butler, KD, Luka, LeBron, Kawhi, Tatum. Tier 2: Morant, CP3, Booker, Dame, Mitchell, DDR, Young, PG13,… Read more »
whattabout that Darius guy?
GET IT DONE KOBY
is this a joke??? they want three young rotation players and four #1 picks from the Knicks.
Have missed most of Summer League, thanks for the updates Chris.
I have been watching FIBA action though. A name for the future: Tyrese Proctor. Plays with a maturity beyond his years. Got picked up by Duke a few months back.
You’re welcome as always Simmo! Thanks for the name drop, will be paying attention, GO DUKE!
thanks for the cap.
we will see how OA’s shooting turns out. the first game highlights looked great, so there’s that. I’m optimistic (as usual!).
2 really good games and two not so hot.
You’re welcome Raoul as always!
Nice cap, Chris. I’m hoping the Cavs didn’t draft another shooter who can’t shoot. We’ll find out by training camp, I guess.
Thanks as always Nate! 37.5% on 8 attempts per game in SL, he’s fine as a jump shooter. He literally can’t score any other way though (37% from field) LMFAO.
But decent rebounding and passing is a welcome surprise… defense isn’t horrible.
Yeah, pretty sure he’ll shoot from three…and he can finish on alley oops, for sure. But any other variation of shooting is suspect. He can fill a role, though.