Recap: Cavs 114, Lakers 100 (or, Succession: Cavs Edition)
2022-11-07The Cavs gave Hollywood an A-list performance toying with and disposing of the hapless Los Angeles Lakers 114-100. The Cavs relied on the individual offensive virtuosity of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland in the first half, while Tower City pitched a shutout in the 2nd half, giving up only 36 points after halftime. Let’s dive right in for last night’s takeaways…
1. From King James to The Don
The narrative surrounding the game was of course LeBron James facing his former franchise he built into a champion. The Cavs have never had success against the King, but that all changed last night. It was LBJ, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis engaging in theatrics, trying to pump themselves up against a superior opponent. But the Cavs were the ones who demonstrated championship poise in the face of adversity during the first half, led by masterclass of guard play by Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. As soon as the Cavs realized their half court defense was impenetrable in the second half, the Lakers’ fate was sealed.
One could say it was a bit jarring, at least for this Cavs fan, to see the Cavs dominate a LeBron James-led team. The subtweeting shots that King James took at perhaps his own squad while praising the Cavs was so delicious to hear:
When asked if the Cavs are a contender, LeBron joked that he "got in trouble" last time he talked about Cleveland. He praised the Cavs' young guys for seeming more focused on ball than social media or anything else, and their "grandpa who looks over everybody", as in Kevin Love. pic.twitter.com/6WWEY4PfN1
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) November 7, 2022
It is hereby decreed the “post-LeBron James Era” Cavs is over. Long live the “Don Squad Era” of Cavs basketball, to be followed in succession by the “DG and Evan Mobley Era” thereafter. May the Cavs dynasty reign forever!
2. Donovan Mitchell leading the way
The Cavs came out in a daze, for all sorts of reasons, which is what led to the Lakers scoring 64 points in the first half. It was a Sunday matinee start time with cross country travel, and coming off of a load management game for Spida and DG. But this is why Donovan Mitchell is “that guy.” He sensed the Cavs needed his aggression, and he delivered:
#Cavs Donovan Mitchell has 14 of the team's 19 first-quarter points thus far. Unsurprisingly, he is the dude who looks most cozy on this stage.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) November 6, 2022
It’s very early in the season, but every indication points towards the Cavs having a championship contending squad because of the acquisition of Donovan Mitchell, along with the growth of the young core. Mitchell has the innate sense of “the moment” and delivers play after play in those moments, and the young core appears to ready and willing to follow his lead. Right now Cleveland, Ohio is the home to some of the best basketball on planet Earth.
3. The bench continues their dominance
Kevin Love and Cedi Osman form what could be the deadliest 1-2 combo off the bench in the NBA. Their dominance continued unabated last night, posting net ratings of +54.2 and +49.6 respectively. It’s simultaneously a luxury and a necessity to have versatile veterans (one of whom is an NBA champion! Shoutout to KLOVE) coming off the bench to buoy all the young guys playing. Love was the ringleader in awarding Coach J.B. Bickerstaff with the Junkyard Dawg Chain after the game:
Kevin Love is really out here having the time of his life 🥺ðŸ˜
Love this team so much.
— bri (@breezyCLE) November 7, 2022
It’s heartwarming to see a guy like Kevin Love stick through the tough times and get to the good times. His willingness to vouch for J.B. and sacrifice minutes for the good of the team really set in motion all of the team-first focus that the guys have bought into now.
4. A couple of tiny quibbles…
Last night’s game had yours truly wondering a silly question: where’s Raul Neto and Lamar Stevens? Coach Bickerstaff ran essentially an eight man rotation for the game, cutting out Isaac Okoro and Robin Lopez in the second half. Okoro played poorly and was the only Cav to post a negative net rating. Lopez was just fine but clearly couldn’t hang on the defensive end this game. So the question remains, why not spare five minutes a piece to Neto and/or Stevens?
I could buy that last night was an unofficial load management day for Neto. But there’s definitely a case that Stevens is getting some unfair treatment from Coach Bickerstaff. Okoro so far this season has been clearly out of his depth as a 21 year old NBA player who needs massive amounts of developmental minutes. In the few minutes that Stevens has played, he’s posted a +37.0 net rating… nothing that should cause him to see fewer minutes. I’d love to see a straight up competition for that backup perimeter defender spot, without regard to draft pedigree or potential. Okoro is the only Cav on the season with a negative net rating at -5.9. It’s fair to call for a competition for his spot in the rotation.
Secondarily to Koby Altman: why the heck isn’t Okoro playing 30+ minutes at ball guard in G-League?
5. A quick hit on the Lakers
LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO R.I.P. BOZOS!!!
6. Next up, a Hollywood Primetime Feature
The Cavs will finish their Hollywood Back to back with a national primetime showcase game against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight on NBATV at 10:30PM Eastern time. The Clippers will present a similar challenge that the Lakers did, with top five defense and a bottom five offense. The formula for victory should be the same: keep them out of transition and get out and run on offense, Go Cavs!
BONUS:
Check out the Succession podcast RoyCast on Twitter and Spotify, I can vouch for the hosts they’re good friends of mine and I know they’re passionate about the show!
LT is UP!
Treat coming in the live thread. I’m psyched.
playing for 1st tonight
Damn impressive win for ATL. Murray seems to be working out well. Caveat being Middleton, Connaughton, and, Ingles are still out but hard to argue with a 20 point win.
Bucks down 12 to the Hawks in the 4th
Make that 15
bucks lose (oops a tad premature), but they will lose.. cavs playing for 1st
They’re gonna lose. Down 22
Great cap and great time rn so good !!!
Thanks DanK as always!
Killer Cap, Chris.
Thank you sir!
Enjoyable cap Chris. When Love and Cedi are putting up monster full weeks of positive impact and getting recognized around the league…lets just freaking celebrate. Love the Kevin Love effect. He has simultaneously softened the team and hardened them. I dont know how to describe his impact better. Guys seem to be more comfortable putting in max effort knowing there is a whole squad that has their backs like crazy. Its a different feeling than with Lebron or Jordan or Kobe. Not saying which works better in the end…but there is something to be said for healthy mental life. Love… Read more »
Damn good post Scotch, I agree Go Cavs!
I’m keeping point 5 as the take-home message.
LMFO indeed! Thanks CLF.
LMFAOOOOO THATS RIGHT!
ON ICE I POSTED RECENTLY WHEN IT WAS BROUGHT UP ABOUT ICE DOING SOME TIME WITH THE CHARGE—MY MAIN CONCERN BACK WHEN I POSTED WAS ALSO ABOUT ICEPOSSIBLY LOSING CONFIDENCE —-DEEMING THIS AS A DEMOTION—-IT IS UP TO JB// KOBY// COACHING STAFF // AND PLAYERS TO COMMUNICATE TO ICE THE BENIFITS OF GOING DOWN TO THE CHARGE ……….ARE THE CAVS INTENTIONALLY HOLDING BACK WINDLER TO MAKE SURE HE IS ABSOLUTELY HEALTHY — I MEAN THIS HAS BEEN LIKE THE 1ST WEEK OF TRAINNG CAMP FOR A SPRAINED ANKLE ??
Nice cap, Chris. Thanks for all the work you guys do. It is cherished and enjoyed. Agree on DM, Love & Cedi. I am gonna disagree on Okoro & Stevens. Those guys have overlap, but are not the same player. Okoro is a guard who can defend some 3s, while Stevens is a forward who can guard some bigger 2s. As always, I think you love Net Rating stats a bit too much. Stevens has played 23 minutes this year, his Net Rating is irrelevant. I did think it was weird JB kept the starters in after Ham waived the… Read more »
While I get the idea of Okoro going down, getting more minutes, and hoisting some in-game shots, and hopefully getting his confidence up…I think his main issue (or one of them) is just learning how to be a bench/limited minutes player.
I’d give him some more time to figure things out. DG being back should help him some, as we have more offensive options. And he still has some value as a defender (NY/Brunson). We have Sac/GSW coming up, I’d give him some minutes on Fox/Steph. Plus, we are 8-1. And sending him down could make him LESS confident.
Thanks Jason as always! Lamar’s net rating isn’t irrelevant if it supports the claim that the Cavs have enjoyed great success in his minutes, no matter how little he’s played. He can only be judged by fans from what he does on the court… which is be a positive impact player. Contextualized with Okoro’s struggles, I think net rating is relevant evidence for arguing for an open competition for that 9th spot in the rotation as things have played out so far. Stevens is the only guy who’s earned it so far, but I wouldn’t be against Diakite or Windler… Read more »
It is too small a sample size, Chris.
Same thing for 1 game Net Ratings. They are irrelevant. Sometimes they reinforce the eye test so people use them to make a point (like you are doing), but there is so much variance involved in single game/low minutes Nets that it is malpractice to keep using them. A team goes hot/cold on open 3s for a couple minutes and the whole rating is reversed.
Sample size is irrelevant to me, it’s the sum total of the team’s performance this year, which is what I’m judging.
Right, which is why you constantly misuse the stat. It is like you don’t even get how stats work.
This is blatantly disrespectful and I will not dignify the insult with a response.
Now, over the course of a season, with bigger sample sizes, it is assumed that evens out, and the stat becomes useful.
But one game? 23 minutes? It is like watching Ty Cobb go 0 for 4 & concluding he is a terrible hitter.
We have this out frequently, and I just think you misuse the stat. In too small samples.
It’s hard not to compare Stevens and Okoro. They’re both “wings” with strength and defense as their main asset. Both are bad outside shooters. Maybe Isaac will become one but it’s not looking good right now.
I -think- that the somewhat odd use of the bench in spite of the lead last night was because of the back-to-back. I suspect we’ll see more of Neto, Okoro, and Lopez tonight.
that’s a fair assumption, especially for Neto and Lopez who are past 30.
I hope it does not mean D&D are not gonna play tonight. I mean, using them extra minutes last night does not matter if they aren’t playing tonight.
D&D looked good last night, so I assume they’ll play unless they have a set back. I just think that I’ve noticed that JB seems to make a plan in a back to back and hold a couple of guys out of one game or the other. So, in hindsight, maybe it was Neto and Lamar’s turn to sit and we’ll see them tonight.
GREAT STUFF CLF —-YOU COVERED ALOT !!—-AGREE WITH THE “DON” SOME PEOPLE ” SHY ” AWAY FROM THE MOMENT –” THE DON EMBRACES// CHERISHES ” THE MOMENT –WILL RUB OFF ON DG—–KLOVE –TOTALLY AGREE–SO GLAD TO SEE HIM EXPERIENCE THE GOOD AFTER SUFFERING THRU THE BAD ( AND THE BAD CAN INCLUDE PLAYING WITH LEBRON AND KRA-RIE )—ICE NEEDS TO GO TO THE CHARGE AND GET MUST NEEDED MIN’S– NOT SURE WHY THEY HAVEN’T DONE THIS ALREADY—MAYBE WHEN THEY RETURN FROM THE ROAD TRIP —-AND YES TO WHAT TOJ POSTED—GIVE SOME MIN’S TO 3-A-KITE
thank you as always NOMAD!
TFTC as always! My questions is where’s Diakite? I want to see more of him – I’ve seen plenty of Lamar and Okoro.
Fair question! Where is Diakite??? Go Cavs!
me too. he looked great in the pre season.