Recap: Cavs 119, Trail Blazers 113 (or, King of Spain)

The Cavs put together a virtuoso fourth quarter performance to take one from the feisty but flailing Portland Trail Blazers in the City of Roses, 119-113, with the help of one Ricky Rubio. Let’s dive into Thursday night’s game…

1. King of Spain

RICKY RUBIO

BIENVENIDO DE NUEVO

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 pic.twitter.com/EOSadWSPzq

— Gigantes del Basket (@GIGANTESbasket) January 13, 2023

In his first NBA game in over a year, Ricky Rubio picked up right where he left off, leading the team in net rating at +27.2 for the game. The Cavs bench as a whole had an unusual off game, but Rubio kept the Cavs afloat until the starters got revved up. The excitement surrounding the team because of Rubio’s presence is palpable, and showed itself in the fourth quarter the way the Cavs closed out the game with sharpness, intelligence, and toughness. As yours truly has maintained all season, the team is going to another level with the King of Spain.

2. The starters find their groove

Thursday night might’ve been the first time all season (claim based on vibes and no research) that the starting group collectively executed in their roles to perfection. Darius Garland, as floor general of the team, put up a hyper-efficient 20 points, 10 assists double-double with clutch shooting down the stretch. Donovan Mitchell poured in 26 points, five assists, five rebounds, and two steals which helped counterbalance what Damian Lillard was doing for the opposing team. Spida also led all starters with a +13.2 net rating. Jarrett Allen broke out of his “slump” with his own 24 points, 10 rebounds double-double with six assists, getting his Tower City running mate Evan Mobley a bunch of easy dunks. Mobley himself had a Tim Duncan-esque game with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two stocks, and zero turnovers. Isaac Okoro had himself a solid 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals game in 29 minutes, which is excellent production as a fifth wheel in the starting lineup. He’s starting to look much more like the player he was at Auburn, a sort of miniature Evan Mobley who can make winning plays in all facets of the game without dominating the ball. Winning team basketball is when guys are able to execute their roles at a high level, and that’s exactly what the Cavs did on Thursday night.

3. The only blemish on the night

The ongoing saga of Coach J.B. Bickerstaff treating Cedi Osman as his own personal punching bag was the only blemish on the night. The Cavs had a +10.5 net rating in the 8.5 minutes Cedi was on the court, but apparently that wasn’t good enough for J.B. to give him his normal workload. There were recent rumors of a balky back for Cedi Osman, so hopefully J.B. was just find a way to load manage Cedi through the grueling part of the season. Less excusable was the lack of Raul Neto minutes, especially as J.B. watched Dame Dollar go off for a 50 burger. Five to 10 minutes of Neto hounding Lillard could’ve made this game an easier time, but J.B. has a penchant for trust issues as everyone knows. It’s easy to brush off these criticisms in a solid road win, but it would’ve been nice to see J.B. reward Neto’s stellar bench play this season with a splash of minutes instead of a DNP, especially in a game where the point guards were getting absolutely torched on defense.

4. Quick note on the Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers continue their month-long free fall in the standings even though they got an MVP performance from Dame Lillard. They’ve only won three games since mid-December. They, like many NBA teams, are stuck on the treadmill of NBA mediocrity, with no discernible path off of it. They do have a war chest of first round picks and a young player or two (Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe) to make some moves, which they should probably do if they actually want to compete in the playoffs. Or they could start rebuilding for their post-Damian Lillard future. It’ll be interesting to see if they choose to go one way or another, or maintain the status quo.

5. Next up, a Twin Cities road finale

The Cavs will make their final stop on their five game road trip in the Twin Cities to take on another NBA team on the treadmill of mediocrity, the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Cavs owe them one after taking one of their worst losses of the year, a rare home loss 124-129 even with a 50 burger from Darius Garland that game. The Cavs have a golden opportunity to continue to build confidence on the road, however they might have to do it without their alpha dawg Donovan Mitchell:

#Cavs Donovan Mitchell (illness) is now listed as QUESTIONABLE for tonight’s game here in Minnesota. He was clearly not feeling well when we talked to him the other night in Portland.

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) January 14, 2023

Get well soon, Spida! Go Cavs!