CtB Trifecta: Recap, Preview, and Live Thread (or, Old News?)

The Cavs squandered a nine-point lead with less than two minutes left to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against the new darlings of the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder 108-105. Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell fumbled the bag late with poor finishing and a turnover to gift this game to OKC. Let’s dive into last night’s takeaways…

1. Donovan Mitchell MVP Agenda still strong, but takes a hit

Spida put the team on his back with another MVP-worthy performance with 43 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five stocks, and a +7 plus/minus in 42 minutes of action. Unfortunately, it was a turnover late in the game that gave the Thunder their lead for good with under a minute that’s gonna stick with Mitchell, as he said in his post-game presser. But in an effort to display some leadership, Spida was super positive after the loss, saying this experience will help the team grow so that they’re prepared for the playoffs. In Spida we trust.

2. Chet Holmgren > Evan Mobley?

Evan Mobley was abysmal in the first half as he got taken to the woodshed by “rookie” Chet Holmgren that figures to be the rivalry of the future between two big unicorns. Mobley stepped up big time in the second half, only to come up short at the end of the game on an unfortunate block call that negated a chance for him to put the game away at the line. But this was the second game in a row of subpar offense from the young big, and Mobley failed to match the defensive impact that Holmgren had on the game (eight stocks to Mobley’s two). The eye test is more alarming when it comes to Mobley, too many times he looks like he has zero plan on offense, and is too skittish on defense. Hopefully this L lights a fire under Mobley. He did start slowly last year, so maybe this is the game that will trigger him to keep his intensity up, especially on defense. Also, while it’s only two games, the offense needs to use Mobley more. Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro should not be seeing more usage than Evan Mobley. That’s poor offensive design, granted Mobley has not given the team a reason to go to him more yet. Perhaps more touches will get Mobley going in the right direction, stay tuned…

3. Dean Wade Agenda

This is your obligatory “James” Dean Wade propaganda piece. He gave the Cavs rebounding, outside shooting, and played excellent defense when matched up again Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Wade Agenda continues unabated!

4. INVESTIGATE THE REFS

The refs were absolute trash, and apparently this is a plague across the league. It’s not a good look when the refs are calling the game in such an arbitrary fashion that it makes the game damn near unwatchable. In spite of the garbage refereeing, the Cavs can’t lose their poise (looking at you Coach JB Bickerstaff and Max Strus).

5. A quick word on the Thunder

The Thunder is the pet team NBA Twitter has decided to back, and unfortunately it looks like they are legitimate competition for the Cavs to become the best young team in the NBA. Holmgren outplayed Mobley, SGA went toe-to-toe with Spida. Lou Dort, rookie Cason Wallace, and personal favorite Jalen Williams looks like a solid core surrounding their two stars. Josh Giddey has gone from one of the better players on the team to odd man out, which speaks to the improvement the roster has made this season. They also have all the ammo in the world to go star hunting just as the Cavs did with Donovan Mitchell. The question is will they actually pull the trigger, or will Sam Presti continue to collect draft picks like it’s going out of style.

6. Up next, the Indiana Pacers

The walking wounded Cavs will welcome the Indiana Pacers to the shores of Lake Erie, and it could get ugly tonight:

One would think that this is the perfect game for Evan Mobley to establish himself as the superstar everybody thinks he’ll become. If not, the Cavs could be come old news quickly at the hands of two upstarts in OKC and Indiana, Go Cavs!

Tip off is scheduled for 7:30PM Eastern time and will be broadcasted live on Bally Sports Ohio.