Cavs Have Questions, We Need Answers
After Game 2 ended between the Cavs and Magic last week, I felt relieved. The Cavs weren’t perfect in building a 2-0 lead in their best-of-7 series, but they still controlled both of those games from beginning to end, leaning on their defense and letting the Magic non-shooters shoot poorly while being passable on offense, though still missing too many open 3s. In theory, the Cavs defense would travel well with them as the series moved from Cleveland to Orlando and hopefully some shots would start falling, Cavs in 5.
Oh, how the turntables.
After a complete dud of a performance in Game 3 that all involved on the Cleveland side, players and fans were ready to flush the outing down the toilet as soon as the game was over, and Game 4 started much better. With the Cavs leading 60-51 at halftime, they went on to be outscored 61-29 the rest of the way, doomed by a disaster of a 3rd quarter. The series is now tied at 2-2 and we’ve got questions.
What is going on with Darius?
He’s not healthy, for sure, but no one seems to be on this team this year. If he’s playing, Garland has to perform. He’s shooting over 40% from 3 for the first four games, but he’s only taking 5.5 per game, and he’s fourth on the team in playoff scoring at 12ppg. Last year, he was the only star to have a good game against the Knicks, scoring 32 in the Cavs only win that series. This year, he looks passive with his shot and unsure with his passes, leading to too much dribbling in circles through the paint and throwing bad passes. If he’s going to play, he needs to score more and play more composed.
Can anyone else knock down shots?
So far, not really. Even with a solid number from Darius, the Cvas are shooting 26.7% from deep as a team. Isaac Okoro and Evan Mobely follow Garland at 28.6% and 27.3%, respectively. Georges Niang is shooting 9% on 3 attempts per game. The Cavs are getting open looks. Someone needs to put up threes and make them at some volume to boost the offense and ease the burden on the defense.
Is Donovan’s ceiling as a great sidekick?
Count me in the camp of those that believe Mitchell is the second best player in team history. No other player besides LeBron has been able to control games with skill and talent in all facets like Mitchell can do at times. He’s been the Cavs leader in scoring and playmaking all season and is toughing out a knee injury to keep the team in contention. However, his disappearing act for most of the two games in Orlando are raising questions about whether or not he can be The Guy on a team playing for a title. The Cavs have the Big Four, and that has led to a lot of regular season wins, but someone needs to be The Head Honcho when it comes to playoff time. He played out of control in last year’s Knicks series, seeming out of rhythm. It’s been a long time since Bubble Donovan exploded on the scene. He needs to make his case as a playoff star still. We never saw Kyrie Irving run the show in the playoffs here, so Donovan can cement his case for Honcho and second-best in team history with a couple more great games.
What do we do about JB?
While a valid question, especially if the team continues underperforming, the coach can’t make shots for anyone. This particular question only interests me after the season is over. If it ends against the Magic, I think we have our answer.
After building houses with all the bricks in Games 1 and 2, Franz Wagner and Paolo Bachero found their shots falling at home in Orlando. It might be a case of that being the salve for what ails the Cavs. If homecourt plays out as the deciding factor and the Cavs win only their home games, and the series in 7, bully for them, they have met expectations for the season and earn a chance to build on it by extending their postseason. But if the Cavs continue to flail and let this series slip away, we’ll have some bad answers to these questions, and more to be asked after another premature ending to the postseason. The ball’s back in their court at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Tuesday. Let’s get some answers.