After Cleveland’s second preseason game, there are some things to unpack. Here’s a look at the Cavaliers 105-108 loss to Orlando, the good, bad, and biggest takeaway.
Darius Garland was the highlight of this game, with 19 points and 2 assists. He, while displaying the same tools as he did last season, looked a little more polished in his shot choice.
Another player who looked more polished was Evan Mobley. He finished with 11 points, four rebounds and an assist. Mobley looked more aggressive in the paint, and was able to amplify his presence on defense. Those extra pounds he put on are already showing their benefits.
Emoni Bates was also a standout, with 12 points and four rebounds. This came off three threes and a 50 percent field goal percentage. His scoring felt more impactful than 12 points. With his play suggesting more minutes, Bates could find his way into the rotation if his play continues to grow at the pace it is.
Other notable performances included Dean Wade (14 points and six rebounds) and Max Strus (13 points, six rebounds and five assists).
Donovan Mitchell hit the shots you’d expect him to hit, but was overall less productive than usual. He finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists over 29 minutes. Keep in mind this is preseason, meaning that it’s not entirely telling of how the season will play out, so expect Mitchell to snap back to his old numbers when the season starts.
Craig Porter Jr also didn’t perform at the level he showed during the summer league. He finished with seven points and two assists, and ended up turning the ball over in the final moments with a chance to tie the game. Although he only played eight minutes, the explosiveness we saw over the summer hasn’t seemed to translate yet.
The most noticeable aspect of Cleveland’s play in this game was their ball movement. There doesn’t seem to be a single player who isn’t always searching and/or ready to dish if the look is there. All game the Cavs were slinging the ball around moving. Whether it was moving the defense back and forth or splitting the defense before they knew what was happening, Cleveland was moving the ball at an almost frantic pace at times.
The best example of this is a play where Mitchell had the ball just past half court. He passed to Isaac Okoro on the wing who immediately passed it to Strus in the corner. The defense began to collapse on Strus who kicked it back out to Okoro, leaving only a single man to cover Okoro. Okoro started to drive, and when the center stepped over to help, Okoro dished to Mobley on the other side of the paint for an easy two points. The whole sequence lasted five seconds.
That’s an extremely effective use of ball movement, and each of the four passes played a role in opening up Mobley for an easy bucket. Not a pass wasted.
Similar to how last game hinted at an uptick in Cavalier three pointers this season, this game suggests that passing will be much more integral to this team’s offense.
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Featured photo courtesy of NBA.com
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