Even though the Cavaliers’ 16-game winning streak ended on Sunday, Cleveland saw plenty of action this week.
The Cavaliers suffered their first defeat since February 5th. The Cavaliers’ 16-game winning streak was ended as they lost to the Orlando Magic 108-103 to end the week. Cleveland shot the ball horribly, going 10-of-40 from three-point range, and was without All-Star forward Evan Mobley.
Even though we didn’t have a perfect week, we still learned a lot about Cleveland this week. Which major themes emerged? These are the three most important lessons learned from Cavaliers basketball’s 21st week.
1. Evan Mobley is Cleveland’s most important player
Evan Mobley is the Cavs’ most important player. He may not be their best player, as that honor belongs to Donovan Mitchell, but in order for the Cavaliers to realize their championship dreams, they’re going to need Mobley. The big man was coming off back-to-back 20-point games before sitting out against the Magic on Sunday.
In games Mobley misses this year, Cleveland is 5-3. In all other games they are 51-8. In those eight games without Mobley, the Cavs slide from seventh in defensive rating with Mobley to 14th without him. This includes games where they gave up 126 to the Bulls, 132 to the Sixers, and 117 twice to the Wolves and the Bulls once more.
The Cavaliers did miss Mobley defensively against Orlando on Sunday, particularly in the fourth quarter. With Jarrett Allen on the floor, the Magic managed to cut off the rim, giving Cleveland a four-out, one-in chance to end the game rather than a five-out one. The Cavaliers lost the game in the closing minutes because Mobley’s ability to stretch the floor, create off the dribble, and be an offensive hub was sorely missed.
2. Sam Merrill’s shot has arrived.
Sam Merrill seemed unable to miss last season. Merrill struggled to find consistency with his shots early in the season, shooting just 26% from three-point range in January. Merrill has been on a heater for the past month.
Since February 1st, Merrill is averaging about nine points per game and is shooting a blistering 46 percent from three-point range on about five attempts per game. In that same span, Merrill has had nine games of making three or more three-pointers and five games of shooting 60 percent or better from three (not counting games where he went 1/1).
Merrill is a key reserve for the Cavs and him finding his shot again is an important development. Having him as a weapon in any playoff series is a nice luxury for head coach Kenny Atkinson to have.
3. Blueprint for beating the Cavs?
In most of Cleveland’s losses this season, a couple of big themes have been prevalent as to why they lost.
One is ball pressure. When teams pressured the Cavs, causing them to get into their sets slower, they have been able to wreak havoc. A couple of examples include the early season losses to the Pacers and Hawks and Sunday’s game against the Magic. Teams usually put their longer, lengthier defenders on Cleveland’s smaller guards in Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, which causes some issues.
The second one is shooting variance. The Cavs are at the top of the league in three-pointers made and percentage. However, when they make ten threes or less, they are only 2-2 on the season.
The good news is that Cleveland was generating good looks against Orlando, they just were not falling. Additionally, they have shown that they can win slower-paced games throughout the season and now that they have more length on the wing, they can combat physical teams when they are healthy. However, those themes are just something to keep an eye on as the Cavs head towards the playoffs.
