CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 126-113 home loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.
1. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson sat at his postgame press conference and held one hand up high, another down low. “Their energy level was here (the high hand), and we were down here (the other hand),” he said.
2. That about sums it up.
3. Atkinson went on to say that the Raptors “were just quicker, faster,” that the Cavs “just did not have the juice,” and that the Cavs were “stuck in mud.”
4. Again, no argument here.
5. The Cavs (8-5) were playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Or at least many of them were. Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley actually sat out of Wednesday’s impressive win down in Miami. Yet they were two of the guys who didn’t have it. Not like they normally do, anyway.
6. Mitchell did finish with 31 points, and he tried at times to take over. But he finished just 7-of-18 shooting, including 2-of-9 on 3-pointers.
7. Meanwhile, Mobley attempted a mere seven shots, finishing with seven points, well below his average (20.1 ppg). For a little context, rookie second-round pick Tyrese Proctor attempted eight shots.
8. More Atkinson: “I think Evan was part of the group that didn’t have the highest energy, right? It wasn’t just him. It was collective. But we can do a better job of getting him the ball.”
9. I’ll be honest, I rarely worry about anything at this time of year. I mean, I might worry if the Cavs were 2-11 or something. But we should never forget that the Indiana Pacers started 11-15 last year. And then came within a game of winning the title.
10. As for this night, Atkinson hit the nail on the head. “I wish we’d been a little mentally stronger,” he said. “You gotta fight through the schedule. … It happens in this league.”
11. Then he brought up another valid point. “Good news is we have a day off tomorrow to recover, and a nice stretch at home,” he added.
12. He’s right. The Cavs have five more in a row at home, with no back-to-backs. Though all five come with just one day in between.
13. Two-way big man Nae’Qwan Tomlin offered a fine showing with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. He was also incredibly active around the basket. Tomlin is playing himself into more minutes, that’s for sure.
14. De’Andre Hunter added 16 points and Sam Merrill scored 12. Jarrett Allen looked a little worn down, scoring just six (with eight rebounds), one night after erupting for 30.
15. No matter how you spin it, though, this team misses Darius Garland (toe) and even Jaylon Tyson (concussion). After the game, Atkinson called Garland “day-to-day.” He referred to Tyson’s status as “to be determined.”
16. Scottie Barnes led the Raptors (7-5) with 28 points, and Immanuel Quickley broke down the Cavs with 25 of his own. Quickley went 10-of-13 from the field. Toronto is now 2-0 against the Cavs, with both games coming in Cleveland.
17. Atkinson added that the Cavs “gotta be physically better.” That too is right on. They get another shot Saturday, when they host the struggling Memphis Grizzlies. That one tips off at 5 p.m.
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Observations from what I saw in attendance tonight.
Mobley was brutalized in all phases of the game as Barnes and company completely dominated him, rendering him useless.
Dean Wade stinks and honestly, if he can’t make his 3’s, he is useless.
Something looked very off with Allen tonight as he sat at the edge of the bench and very disinterested in the contest.
I really like the play of the 3 youngsters, Porter Jr., Tomlin and Proctor and wondered why Proctor only played 11 minutes?
Good thing there are 69 games left and plenty of time to fix the issues I saw in person tonight.
Go Cavs 🏀✌️😎
Sam, I gotta agree with Joseph,,,, SO MUCH !
The Cavs we saw in the first Miami game & this Toronto game STINK!
And most of it IS coaching ! Waiting TOO long to notice a momentum swing,
& putting/keeping personnel in the game that are WAY off on shooting for too long.
Not staying in front of or with their man, or covering on defense. It was awful.
What’s to rebound if they’re making ALL their shots???
He had a few starters that were NOT carrying the weight & left them in the game when he had a complete group of those guys who played together to topple Miami the night before
in good fashion. Granted, they might have been a bit tired, but that group had worked
TOGETHER very well to ignite that victory over Miami; & they likely would’ve been head & shoulders above working with the overly rested starters who could hit their shots.
If the coaching were better they could at LEAST recognize those young guys played their tails off winning in MIA. They worked well to feed Allen too when he was in.
The Cav’s have enough to have a complete platoon of seconds off the bench that work together. Let the young guys run when the starters can’t hit.
I WAS beginning to think Cav’s had no bench to speak of since Jerome left for Memphis, (Especially Porter hadn’t showed a whole lot) However, this young group showed GREATLY
how THEY can work together… Porter, Proctor, Tomlin, Bryant, & Luke T. — together,
along with Hunter, Merrill, Lonzo & maybe Nance, can come up bigger than most think.
As for D-Wade ?? – His defense does well at times & occasionally his 3 works, but consistency ?? He’s just GOT to make the 3’s, as do ALL 4 starters–Mitchell, Mobley, Darius & Strus too when he comes back if they want this season to work because the opposition is going to MAKE their 3’s & free throws when playing against the mighty CAV’S. They’re always going to be facing the other team’s best effort.