CLEVELAND — Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 120-113 home loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. …
1. These are games you’re supposed to win. Granted, the Kings have played out of their minds in two games against the Cavs … but still.
2. With a victory, the Cavaliers would’ve clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. That will have to wait another day.
3. While the officiating was horrid, it doesn’t excuse the fact that the Cavs couldn’t make a shot when they needed to most. Or mostly, get any key stops.
4. Yeah, frustrating all the way around.
5. Eventually, the Cavs (62-16) will clinch that top spot. But in case they forgot, no one will hand it to them. This is the NBA. This is Game 7 of the NBA Finals for the Kings. They are likely going nowhere and have nothing to lose.
6. So yeah, catch fire against the No. 1 team in the East and hang your hat on that. Unfortunately, the Cavs seemed much too willing to let it happen.
7. Too many teams are shooting too well against the Cavs these days. The Kings have done it twice in two tries. Reason for concern? No. But Cleveland has not been as good after the All-Star break as they were before.
8. That’s something coach Kenny Atkinson said was a point of emphasis. It’s not worked out that way. Panic time? Of course not. It’s been a magical year. But the Cavs have to do a better job of putting together something closer to four complete quarters.
9. That’s especially the case when you could’ve locked down the No. 1 seed and made it official.
10. Atkinson on that very topic: “Just brutally honest, I didn’t think our energy was as high as I expected it would be. Little surprised we weren’t more on point. It’s something we can talk to the guys about.”
11. Atkinson was disappointed, but hardly distraught. The Cavs get another opportunity to clinch the East’s top spot on Tuesday, also at home (vs. Chicago). Now, the coach and his players want this to become official as much as everyone else. It’s just a matter of avoiding these in-game lulls.
12. The Kings (38-40) are fighting for their playoff lives. They’ve looked like future West champs in both games against Cleveland. They’ve been just OK against most everyone else, if not downright bad. But Sacramento deserves credit for approaching this game as it should have — as if it meant everything.
13. Atkinson said the “only good news of the night” took place when Donovan Mitchell returned following a scary ankle issue in the third quarter. It appeared Mitchell was jogging back on defense when he stepped on the foot of Kings guard Keon Ellis. Mitchell stayed down for a minute or two, grasping at his left ankle. He limped to the locker room.
14. Cavs Nation breathed a sigh of relief when Mitchell returned to the court a few moments later. But it did little good, as the Cavs trailed 92-79 entering the fourth.
15. Then, it was Cavalanche time. Cleveland opened the fourth with a 10-0 run, eventually making it a 17-4 run to take a 96-95 lead. But it didn’t stick. Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan caught fire, often hitting shots over the outstretched arms of defenders right as the shot clock expired.
16. Each had a monstrous night and were the two biggest reasons the Cavs didn’t clinch. LaVine erupted for 37 points on 15-of-21 shooting. DeRozan scored 28, passing Jerry West for 30th on the NBA all-time scoring list in the process. Domantas Sabonis was utterly dominant in the first half and finished with 27.
17. If you root for the Cavaliers, it was hard to stomach.
18. Meanwhile, the Cavs couldn’t connect when it meant the most. They also missed way too many free throws (11-of-19) in a close game.
19. More Atkinson: “It was one of those games where you’re not making shots, couldn’t make free throws, and not getting stops. So, not great. We made a lot of mistakes defensively.”
20. Ty Jerome was brilliant, returning from a five-game absence to score a team-high 20 points. He wasn’t in at the end, though. “That was my decision; didn’t want to risk it,” Atkinson said, referring to the knee issue that sidelined Jerome previously. “We had a minutes thing in our mind and I didn’t want to (break it).”
21. Mitchell added 19 points, with seven rebounds and six assists. But he was just 1-of-6 on 3-pointers. Darius Garland (nine points) was just 1-of-7 on threes.
22. Jarrett Allen went 7-of-9 shooting for 17 points, and Evan Mobley finished with 16, many of which were the result of alley-oop dunks. De’Andre Hunter and Max Strus each scored 11.
23. That said, the Kings outscored the Cavaliers by 28 points in Hunter’s 22 minutes. That’s hardly all Hunter’s fault — but sometimes, plus-minus does mean a little something. Atkinson said he’ll have to look at the film. “It happens,” he said. “I’m not gonna sit here and say he had a bad game.”
24. On one play, LaVine hit a bucket in the lane that clearly came as the shot clock expired and the ball still in LaVine’s hand. It came with 46 seconds to go and shouldn’t have counted. “The (officials) said they couldn’t review it,” Atkinson said. “It’s too bad. We make errors, they make mistakes, so I’m not gonna make a big deal about it. It’s not why we lost the game.”
25. Crew chief Courtney Kirkland admitted afterward that the call was missed. “We made a mistake,” he said. “… If we were going to review, we would’ve had to review before the ball was legally touched on the floor.”
26. So that’s that. The Cavaliers will try again on Tuesday. Perhaps they will come out with the necessary energy and effectiveness, and “knock it out of the box,” as Atkinson said he was hoping to see in this one. They really need to get it over with, that much everyone knows.
- Box Score | Kings 120, Cavs 113
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I noticed and Mentioned shortly after the Allstar break, three areas they were seemingly having some difficulties,,,,, more certainty in MAKING the three’s go down, leaving points at the free throw line,,,(just taking enough dribbles or breaths & making each one count-consistency) and then overall attention on defense. Yeah, they were winning some of those games, but these were items that weren’t being accomplished nearly as well as they HAD BEEN doing all season until then. & it seems as if it still hasn’t changed.
It also Seems Atkinson had some different wording for pretty much thee the same thing in your number 19.
I sure hope they can get this together before this short season ends…. because if not, the ending is going to be a lousy bust.–it seems like it’s (NO PUN INTENDED) a cavalier attitude.
Just to reminisce a moment, first two thirds of the season,,,3pt shots were falling through the nets like crazy by Mitchell, Darius, Strus, & occasionally Mobley on the starters, AND when, reserves came in, it was even better at most times, with Ty Jerome, Sam Merrell,,,even Okoro, Wade, & Porter, causing it to rain 3’s. & Briefly after Hunter refilled the two wonder players we lost in the trade, it looked like the Cavs had done super on that one. However this same team letdown appears to have affected the whole reserve group too.
Why??? ??????????????????????? I sure can’t figure that one out, but I hope someone can soon.