Dribbles: Cavs Look a Lot Like Warriors of Old in Drubbing Dubs of Today

December 31, 2024

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 113-95 road win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday. …

1. This was the tale of two franchises headed in opposite directions. And the Cavaliers are the one that’s going the right way.

2. They just keep proving it over and over and over again. This may have been their worst first half of the season, as they clunked their way to a 46-38 lead at the intermission. And they still won by 18 — and it could’ve been worse.

3. Donovan Mitchell opened the third quarter with three 3-pointers. Evan Mobley added another. Next thing you know, the Cavs are on a 12-0 run. It seemed to happen faster than you could say “blowout.”

4. It’s not often we see a Golden State crowd this quiet. But the once mighty Warriors are falling apart. They need to rebuild. They just don’t want to accept it. The league-leading Cavaliers (28-4) drove that point home.

5. While the Cavs finally pulled it together on offense, it was their defense that won this game. Or at least kept it from being close in the second half. Dean Wade was magnificent on the wing — and everywhere, for that matter. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley did the dirty work underneath. Everyone else scratched, clawed, and held the Warriors to a miserable 33.3 percent shooting from the field.

6. That included just 9-of-38 on threes. Steph Curry had just two points at halftime and scored only 11 meaningless points overall. For all the Cavs’ accomplishments on offense (and there were many), that may have been their most impressive stat. Curry is still a dangerous player. But his days of having his way with Cleveland are over.

7. Meanwhile, Darius Garland was again fantastic, running the offense, coming up with timely buckets and simply playing like a seasoned winner. He recorded games-highs of 25 points and eight assists, without committing a single turnover.

8. Garland will see San Francisco again later this season, as that’s the site of this year’s All-Star Game.

9. Mitchell had 25 points, with 15 coming in the critical third. Allen went for 12 points and nine rebounds, and Wade scored 10, grabbed a career-high 13 boards and finished as a plus-22.

10. Wade said he spent a lot of time in the weight room this past offseason, getting in a morning lifting session before working on his shot. We are seeing the fruits of that labor. Wade, Allen and Mobley (seven points) compiled two blocked shots apiece.

11. Garland kept his analysis of the season short and to the point. “I’m happy, we’re winning basketball games,” he told FanDuel Sports Cleveland. “That’s all I can ask.”

12. The Cavs have now won seven straight, each by double digits. And coach Kenny Atkinson‘s new team sure knows how to put on a clinic against his old one, as he spent three years as an assistant under Steve Kerr with the Warriors.

13. But these Warriors (16-16) are fading fast, having lost seven of their last nine.

14. Atkinson promised before the season that he had really learned a lot under Kerr and was a much different head coach than his previous stint with the Brooklyn Nets (2016-20). And he was pretty good then. But after watching today’s Cavs, you believe him.

15. Ty Jerome added 10 points and four assists, and Georges Niang, Sam Merrill and Caris LeVert each contributed in their own way. Niang even passed for five assists in 20 minutes.

16. Today, the Cavaliers are 8-0 against the Western Conference as they head to LA to face LeBron James and the Lakers on New Year’s Eve (9 p.m. EST).

17. That’s right, the Cavs get LeBron on the second night of a road back-to-back the day after his 40th birthday. Sounds like a difficult task — and the kind of challenge this version of the Cavaliers can’t wait to tackle.

Do the #Cavs play like the 15-16 Warriors? #LetEmKnow

"You can see similarities in the way they are finishing games."

– @AmicoHoops

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— Full Court Cleveland (@FullCourtCLE) December 30, 2024