Cavaliers

Cavs Notes: Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio

December 13, 2022

For the Cavaliers, it’s getting ugly away from home these days. More specifically, they have lost eight of their last nine on the road.

The latest ugly example came Monday, when they trailed the Spurs by 19 points in the third quarter, before rallying to lose by a 112-111 count.

They had their chances, but a Donovan Mitchell layup was swatted away, and a Darius Garland 3-pointer missed. Before any of that, Evan Mobley clanked a free throw that would’ve tied the game.

This was supposed to be a road game the Cavs (17-11) could win, with the Spurs (9-18) struggling mightily in the early season. It’s also the type of game the Cavs should win — at least if they are the team they say they are.

“We played their record and not the team,” Mitchell told reporters. “They are a talented group. When they get going, they get comfortable, and we didn’t respect that coming out and that’s on us. That can’t happen.”

As it stands, the Cavs are 5-9 on the road this season, with a visit to Luka Doncic and the Mavericks up next.

Garland’s left hand was wrapped in ice after the game, telling Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that he indeed had suffered a hand injury in the first quarter on Monday. Garland continued to play and finished with 18 points, but went just 7-of-22 shooting, including 1-of-6 on 3-pointers.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff hinted that the Cavs have not been giving full effort for entire games. “We gave up 10 offensive rebounds in the first quarter,” he said, via Alex Sabri of Cavs Nation. “To me, that’s not the right approach to start the game. I thought (the Spurs) took advantage of it and continued to take advantage of it.”
The Cavs are continuing to lightly explore the market for additional perimeter shooting, sources told Hoops Wire. Though at this point, it appears they are waiting for Ricky Rubio to return before making any sort of major roster move or trade.
In case you missed it, Rubio is seemingly nearing a return after recently being assigned to practice with the G League’s Cleveland Charge. We have the latest right here.