CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 112-84 home win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
1. Well, that’s one way to start life after the All-Star break. If you’re the Cavs, you turn the game into 48 minutes of garbage time.
2. They did it with high energy from the opening tip (here’s looking at you, Jarrett Allen), some fancy passing from James Harden, and more than a few defensive stands. It resulted in a game that was over by the end of the first quarter.
3. You know things are going your way when the opposing coach calls a timeout 41 seconds into the game.
4. Granted, the Nets are in full tank mode, but this is how games against lesser teams SHOULD be approached. “This was a professional performance,” coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We handled our business.”
5. This is true. But let’s just say it wasn’t very difficult. The post-break Nets resemble a .500 G League club. That’s not an insult, considering that’s sort of by design.
6. But if you remember, the Cavs lost to the Utah Jazz at home in early January. This is a different team — and it’s not always a “statement” win that proves it. Sometimes, it’s just a game like this.
7. It also helps that the Cavs got to rest some of their main men — Harden (16 points, nine assists), Donovan Mitchell (17 points), Allen (15), Evan Mobley (10 points, nine rebounds) and Dean Wade (11 points).
8. That’s because this one marked the first of five games in seven days and the first half of a back-to-back. They visit the rising Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
9. It also marked the returns of Mobley (calf) and Wade (ankle). Both had their moments. Heck, there was a point in the first quarter when Wade was leading the team in scoring with six points. Given all the other names on the roster, hey, that’s something.
10. Mobley struggled a little early, but he recovered well. “Definitely a little rust,” Atkinson said. “You know how it is. We have him on a minutes restriction, so it’s not always gonna be easy for him to get into a flow. But I though his second stint (of the game) was better.”
11. Meanwhile, Allen continued his upward trajectory. He was already taking it up a notch before the trade deadline. Playing alongside Harden seems to have gotten him to another level.
12. Some of Harden’s passes in the first quarter alone were downright … well, remarkable. There was the lob to Mitchell off the fastbreak. Slam dunk. Later in the first, it was a pinpoint bounce pass to Allen in the lane. Again, Dunk City.
13. Atkinson on Harden: “He’s almost like a quarterback leading the receivers. You don’t have to wait for it. You catch it in stride.”
14. Not a whole lot more to say about this one, so let’s get into the stats. The Cavs (35-21) have won six straight overall and 11 of 12. They’re 18-5 since Dec. 29, giving them the league’s best winning percentage in that stretch (.783).
15. Meanwhile, former Cavs draft pick Ochai Agbaji scored 13 for the Nets (15-39). Agbaji was taken by the Cavs with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Three months later, he was traded to Utah as part of the deal for … you guessed it, Donovan Mitchell.
16. Overall, the Cavs shot 51 percent from the field and 34 percent on threes (12-of-35). A lot of the misses from beyond the arc came in garbage time. Real garbage time. Not the garbage time the Cavs made sure happened long before the fourth quarter.
BOX SCORE | Cavs 112, Nets 84
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
Yep, Garbage time is a real good descriptor for the whole 4th Qtr.
3rd string has really, really lost more than a step. I mean, what, 2 or maybe it was barely 4 points for the first half of the 4th quarter & it wasn’t superstars they were playing against. They’ve been much better than that.
Glad the starters did what starter really do & did it well !