Dribbles: For Cavs, Bad Things Come In Threes As JB Bickerstaff Questions Focus

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 106-103 toughie of a road loss to the Pistons on Thursday.

1. That one stings. The Cavs missed their final six shots. That included three 3-pointers in the final seconds. Two were clean looks. That included the wide-open one from Brandon Goodwin just before the final buzzer.

2. It just didn’t drop.

3. Three missed threes and the Cavs were defeated by three. And now, make it three straight losses.

4. For most of the night, the Cavs never really got into a rhythm. It was the first game after the All-Star break, and it was sloppy. Basically, it’s not really how you want to begin the most important stretch of the season.

5. Yes, it’s always tough to be sharp coming out of All-Star Weekend. Yes, the Cavs were missing All-Star point guard Darius Garland (back) and Caris LeVert (foot). But yes, they had their chances anyway, and it really was the case of one that got away.

6. A few seconds prior to Goodwin’s miss, Evan Mobley gave himself a decent look on a three from the baseline with a nice pump fake. Like Goodwin’s shot, Mobley’s just … didn’t … drop. Seven or eight out of 10 times, each player makes the shot he took.

7. But it just wasn’t meant to be, and it didn’t really all come down to those final threes. That was just the most noticeable part.

8. This was a game where the Cavs truly missed Garland, because the offense didn’t have any flow and the spacing seemed to drastically suffer. Everything was a struggle. Defensively, the Cavs were only solid or better-than-solid in spurts.

9. You do have to admire how the Cavs really picked up the intensity near the end to give themselves a fighting chance. That’s just the way they’re built — they never believe they’re out of it, and they rarely are.

10. That said, this is crunch time when it comes to the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Cavs (35-24) will have to be better, Garland and LeVert or not. 

11. As it stands, the Cavs have indeed lost three straight, all on the road. This is their second loss of the season to the lowly Pistons (14-45), who sport the NBA’s second-worst record. 

12. Bottom line: You can’t get too down, because there’s plenty of basketball to be played. But the Cavs have to avoid going through lulls in these types of games against inferior opponents. It will come back to bite you.

13. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff made no excuses despite the injuries to Garland and LeVert. “We didn’t have enough guys who were locked in to what we needed to do to win the game,” Bickerstaff said. “There were too many times tonight where we had to pull guys together and find it mentally.”

14. That’s not usually how Bickerstaff describes his team. Not this year.

15. More Bickerstaff: “I felt we went into the (All-Star) break that way, and we came out of the break that way. You can’t afford to do that in this league. Teams are too good, players are too good. You play like that, and then the last two minutes you have to be perfect.”

16. Bickerstaff is right, because the Cavs were close to perfect in the final two minutes. They just weren’t perfect all the way — proving Bickerstaff’s point about the earlier mental lapses.

17. The biggest bright spot offensively was no less than Lauri Markkanen, who finished with a team-high 22 points after missing the previous 11 games with an ankle sprain. Markkanen was just 6-of-16 shooting, but he was aggressive and the Cavs needed that.

18. Mobley and Rajon Rondo each scored 12, while Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro each had 11. Allen also grabbed nine rebounds and swatted three shots. Goodwin had a nice night overall with 15 points and five assists.

19. Overall, none of the Cavs played terribly, but none played great, either. They had some fantastic and fun moments. But as they’ve sometimes learned the hard way, great moments aren’t enough if you’re not dialed in all night long.

20. OK, enough about all that. Now for what is presumably good news — as each of the Cavs’ next three games are at home (Wizards, Timberwolves and Hornets, respectively). Things tend to be easier in your own building. So the Cavs can get back on track quickly with the proper effort.

21. Finally, in case you missed it, the Cavs said before the game that LeVert is expected to miss one-to-two weeks. He suffered the injury at practice Thursday after stepping on a teammate’s foot. Garland is considered day-to-day.