Garland had no points in the first 12 minutes, and the Cavs led 32-24 early in the second quarter. He then blasted the Pistons for 18 points on six of seven attempts from deep (missing four in the paint). He used an Allen rocket screen to beat the zone in the corner, took a step back on Jalen Duren and another on Isaiah Stewart, burned drop coverage twice and splashed his last one to the left side during a blitz.
The star point guard followed up his 3-point shot with two out of five shots in the second half. In the fourth, when the Cavs’ offense collapsed, DG scored the team’s final basket by isolating Stewart and shooting at the left elbow. He completed one of four late ventures.
The next highest scorer was Merrill, producing 12 points from behind the arc on 44.4 percent accuracy. The Pistons were late, blocking him and following him, and were destroyed by falling instead of trapping him after the catch. His final two bangers came in the fourth quarter — the Cavaliers recorded just six of 19 looks in the frame.
Strus shot just 29 percent from behind the arc, but he made his only pair in the first four minutes of the game to put Cleveland in pace. The rest of the Wine and Gold converted four of 13 shots from deep.
Against man-to-man and zone coverage, the Cavaliers made just 14 of 34 tries in the paint. However, he generated 30 free throw attempts, making 26. The league lead for most free throws average per game is 25.4 by the Phoenix Suns.
Mobley was the team’s best paint crasher, attacking defenders one-on-one, rolling to the rim and moving coast-to-coast after a rebound. His activity near the basket resulted in 11 free throws, or eight. Mobley also added 14 points in the paint.
The next leaders in paint score were Strus and Okoro with two out of four baskets each. Okoro and Strus were perfect at the free throw line going six for six on giveaways. Allen had a miserable night from the field, missing seven shots, but eight of his points came from the line. The Pistons just couldn’t handle him pulling his weight.
Overall, the Cavaliers led all evening and the outcome was never in doubt, despite terrible shooting in the fourth quarter (31.6%). The Pistons may look like a G-League team, but this was a valuable opportunity to allow players to work out some of their issues outside of the All-Star break. Garland’s continued success puts Cleveland in a better position heading into the playoffs.
dark. Following. 5 Best Cavaliers Who Never Made the All-Star Game. 5 Best Cavaliers Who Never Made the All-Star Game
