It was a bitter and cold night in Minnesota for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It didn’t help that no one on the roster could provide an offensive spark to heat things up. Let’s recap what happened.
Future
The Cavaliers offense sputtered several times in this game. The first half went well – if not a return to the “real hoops” era of basketball. Neither team scored more than 50 points, but the Cavs held a lead behind a late run in the second quarter.
But it was the third quarter that dug Cleveland’s grave. They scored just 17 points on 16 shot attempts – committing 5 turnovers for just 7 field goals in the third. A double-digit deficit proved too much to overcome without any punches to get them back into the game.
Minnesota deserves credit for its defense. A spunky team full of lanky defenders certainly made it difficult for anyone on the Cavs to get comfortable. Darius Garland only had 19 points and 4 assists on 8-21 shooting. Caris LeVert joined him with 16 points on 6-16 shooting. Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Big picture
What can you take away from a game where the Cavs lost three starters and another essential player in Dean Wade? Tonight’s low points included another negative game from Garland and reinforced the team’s need for a dynamic offensive threat like Donovan Mitchell. Beyond that, it is difficult to draw conclusions.
The only thing Cleveland knows for sure is that the race for home-field advantage is heating up. The Cavs are no longer focused on overtaking Milwaukee for second place in the Eastern Conference — they now hope to avoid being overtaken by New York or Orlando. The gap is closing quickly and the Cavs will lose the ability to control their destiny if they fail to get the ship back on track soon.
