The numerical disadvantage Cleveland Cavaliers came away with a well-deserved victory after looking lifeless for the first quarter and a half. The victory gives them the tiebreaker on the Milwaukee Bucks which could prove useful at the end of the season.
STORE
Caris LeVert If this happened on a night, they desperately needed one of their guards to come down and throw a punch. This was especially true considering the tough game Darius Garland was leading from a scoring standpoint.
LeVert was the best offensive player on the court in a game featuring four former All-Stars. His 23 points and 11 assists provided just enough offense for a team that had several rough stretches on that front.
Jump into late-game offense early has been a problem for the Cavs. They fall into the trap of using the shot clock so much that they no longer have a good view.
On Monday, that changed. The Cavs continued to try to find the look they wanted on the most important offensive possession of the game. Ultimately, they got a clear look at the rim for Isaac Okoro. It was a look they wouldn’t have had if they had waited longer before launching their offensive.
Like how the Cavs kept working to find while the Pacers tried to deny. Garland gets it, two on the roll, Allen gets it in the pocket. Haliburton goes all the way up, Okoro with a nice backdoor cut. pic.twitter.com/LfJoCGmAc5
– Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) March 19, 2024
Jarrett Allen is usually at the center of the biggest wins this season. That was the case again as his relentless attack against the paint allowed him to go 5-7 in the restricted area and score seven points at the line. His pressure at the rim forced Tyrese Haliburton to step up, leading to the game-clinching basket for Okoro.
Tristan Thompson bucked the trend of this match with his play in the second quarter. The Cavaliers allowed the Pacers to recover 46.7% of their misses according to Glass cleaning through a quarter and a half. Thompson put a stop to that.
His energy in the second quarter helped Cleveland erase a 15-point deficit in that frame. They were +13 in the second with Thompson on the floor.
The signing of Marcus Morris Sr. is already bearing fruit. He made an immediate impact after not playing a single NBA game in a month and a half. Morris finished with 14 points on 5-7 shooting with 4 rebounds in 20 minutes.
STOCK REDUCTION
Note droughts have been a problem for the Cavs. They went four and a half minutes in the first quarter without scoring after putting up seven points on their first four possessions. They had a similar stretch in the fourth, which allowed the Pacers to nearly erase a double-digit lead.
The Cavs haven’t been a great defensive team during this injury-riddled stretch. But even if they were, you can’t go that long without scoring against an offense as potent as the Pacers and expect to remain competitive most nights. The Pacers’ unusually poor three-point shooting (23.7%) allowed them to get away with it.
Darius Garland finishes at the rim has been a problem since the All-Star break. He just converted 44% of his shots at the rim since the break, which represents the lowest percentage for a point guard during this period.
Garland’s reckless three-point shooting masked some of those issues. But on a night when his shot didn’t fall, those issues quickly surfaced. Garland finished with 13 points on 5-18 shooting with seven assists.
Jarrett Allen converts lobs This seems to be a bigger problem than ever before. Perhaps that’s because it’s become more noticeable since Garland’s missed alley-oop at the end of the Phoenix Suns Regardless, Allen missed two more tonight after always seeming to convert those opportunities when he got his hands on the ball.
HOLDING
The luck of Georges Niang in his starting lineup It hasn’t been great. He continues to draw incredibly well when forced into this role. Over the past seven days, he has been asked to start the game guarding Kevin Durant, Zion Williamson and Pascal Siakim on Monday.
Niang did an admirable job when he got an unfavorable matchup. Siakim led the Pacers in scoring, but Niang’s defense forced Siakim into a costly turnover. Niang also had another solid performance at the other end of the court with 13 points on 5-8 shooting.
