A Three-Second Call, A Halftime Tongue Lashing and Evan Mobley Being Evan Mobley
Just as Cavaliers head coach J.B Bickerstaff predicted; the Orlando Magic just wouldn’t go away on Wednesday evening.
Every time the Cavs made a run, Orlando countered. Multiple times throughout the night the Wine and Gold built a double-digit advantage, only for the Magic to storm back. Cleveland could never land a knockout punch which allowed the scrappy Magic to slug it out with them all night.
Eventually, Cleveland wore down Orlando in the final minutes to come away with a 103-92 victory at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. But Cavs’ third-straight victory was anything but comfortable.
Following the game, Bickerstaff said he wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance in the first half, particularly with their defense and rebounding.
They received a tongue lashing at halftime before going out and surrendering just 19 points in the 3rd quarter. The Cavs limited Orlando to shooting 35 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc in the second half.
“I can't repeat it. My mom would wash my mouth out with soap,” Bickerstaff said.
Whether it was the speech that lit the spark or not, the Cavs answered Bickerstaff’s challenge and got back to playing their brand of basketball. Jarrett Allen helped usher in the second half with a four-minute spurt that was punctuated by a mammoth dunk on Orlando’s Bol Bol.
Allen and Mobley were key for the Cavs on a night when Donovan Mitchell proved he was in fact a mere mortal, scoring 14 points and dishing out eight assists. The Cavs big men combined to score 40 points and pull down 19 rebounds.
The result led to the Cavs third-straight win to give them a 3-1 record heading to Boston on Friday. It wasn’t exactly how Bickerstaff and company drew it up, but they’ll take an early season win against a staggering opponent any day.
Five Thoughts and Observations
Dean Wade Earns First Start
When the Cavaliers announced their starting lineup Wednesday night there was one noticeable change. In was Dean Wade and out was Isaac Okoro. Technically, Caris LeVert moved to the off-ball guard alongside Mitchell in the back court with Wade filling LeVert’s spot at the small forward.
The change comes as Okoro has struggled to begin the season.
Wade provides a catch-and-shoot threat and knocked down the first shot he took, a corner three that was wide open. Those are the kind of looks the Cavs have been trying to entice out of Okoro. Wade finished in double figures with 12 points, all of which coming via the 3-pointer.
He was a plus-9 in 29 minutes and provided the kind of perimeter threat the Cavs needed against the Magic. His ability to knock down shots from long range inevitably opened things up for Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley later in the game.
Cold as Ice
Isaac Okoro has struggled through the season’s first four games. It’s no secret that the Cavs wanted to see more offensive from Okoro this season. They know what they have on the defensive end but coaxing more production has been a challenge so far.
The 2020 No. 5 overall pick had scored just six points in four games after another two-point night against the Magic. Worse, Okoro was also a minus-10 on the night. Perhaps nothing was more telling than Raul Neto checking in with 5:33 in the first quarter to replace Donovan Mitchell, instead of Okoro.
Eventually, Okoro did enter the game when Mitchell checked back in with 3:36 to play in the first quarter.
Was the rotation by design or the result of Bickerstaff simply tinkering with his lineup combinations? Either way, Okoro’s lack of production could become a major sticking point moving forward.
Bol vs. Mobley
Evan Mobley looks down on a lot of players in the NBA, except for Bol Bol. Mobley, 6’11’ and Bol 7’ 2” were matched up against each other for most of the night.
It’s rare that Mobley has his shot blocked primarily because of his size and athleticism, but Bol sent a Mobley shot flying in the 1st quarter that drew an audible gasp from the crowd.
“I mean, it’s a block, so you just keep playing,” Mobley said.
He clearly adjusted to the length as the game wore on and found his offensive groove with an eight-point third quarter and scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. Mobley’s second-half outburst was highlighted by a beautiful fadeaway jumper over Bol to give the Cavs an 11-point 2:52 left in the 3rd quarter.
“Bol is very tall very lengthy, so you got to kind of get him off balance sometimes or shoot it earlier, just throw off his rhythm because if he times your shot up is probably going to be a block,:” Mobley said. “It was a little different in the beginning, but I got used to it pretty fast.”
Bol finished the night with nine points and ten rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting.
Mitchell is Mortal?
Donovan Mitchell's streak of 30-point performances came to an end at three.
He was still effective in a 14-point, night but he shot just 5-of-19 from the field. The thing about these Cavaliers is any one player can go off on any given night. Even when Mitchell is having a slow night like he did against the Magic he can still find ways to impact the game.
Mitchell handed out eight assists, pulled down four rebounds and collected two steals.
Allen Reaches Career Milestone
If you ask Jarrett Allen about any individual accomplishments, there's a good chance that he's blissfully unaware. Wednesday night against the Magic Allen recorded his 3,000th career rebound.
Allen is the only active player in the NBA to have 3,000 rebounds at age 25 or younger. He pulled down 16 boards as part of his 18-point performance on Wednesday night, ten of which came in the second half as Allen took over.
Was it Bickerstaff's speech that took hold?
"I think it was the three-second call," Allen said.
Allen was whistled for a defensive three-second violation and from there the switch flipped. He's never been the most vocal when it comes to leadership but opting to lead more by example.
He posterized Bol Bol in the 3rd quarter and began barking like a junkyard dog as he motioned toward the bench. With his 18 points on Wednesday, Allen sits just one point shy of another career milestone: career-point number 4,000.
-----
You may also like:
How Good Can The Cleveland Cavaliers Be This Year?
Jarrett Allen Is Picking Up Right Where He Left Off With Cavs
Donovan Mitchell Sets NBA Record In Home Opener With Cavs
Cavs Get Overtime Win Over Wizards In Home Opener
Don't Look Now, But The Cavaliers Have Become One Of The NBA's Best 3-Point Shooting Teams
Cedi Osman Emerging As The Cavs Most Important Small Forward
-----
SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more coverage of the Cavaliers!
Follow our comprehensive Cavs coverage through Sports Illustrated's FanNation network here:
Website: www.cavsinsider.com
Twitter: @CavsInsider_FN
Instagram: Cavsinsider_fn
