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Five Thoughts On The Cavaliers 113-97 Loss To The Philadelphia 76ers

The Cavs fall to 0-2 in the preseason
Jon Rudder|
Five Thoughts On The Cavaliers 113-97 Loss To The Philadelphia 76ers
Five Thoughts On The Cavaliers 113-97 Loss To The Philadelphia 76ers

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Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the Philadelphia 76ers n their second preseason game of the season. Yes, those same 76ers that took a 113-112 decision over the Wine and Gold less than a week ago. 

Cavs' head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he wanted to shake up his lineups throughout the preseason to see what sticks and shake he did. Kevin Love, Evan Mobley (ankle), Ricky Rubio (knee) and Dylan Windler (ankle) all did not play, so the Wine and Gold rolled out a starting lineup of:

Darius Garland

Donovan Mitchell

Caris LeVert

Dean Wade

Jarrett Allen

Isiah Mobley saw the floor early and was on the floor at one point in the 1st quarter with Garland, Isaac Okoro, Cedi Osman and Allen.

The Cavs trailed by as many as 15 points but they cut it to three points in the final minutes of the 3rd quarter but never got any closer. Bickerstaff stuck with his starters through the first three quarters, giving them a longer look than what we saw in the preseason opener.

Once the reserves officially entered in the 4th quarter, Philly pushed the lead out to double digits to close out a 113-97win.

The Cavs are now 0-2 in the preseason. What did we learn from the second tune-up game against the 76ers?

Let ‘em play!

Coming into Monday night’s game, Bickerstaff wanted to be more consistent with spacing and ball movement. On Wednesday in Philadelphia the Cavs played free and easy most of the night.

They seemed disjointed and disconnected in the first-half Monday. They committed seven turnovers in the first quarter but rebounded as the game went on. 

Garland, Mitchell, LeVert, Wade and Allen all played through the end of the 3rd quarter, their longest action of the preseason. After trailing by double-digits in the first half, the Wine and Gold chipped away at the Philly lead in the 3rd quarter.

They went more than 14 minutes without a turnover from the second quarter through the third and the ball protection was largely a reason for the Cavs getting themselves back into the game.

It was good to see Dean Wade get a shot in the starting lineup and how he would fit into the lineup mixture. He scored 8 points and pulled down 7 rebounds.

Caris gets the start… again

For the second consecutive game, Caris LeVert got the start at small forward. LeVert showed the explosiveness and playmaking ability we expected from him when the Cavs acquired during the first exhibition game.

He picked right up where he started, dropping 13 points, three assists and three rebounds. Throughout training camp LeVert has emphasized how comfortable he feels this year and that he’s finally completely healthy for the first time in 2-3 years.

He looks like it. LeVert has showcased his scoring and playmaking ability through two games in the preseason.

Bickerstaff refused to say if anyone was a frontrunner for the only spot in the starting lineup that was up for grabs, but it’s clear that LeVert has a leg up on the rest of the competition.

Can they stop Tyrese Maxey?

The 76ers jumped out to a 12-6 lead early largely on the back of Tyrese Maxey and never really looked back. Maxey has had a stellar preseason and it continued Monday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. He canned his first three triples and started off with 9 points in the first three minutes.

The Cavs perimeter defense was a soft early on and Maxey had plenty of open looks.

He led Philly with 19 points and has reached double figures in each of the 76ers first three preseason games. The Cavs made multiple references to Maxey’s athleticism during their morning shoot around and cited the problems he can cause in transition.

Those issues continued Monday night.

Deep Freeze

The Cavs went 7-for-12 from 3-point land in the 1st quarter on Wednesday night in Philadelphia and finished the first half 10-fo-20. Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Love knocked down early treys to get into a flow offensively early.

Monday night was a completely different story. Without Love in the lineup, the Cavs were already without a shooter. They went 0-for-7 from long range in the first quarter and rattled in just three triples in the first half.

Philadelphia? Their stat sheet resembled more of what the Wine and Gold’s looked like in the opener: 10-for-20.

Cavs assistant coach Antonio Lang referenced poor shot selection at halftime saying the Cavs were simply shooting it to get a shot up instead of getting the best look.

The Cavs finished the night just 5-of-21 from beyond the arc.

Not a finga!

If there were any concerns about Jarrett Allen’s fractured left finger and how it healed, he’s answered them with a resounding NO.

Allen suffered a fractured finger in a win over the Toronto Raptors on March 6th and missed the next 19 games before returning for the Play-In Tournament.

He opted not to have surgery to fix it and wore a brace that kept his finger perfectly still for weeks. He returned for the Play-In game against the Atlanta Hawks and scored 11 points and pulled down just three rebounds in the loss to the Hawks in a 107-101 loss to the Hawks.

Allen recorded 32 double-doubles in 56 games last season. Having him healthy and back in the lineup is critical to the Cavs at both ends of the floor.

Big Jay posted 19 points and 12 rebounds in 33:39 of work Monday night. Allen appeared loose during the team’s pregame shoot around, cracking a joke about Kevin Love’s age and played equally as fluid on Monday night.

So where to do things go from here? The Cavs third tune-up game is slated for Wednesday night. We’ll wait to learn more details on the injuries to Mobley and Windler.

Mobley was spotted getting some shots up after practice on Wednesday and Bickerstaff said before the game that Windler would do some light shooting in the next few days.

Tipoff Wednesday night is set for 7:00 p.m. at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. 

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Jon Rudder
JON RUDDER

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