Minneapolis — probably Cleveland cavaliers All-Star center Jarrett Allen said it best when the expected question about the team’s continued struggle on the road came up again at the end of another Saturday night loss.
“Well, I don’t know,” Allen replied.
At least he is honest. After all, if he can figure out the reasons behind his 9-13 record, perhaps the Cavaliers will rocket away from his mortgage his fieldhouse and win more games?
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Cleveland knew how difficult this five-game journey would be. five cities. 3 time zones. 10 days. Matchup every other night. turbulent flight. Ricky Rubio’s emotional comeback from recovering from his torn ACL in 380 days. Donovan his Mitchell’s first game in Salt Lake City since the transformative trade in September.
It was…a lot.
Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff called it a bonding opportunity. For example, an impromptu water balloon game at Arizona State University, or a college football viewing party for his national championship at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. finished sooner. That’s when the fire alarms started going off inside Moda’s center in Portland late Thursday night, or when Rubio’s specially crafted T-his shirt stamped his long-awaited comeback and the team It happened when I showed the friendship of
It was also an opportunity to gain valuable experience playing in a hostile environment, with fans supporting their home team and playing against one of the league’s contenders.
So what was the atmosphere like after you left Minnesota afterwards? Did the 110-102 loss solidify another underwhelming roadie?
“It could have been better,” Allen said. “Some games we feel we’ve given away. All in all we’ve learned about ourselves for the future and want to improve on this.”
Saturday’s postmortem is quick and easy.
“I had too many mental flaws and didn’t play enough to win,” Bickerstaff said wryly. “The Timberwolves outperformed us. I think it’s simple. We didn’t do enough tonight. Top to bottom, we didn’t do enough to win this game.”
After leading with a game-high 14 points early in the second half, the Cavs won the decisive fourth quarter by a score of 33-22. Energized by a lively crowd, the Timberwolves thundered and the limp Cavaliers were unable to respond.
“We built leads and stopped doing the right things and things that helped build leads,” said Bickerstaff. “Rather than turning the ball over and taking away what was there, we allowed them to get back into the game by hitting tough forced shots. I think it’s part of the growth and understanding of .I thought that was clear tonight.”
An aggressive run in the closing stages left much to be desired. The retreating defense was attacked relentlessly during the transition from dribbling, scoring 60 points in the paint. The Cavaliers played their part throughout, committing his 18 turnovers which the young and bouncy Wolves turned into his 28 points. Five of his 18 mistakes in Cleveland came in the fourth quarter, spurring Minnesota’s fast on his break and having to work consistently against the stingy Cavaliers defense in the set. lost.
Minnesota’s bench edged Cleveland 56-27. Donovan Mitchell, who didn’t attend Saturday morning’s shootaround and kept sniffing and coughing before and after the game, finished just 14 points on just 5/16 from the field and 2/9 from 3-point range. Second-year forward Evan Mobley suffered an injury scare at the end of the first half, colliding a knee with Minnesota swingman Anthony Edwards, leaving Mobley to score about five points in the third quarter. I ended up staying in the locker room longer than usual. He didn’t look like himself after that.
Add it all up and it’s clear why the Cavaliers lost on Saturday night.
But it wasn’t just a premature failure. Jekyll and Hyde Cavs continue to be embarrassingly lousy on the road. And few people can identify why.
“I think it comes from experience,” said Mitchell, one of the team leaders. We feel it, we had a 3-2 chance on this road trip and a 4-1 chance with what happened in Utah, but we didn’t. We need to start picking it up.If you want to be who you want to be, you have to win the tour.You can’t be the home team.There are moments.There’s a flash.But now you have to put it all together. not.”
Maybe it will come on the next expedition. The Cavaliers have month-end three-gamers in Houston, New York, and Oklahoma City. Surely they can find their way to a winning record, right?
“It’s about playing against the odds, finding consistency within the group and doing the right thing over and over again,” said Bickerstaff. “We’ve proven we can do it. We’ve proven we can do it.”
Saturday was the capper for an exhausting five-game stretch. This is his sixth time the Cavaliers have gone on a multi-game trip. They either split each time or finished with a losing record. Situations, opponents, and matchups are often tied to nightly win/loss results, but despite the significant knowledge gained from these losses, at this point their overall roadshow is anything but a failure. It is difficult to regard
That wisdom must be demonstrated in the form of victory someday.
When asked what they have in common, Mobley said: “It’s always difficult to win away from home because the crowd is not with us, so you have to really execute each play. there is.”
Losing in Denver is no shame. Considering the altitude, the Nuggets’ talented roster, and the raucous fanbase, Ball’s arena has given him one of the best home-court advantages in the league. There’s a reason the Nuggets are on his 18-3 record and he’s won 12 straight at High City. Oh, and the Cavaliers rested superstar Mitchell on their road trip opener.
A layup was essential against Phoenix. No, it’s Devin Booker. No Chris Paul. Against the waning and deserted Suns, the Cavaliers took advantage of their wounded adversaries to do exactly what they were supposed to do.
In Utah, Cleveland turned a win into a loss thanks to Caris Levert’s late-game defensive blunder that led to a miraculous 7-point possession.
Portland was a gutsy comeback that showed admirable tough hearts as the Cavs withstood Damian Lillard’s 50-point avalanche. No. They had just lost to the ill-fated Orlando and were riding a skid that was below .500 and four games lost.
Then on Saturday night there were 12 minutes between Cleveland and its first winning trip.
Minnesota was playing its second consecutive night of games after having to expend a ton of energy to hold off a late Suns rally. Center Rudy Gobert, who Minnesota added heavily in the offseason, was limited to 13 total minutes and didn’t play in the second half. After a grueling expedition, things were working in Cleveland’s favor. needed break.
Despite the big hit in Utah, the Cavaliers still had a chance to win 3-2 with these five players. And they squandered it.
“Everyone travels from city to city every other day, so it’s physically and mentally exhausting. But there are no excuses for how we should play,” Allen said. “We have to be elite athletes who are ready to play at any moment.
“We’re just not running. I don’t know how it got to this point halfway through. I think we can play at a higher level to match our basketball standards.”
I can say it again. At home, the Cavaliers are leading his 18-4 record, scoring about 114 points per game. In the trip, they are his 9-13 with just 109 points per game. His ERA at home is 107.3. On the street he is 111.4. Net rating at home is 8.1. 0.8 on the road. There are other numbers that help highlight the cryptic split, but you get the gist.
All Eastern Conference teams currently in the top four are .500 or better on the way. Even the New York Knicks, who suddenly trail fifth-seeded Cleveland by 2.5 games, are an impressive 13-8.
We call it execution. Call it attention to detail. Strength. concentration. youth. immature. Anything is fine. Halfway through the season, the Cavaliers still have no answers.
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