Recap: Mavs 98, Cavs 87 (or, April Fools!)

The Cavs overlooked an Easter Sunday trap game against the Dallas Mavericks, as they played down to the competition and choked away a game to a team that is not only actively tanking, but admitting to it publicly. The shocking 11 point loss dropped Cleveland into fifth place in the Eastern Conference behind Philadelphia and Indiana (who own the tie-break on the season) and put the Cavaliers in a precarious position going into arguably one of the tougher weeks of the season with games against Toronto, Washington and Philadelphia…

APRIL FOOLS!

Okay, I probably didn’t fool any of you really… but I put that in all caps just so I don’t get a gazillion Tweets, emails and comments saying “Did you even watch the game, EG?! You got the score wrong!!”

Yes, I transposed the “C” and the “M” in the headline… and, the inverse of my first paragraph is mostly true… well except for the playing down to the competition part, which was actually not all that surprising. In fact, it would be hard to blame the Cavs for not really taking the Mavericks seriously… given that their owner and coach have essentially admitted they are taking measures to avoid winning unnecessary ballgames in favor of additional ping pong balls in this summer’s NBA draft lottery. I mean, when you know the team you’re playing… no matter how hard they try for the first three quarters… is basically just going to lay down in the end, what’s the impetus to try all that hard yourself?

Maybe that explains the bizarre effort put forth by the Cavaliers in this game… or, maybe LeBron doing shots with Justin Timberlake on stage the night before a game might have led to him missing shots on the court the next day. Who’s to say?

All I know is that for a while, The King sure seemed like he was satisfied with ending his record streak at 867 games. In fact, he still had just single digits until he drained a couple of free throws with 7:59 remaining in the game. That’s because LeBron had one of his worst shooting nights ever, going just 5-21 (23.8%) including a paltry 3-18 (16.7%) on twos… most of which were close to point blank misses.

So, yeah… LeBron sucked.

APRIL FOOLS!

Actually, despite the abnormally horrific shooting by LBJ… he STILL messed around and picked up a triple double with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. It was his 17th TD on the season and 72nd of his career, putting him just six behind the great Wilt Chamberlin. As he said after the game, on the rare occasion that his shot isn’t falling, LeBron is the epitome of a player who will focus on other aspects of his game to help his team win. Like firing backhanded, cross-court baseball passes to guys like Kevin Love for wide open corner threes…

.@KingJames throwing baseball tosses on @FoxSportsOH! ⚾ https://t.co/JUafISyKGu

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 1, 2018

Or pulling down tough rebounds in traffic… even if many of them were on his own misses. He also didn’t turn the ball over much (just twice), while helping shoulder a large portion of the PG duties with starter George Hill out with a sprained ankle. About the only other thing Bron did poorly (other than shoot), was continue to resist closing out on three point shooters in favor of playing his “free safety” role under the hoop… but that’s nothing new in the regular season.

The game itself was a rough watch. When a team doing just enough to win plays against a team that’s doing just enough to lose… the results are less than scintillating. This is NBA basketball in April in this era of #TankStrong.

In a nutshell:

The Cavs got off to their usual slow start against a poor team; the Mavs got going behind a player with something to prove to the Cavs (in this case Harrison Barnes); the Cavs caught up with LeBron and the second unit guys before Yogi Ferrell started hoisting YOLO threes; the second unit guys with Love got roasted on pick and rolls; then JR caught fire and the Cavs fought their way back during a 12-5 run to take a 48-47 lead on a Cedi Osman jumper.

The second half started as a see-saw battle, until Tristan checked in for Larry Nance Jr. and Harrison Barnes started raining threes again; Jose Calderon saved the day with some hot shooting of his own; yet some cat named Dorian Finney-Smith took advantage of LeBron’s lack of interest in close out defense and boxing out to go on a personal five point run to put the Mavs up by eight; the shooting of Jordan Clarkson, Osman and Smith kept things close; the Cavs retook the lead at 82-81 with 8:30 to play and continued their 25-10 onslaught in the final frame as the Mavericks sent in the tank unit.

The Evil

The Cavs kept the Mavs in the game with their awful shooting and lack of commitment to defense. What should have been an easy blowout April Fools joke of a contest with some early rest for the starters, turned into a draining slog through some truly ugly basketball.

LeBron and Kevin Love, the Cavs’ go-to scorers, were a combined 9-34 (26%) for a miserable night of shooting. Ironically, they also went 4-7 from three…

As teasingly good as Tristan Thompson was in his previous game against Anthony Davis and the Pelicans… TT was woefully bad trying to guard guys like Harrison Barnes tonight. He also couldn’t buy a basket (1-5) because his gather and release makes molasses look speedy. Thompson is still hit and miss.

This was one of those games on the schedule that SCREAMED for some quality Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic minutes off the bench. Apparently, Coach Drew is just as deaf to these cries for sanity as Coach Lue was, as Cedi saw six minutes of actual playing time… and shared a minute of garbage time with ZZ. Osman actually did a lot with the crumbs allowed him, going 2-3 (with a triple) for six points to go with an assist and steal. Ante did not see the ball in his garbage minute. Poor Z.

Jeff Green attempted 17 threes and missed them all… APRIL FOOLS!

The fans at the Q got April Fooled out of their free chicken nuggets when London Perrantes held the ball, keeping the score at 98…

Also… enough with the grey uniforms!!!!!

The Genius

I already covered LeBron, but his partner in shooting crime tonight, Kevin Love, actually also had a decent game outside of the bricks. Kev still was a rebounding force, pulling down 13 of them to go with his 13 points (his 400th career double double, making him only the 7th active player to reach the milestone). He also had a steal and a block, and was a team leading +13 for the game. As mentioned, the one place he did shoot well was beyond the arc… as he was the beneficiary of some terrific passing…

And around the horn we go 🔥@Cavs are pulling away on FSO & FOX Sports GO: https://t.co/cAF8QeAZBW pic.twitter.com/GfAQlk5Ksp

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) April 2, 2018

The Splash of Henney Brothers picked up the slack in this one, as JR Smith and Jordan Clarkson combined to shoot 11-20 for 31 much needed points off the bench. JR did much of his damage from three (3-6) while also snagging four boards, while JC did most of his on drives, back downs on Yogi Ferrell and getting to the line (6-7). He also swiped three steals.

Sure looks like they’re having fun together too…

Following the @cavs' win, @TheRealJRSmith's chat with @FSOAllieOop had a special cameo 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/X3SdluLZzm

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) April 2, 2018

Jose Calderon essentially kept the Mavs from running away with things to start the second half, scoring all eight of his points on timely buckets to counter Harrison Barnes. As usual, Jose helped keep the offense running and made smart basketball plays in his 22 minutes, not to mention his two awesome highlight reel assists…

Can't pass up a chance to watch this pretty pass from @JmCalderon.#CavsMavs on FSO & FOX Sports GO:https://t.co/cAF8QeAZBW pic.twitter.com/94ENS7XETe

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) April 1, 2018

This dish from @JmCalderon to @KingJames is [insert adjective here]!#CavsMavs on FSO & FOX Sports GO: https://t.co/cAF8QeAZBW pic.twitter.com/SkW8oT5CNH

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) April 1, 2018

Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood both had solid (if unspectacular) games in the starting unit. Both played more limited minutes than expected (although both are still not far removed from injury) but still contributed while on the floor. LNJ had six boards and was active on the front line, while Hood sank a big three and finished with nine points on 4-9 shooting. Both guys should continue to gain confidence playing alongside LeBron, Love and either Calderon or Hill (when he’s back).

Jeff Green attempted ZERO threes, and made me grin ear to ear with a drop step dribble drive to the hoop (the thing he’s best at and shouldn’t deviate from). Uncle Jeff even had three rebounds to warm Nate’s heart as well…

Parting Shot

It’s weird when Easter falls on April Fools Day… weirder still when two NBA teams that aren’t really trying for very different reasons play each other on said day. It makes you wish this whole tanking movement was more of a bad joke instead of making the League just look like one. Still, the games must be played, and the Cavs need every win they can muster to stay ahead of the Sixers and Pacers for playoff seeding. Hopefully, we never have to suffer through another 5-21 game from LeBron… but as long as there are no Justin Timberlake concerts during the playoffs, we shouldn’t.

Although, it probably won’t matter since the Cavs are going to get swept in the first round anyway…

APRIL FOOLS!

(Yeah, okay… enough already EG)

GO CAVS!