Cavaliers win opener in Brooklyn

    Donovan Mitchell nailed a three-point shot with thirteen seconds remaining to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 114-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn. 

Mitchell led Cleveland with 27 points and was aided by Max Strus, who also scored 27 to go with a surprising twelve rebounds.

Cleveland will play Friday night in their home opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Swashbucklings

1) What a debut from Max Strus in his first game with the Cavaliers with a double-double.

Strus hit seven three-pointers in the win from thirteen attempts and Strus was a surprising factor on the boards.

Strus was hoped to have been the key addition in bolstering the outside shooting for the team and he's off to a strong start.

2) Donovan Mitchell's game-winner was clutch as the final of his four three-pointers on the evening but he may have gotten one of those calls that star players get as when he received the pass, Mitchell pushed Cameron Johnson to the floor and allowed himself an uncontested shot.

Still, Johnson may have embellished the push a bit as well.

3) Cleveland also received a strong offensive night from Isaac Okoro, who finished with eighteen points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Okoro hit six of ten shots, two from three-point distance, and while it's asking a lot of Okoro to average that every night, this is a contract year for Okoro as he will be a restricted free agent after the season, so it will be interesting to see how Okoro's numbers play out.

4) It wasn't a great night for the other new acquisitions as Georges Niang missed all three of his shots (all from three) in his twenty minutes of play and Ty Jerome hit his only shot but played only six minutes.

5) Jarrett Allen missed the game with a bone bruise on his ankle.

I've heard some trade whispers about Allen and I wonder what the market is after his poor playoff series against the Knicks.

6) The win was the Cavalier's first in a road opener since 2000.

Twenty-three years and three years before they drafted LeBron James.

I would have thought they would have won one of these with James but apparently not.

7) Some credit to Brooklyn's Cameron Thomas, who came off the bench to light up Cleveland with 36 points in 25 minutes to lead all scorers.

Thomas set a record for points scored by a non-scorer in a season-opener.

Thomas was Brooklyn's first-rounder (27th overall) in 2021. hitting thirteen of twenty-one shots from the floor.