Cavaliers stave off Heat 121-112

    Donovan Mitchell's second-half play allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to fight off the late charge of the Miami Heat and win game two of their Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series 121-112 in Cleveland.

Mitchell scored eight of his thirty points in the final three minutes to hold off the game effort of the Heat, who rallied back from a deficit as large as nineteen points.

Evan Mobley finished with twenty points and Darius Garland added nineteen to support the Cavaliers, who lead the series two games to zero.

Game three moves the series to Miami on Sunday afternoon.

Swashbucklings

1) Donovan Mitchell did what teams hope superstars do- step up in the clutch.

Mitchell scored seventeen points in the fourth quarter, eight in a row to pull away from Miami, who had closed within a possession of tying the game.

Mitchell drove to the basket, and Miami couldn't stop him. 

Period.

2) Hats off to Miami, which trailed by nineteen points late in the third quarter and pushed Cleveland to the limit behind Tyler Herro.

Herro finished with thirty-three points to lead all scorers, and Herro almost matched Mitchell bucket for bucket down the stretch.

3) Evan Mobley didn't play well in game one, but he returned for game two with an excellent game,

Mobley finished with twenty points but held Bam Adebayo to only three field goals from the floor.

Mobley is a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year and would be a deserving winner.

4) The Cavaliers hit eleven three-point attempts in the second quarter, an NBA record for the playoffs.

5) Ty Jerome understandably cooled off after a great game one, scoring six points on two for eight shooting.

6) DeAndre Hunter took some slack from Jerome off the bench with twelve points.

I think Hunter will be a larger factor as the playoffs move forward.

Cavaliers season ends in Boston

      The already undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers received more bad news before game five of their series against the Boston Celtics when Caris LeVert was unable to play.

There would have been every reason to expect the Celtics to win going away.

Instead, the ailing Cavaliers pushed Boston all of the game before falling 113-98 and losing the series four games to one.

Evan Mobley led Cleveland with thirty-three points with Marcus Morris as the main support with twenty-five points as a substitute.

Swashbucklings

1) Evan Mobley was required to step up and Mobley did just that with his thirty-three points and fifteen of twenty-three shooting.

There have been times that I've wondered about Mobley and he might be a player who might not live up to his potential.

Mobley showed his capabilities in this game and he may be a player that may need to be a focus of the offense to thrive.

2) Cleveland received a surprising game from Marcus Morris, who shot ten of thirteen from the floor with five three-pointers.

Morris helped Cleveland stay close in a game they had little business playing competitively.

3) While Evan Mobley stepped up when the Cavaliers needed him most, Darius Garland didn't, making only four of seventeen shots and a mere eleven points.

Garland's game seemed composed of rushes to the hoop, finding a Celtic waiting there, and then tossing up a desperate heave to hope for the best.

4) I hate to keep harping on the lack of production from Georges Niang but he was crowed about by the Cavaliers when they acquired him as a key in improving the outside shooting in the playoffs.

Niang attempted three shots, all from the three-point distance, missed all three, and played only eight minutes for a team with nine healthy players.

5) Sam Merrill, on the other hand. did provide some long-distance help, hitting three of his five attempts.

I know Merrill is a defensive liability but he can shoot it and he can help this team in that area.

6) I plan on a Cavaliers wrap-up if I can make the time but the Cavaliers have three major questions.

Should they keep J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach?

How will the Donovan Mitchell situation play out?

And does this team need to make a move with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in the same frontcourt?

The answers to all of these will be coming in the future.

 

Undermanned Cavaliers drop Game Four

      The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't have Jarrett Allen for game four of their series with the Boston Celtics.

Allen's absence was known entering the game but wasn't known was Donovan Mitchell's unavailability, which placed the Cavaliers as a distinct underdog.

The Cavaliers hung with the Celtics and made Boston work hard throughout the game but it wasn't enough in a 109-102 loss.

Darius Garland led Cleveland with thirty points with Caris LeVert and Evan Mobley each adding nineteen in support.

Boston is one win away from the series victory and they will attempt to close the Cavaliers out on Wednesday in Boston.

Swashbucklings

1) The smoking gun in this game?

The officiating.

Boston shot twenty-four free throws, making twenty-one, while the Cavaliers would attempt only seven, connecting on five.

That's a large discrepancy.

2) That ties into the inside game where without Allen, the Cavaliers outscored Boston 42-38 but despite those moves to the basket, the referees seldom blew the whistle.

I'd think that more than seven free throws should have been shot under those conditions.

3)  The referees didn't have anything to do with the Cavaliers being bullied in the rebounding column with Boston winning that battle by sixteen.

Yes, I know they are missing Jarrett Allen but that margin is far too large to overcome with an undermanned squad.

4) Darius Garland's night was excellent but as the main scoring option, Garland is at his best, I still wonder if Garland's game is adaptable enough to work with Donovan Mitchell on a title contender.

Garland hit twelve of twenty-seven attempts on the evening, four of those from three-point distance.

5) Donovan Mitchell's calf strain is no joke and those injuries can take a while to completely heal.

I'd be surprised if Mitchell can play in game five and even more surprised if Mitchell produces a normal stat line, should he play.

6) Give the Cavaliers and the coaching staff credit, considering everything involved, the Cavaliers gave a good accounting for themselves on a night that it could be excused if they had taken a walloping.

Cleveland played hard, tough, and through questionable officiating to give Boston a good run- I'm okay with it.

Cavaliers drop Game Three to Boston

     The Boston Celtics rebounded from their poor shooting in game two while the Cleveland Cavaliers could not continue their run from the outside and the Celtics regained control of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series with a 106-93 win in Cleveland to take a two games to one lead.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with thirty-three points in the defeat.

Game four will be in Cleveland on Monday night.

Swashbucklings

1) Give the Cavaliers credit for not completely folding in the second half as they continued to scrap back from a deficit that was as large as twenty-three points in the second half.

Cleveland got to within nine points three times and once could have cut the lead to seven but a Darius Garland fast break drive rolled in and out and the Celtics charged down the court to nail a three for a five-point swing.

2)  Donovan Mitchell kept the Cavaliers within shouting distance in the first half with twenty-three of his thirty-three but left the game before its conclusion with stiffness in his nagging knee.

The game was decided, why add wear and tear.

3) Dean Wade returned to the floor after a long absence and hit a three-pointer with his first attempt.

Wade finished with five points in seventeen minutes and might be a candidate for more minutes in game four.

4) Darius Garland's struggles continued with a six for fifteen shooting night.

I like Garland, I do.

He won me over after an atrocious rookie season but I don't think that he is a contender's second-best threat.

Cleveland may have to decide if they can find a better number two scorer or if they think Evan Mobley can develop into one because Garland isn't suited in that role or at least not behind Donovan Mitchell.

5) Should the Cavaliers lose this series and I think they will, the biggest "What If" might be the absence of Jarrett Allen, who along with Evan Mobley might have been able to take advantage of the one weakness of the Celtics, their interior defense and slam the ball inside on them.

Allen's injury to his ribs has to be painful (rib injuries always are) but some members of the Cleveland media are starting to question the length of time that Allen has missed.

Saturday's game was the sixth consecutive game that Allen was unavailable and my question isn't questioning why Allen isn't playing, it is that perhaps the Cavaliers and/or Allen may not have realized the injury was as serious as it has turned out to be.  

Cavaliers rout Celtics in Boston!

     The Cleveland Cavaliers took advantage of some awful shooting from the Boston Celtics and earned a surprising 118-94 victory in Boston in game two of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finasls.

The Cavaliers were led by Donovan Mitchell's twenty-nine points and Evan Mobley's twenty-one in a victory that tied the series at one game apiece.

The series swings to Cleveland for game three on Saturday evening.

Swashbucklings

1)  I have to admit, I was completely caught off guard by this win.

I thought Cleveland would win one game in the series but I didn't figure that victory would come in Boston.

I still think Boston will win the series but I'll change my prediction from Celtics in five to Celtics in six,

2) Evan Mobley played his best game of the season, finishing with twenty-one points, ten rebounds, and five assists but just as important was how he accomplished those numbers.

Mobley played with an aggressiveness that has been lacking at times in his career and if he can repeat this more often, his career and Cleveland will be better for it.

3) Key stat: Cleveland 13/28 from three point range, Boston 8/35.

When the team that is the better shooting team has that type of night, it's not a night that will bode well.

4) The game was tied at the half with Cleveland outscoring Boston 36-24 in the third quarter and you could see Boston's frustration with their shots not falling.

The huge deficit was rolled up in garbage time but the game was won in the third.

5) Boston never seemed to change their strategy with their poor shooting, they stubbornly continued to jack up threes and hoped things would change.

There is something to be said for self-confidence but to not try any other tactics seemed to be an error for me.

6) Boston's Derrick White scored twenty-five in game one, but only ten in game two and shot one of eight from three.

7) Cleveland did receive bench help from Caris LeVert who popped in twenty-one points as a reserve.

LeVert will be key in the series with his status as the main offensive threat off the bench.

Cavaliers clouted by Celtics in Game One

     The Cleveland Cavaliers received help from Donovan Mitchell in game one of their Eastern Conference Semi-Final series against the Boston Celtics but it wasn't enough as the heavily favored Celtics continued their playoff roll as they defeated Cleveland 120-95 in Boston.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with thirty-three points with Evan Mobley contributing seventeen points and thirteen rebounds in the defeat.

Game two will be in Boston on Thursday night.

Swashbucklings

1) Boston is the top-scoring team in the league and is the second-best defensively, so this is a tough draw for the Cavaliers.

If they win one game (more than Miami did in the first round), I would consider it a success.

2) The Cavaliers are a good defensive squad but this Celtics team made them look slow and steps behind as their passing to the open man is stellar.

They remind me a little of the Mark Price-era Cavaliers as they move the ball around rather than clear out for one player and even though the Celtics have some stars, it's more than one player involved.

3) Cleveland shot a lousy twenty-six percent from three-point range and continued a trend that held strong through the Orlando series.

If Cleveland doesn't start improving from three, any chance of an upset is history.

4) Max Strus and Georges Niang were brought into Cleveland to improve this issue, yet they continue to struggle.

Strus and Niang were a combined one of seven from long-range.

5) Donovan Mitchell scored all of his points in the first three quarters but considering that the fourth was essentially garbage time, it's understandable how that happened.

6) Evan Mobley played well offensively, hitting eight of twelve shots with his thirteen rebounds but there is no question that Jarrett Allen is missed down low.

Will Allen's return allow the Cavaliers to rally in the series?

Maybe but if he doesn't return soon, the chances are even worse.

Mitchell carries Cleveland to Game Seven win!

      Donovan Mitchell may not be shooting well from the outside and you can tell that his ailing left knee is sheer misery to play through but no one can doubt Mitchell's desire or will to win as for the second game in a row, Mitchell placed the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back and like his drives to the hoop with defenders all over him, carried them across the line to a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic in game seven of their Eastern Conference Quarter-Final.

The win gave the Cavaliers a four-to-three series victory, the franchise's first in thirty years that lacked LeBron James on the roster.

Mitchell finished with thirty-nine points to lead Cleveland to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, where they will meet the top-seeded Boston Celtics with game one on Tuesday in Boston.

Swashbucklings

1) Donovan Mitchell's 89 combined points in games six and seven is the second-highest in NBA history behind only Allen Iverson's ninety points in games six and seven in 2001.

2) Cleveland trailed by ten at halftime and by as many as eighteen points in the first half.

According to the NBA, Cleveland's comeback is the largest in a game seven since the league started keeping play-by-play charts in the 1997-98 season.

3) Donovan Mitchell's shooting wasn't tremendous (11 of 27) but what Mitchell did do was bull to the basket and force Orlando to foul him.

Mitchell went to the free throw line seventeen times and drained fifteen of the freebies.

It's the sign of a maturing player and leader when he realizes his shooting is off and moves to the next tactic to keep his team in the game.

4) Cleveland finally received some help from the reserves as Caris LeVert woke up to score fifteen points and long-ranger bomber Sam Merrill hit two three-pointers among his eight points in eleven minutes.

Cleveland will need even more bench help against Boston.

5) Evan Mobley finished with eleven points and sixteen rebounds in forty-one minutes of play on a gimpy ankle.

With the absence of Jarrett Allen, Mobley is forced into a more traditional big man's game and it doesn't fit his game nearly as much as it does Allen but he managed to give Cleveland what they needed on the interior.

6) Paolo Banchero almost matched Donovan Mitchell as Banchero finished with thirty-eight points.

Banchero hit only ten of twenty-eight shots but like Mitchell, Banchero pushed the ball to the basket and drew fouls as Banchero shot eighteen free throws.

7) Franz Wagner was full of vinegar in game five in Cleveland, taunting the fans and acting like a wrestling heel.

When the Magic needed it most, Wagner came up empty as he finished with eight points on one for fifteen shooting.

8) I really don't like that the NBA doesn't re-seed at the end of the first round as the NHL does.

I hate giving Gary Bettman's bunch credit but re-seeding does benefit the top seed.

For example, sixth-seeded Indiana upset third-seeded Milwaukee in the first round, and yet the Pacers will play the second-seeded New York Knicks (winners over Philadelphia) rather than the top-seeded Celtics (winners over Miami).

So the second seed receives an easier opponent (by record) than the first seed under the current bracket system and while I've never been a Boston fan, it's not fair to them after finishing with the conference's top record.

Mitchell's explosion not enough in Game Six

      Donovan Mitchell played exactly as you hope a superstar would in game six of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals and put the team on his back to attempt to carry them forward.

It wasn't enough as Mitchell received no support other than Darius Garland and the Cavaliers lost to the Orlando Magic 103-96 in Orlando.

Mitchell finished with fifty points and Garland added twenty-one with everyone else offering next to nothing.

Game seven will determine which team advances to meet the New York Knicks and will take place in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon at one o'clock.

Swashbucklings

1)  Donovan Mitchell gave the Cavaliers exactly what a team expects from a superstar with his fifty-point evening and keeping the Cavaliers in a game that without Mitchell, they would have had no chance of competing.

The fifty-point evening ranks as the second-highest for the Cavaliers in their postseason history.

2) Mitchell left the game briefly in the quarter and you could clearly see that Mitchell is favoring his left knee which has bothered him for much of the season.

One cannot question Donovan Mitchell's heart considering the circumstances under which he is playing but it's not unfair to wonder if Mitchell's knee will be able to keep him in top form for Sunday's game seven.

3) Mitchell and Darius Garland shot often (fifty-three attempts between them) but they had to without any help from the remainder of the lineup as only Max Strus hit double-figures in scoring with a measly ten.

4) Jarrett Allen missed his second straight game with a rib injury and Evan Mobley turned his ankle in the second quarter, which limited his effectiveness (three points, seven rebounds), although he toughed it out for thirty-four minutes.

Cleveland's interior game was non-existent and consisted of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland taking the ball to the hoop.

5) Cleveland is receiving nothing from their bench as J.B. Bickerstaff continues to shuffle in a desperate effort to have any help at all.

Georges Niang hit only one of five shots in eleven minutes, Caris LeVert finished with one point and missed his only attempt, and Isaac Okoro finished with only four points in twenty-four minutes.

All of those players are being paid sizable amounts and aren't producing.

6) The Cavaliers tried to capitalize on the strong game-five outing by Marcus Morris by giving the veteran the start in game six.

Morris scored only two points on one for seven shooting in twenty-seven minutes of playing time although he did grab seven rebounds.

7) Considering the lack of help that Donovan Mitchell received and if the Cavaliers happen to lose game seven, I might think the Cavaliers may have to show Mitchell that they are willing to make changes that could include head coach or trades.

Cleveland's draft material is lacking since they had to trade three first-rounders to land Mitchell, and it might be difficult to land significant improvements to the roster.

A win would solve a lot as the Cavaliers winning a series would be a step forward and would help sell Mitchell that the team is moving forward.

A defeat could be more than just the end of the season.

It could be far more impactful than only that. 

Mobley rejects Magic, Cavaliers win Game Five

      Evan Mobley blocked the driving shot of Orlando's Franz Wagner with six seconds to go to allow the Cleveland Cavaliers to stagger away with a 104-103 victory in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals and a 3-2 lead in the series.

Mobley's block and two ensuing Donovan Mitchell free throws salted the game away although Pablo Banchero nailed a three-pointer to cut the final margin to one point.

Mitchell led Cleveland with twenty-eight points, Darius Garland added twenty-three, and Evan Mobley finished with fourteen points and thirteen rebounds.

Game six will be in Orlando on Friday night.

A Cleveland win ends the series, while an Orlando win extends the series to game seven, which would be on Sunday in Cleveland,

Swashbucklings

1) The Cavaliers announced before the game that Jarrett Allen would miss the game with bruised ribs, which cost them their big man inside and allowed Orlando to take the ball to the hoop without Cleveland's best rim protector.

2) Evan Mobley did a fine job in Allen's place and the game-saving block was such a brilliant play on Mobley's part.

Mobley blocked Franz Wagner's shot with his left hand rather than with his stronger right hand because if Mobley had reached across to attempt the block with that hand, he surely would have fouled Wagner.

3) Donovan Mitchell scored fourteen points in the fourth quarter, nine of those from the free throw line,.

Mitchell is clearly bothered by a nagging left knee problem and it's affecting his play as he shot nine of twenty-three from the floor with only one basket from three-point lane.

4) Give Mitchell credit for clutch play as he connected on nine of ten from the free throw line and the two key freebies after Mobley's block were important to lock up the game, even more so when Paolo Banchero hit a three-pointer at the end of the game.

Had Mitchell made only one of the two shots, the Banchero three-pointer would have tied the game.

5) Max Strus played his best game of the series, finishing with sixteen points and hitting four three-pointers.

6) Darius Garland also played his best game of the series as he scored twenty-three points, many of them in the first half.

If Cleveland has a chance of closing this series in six games, it will be from a major contribution from Garland.

7) Paolo Banchero finished the night as the game's leading scorer with thirty-nine points, finishing fourteen of twenty-four shooting, and the former top overall pick in 2022 was clearly the best player on the floor.

Banchero is a bit more of an outside shooter but his game is what I'm sure Cleveland hopes to see from Evan Mobley as Mobley progresses. 

Cavaliers go cold in Game Four defeat

    The Cleveland Cavaliers had to feel good about their nine-point halftime lead in game four of their Eastern Conference Quarter-Final series against the Orlando Magic.

That was as good as they would feel as the Cavaliers were outscored in the third quarter by Orlando's Franz Wagner alone (12-10) and by his team (37-10) as Orlando easily defeated Cleveland 112-89 to tie the series at two games per team.

Jarrett Allen led Cleveland with twenty-one points.

Game five will be in Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Swashbucklings

1) I'm not a member of the fire J.B. Bickerstaff club as so many have been in the last three seasons but I have to say this, if the Cavaliers lose this series, it's time for Bickerstaff to go.

Cleveland had legitimate excuses for last year's loss to the Knicks.

Those reasons do not exist for this series.

2) Donovan Mitchell scored eighteen points in the first half and zero in the second half.

ZERO.

I don't care about the circumstances (Mitchell only received four shots), your best player cannot. I repeat- cannot play an entire quarter and finish scoreless.

3) The Cavaliers scored with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter and would not score again until the 10:40 mark in the fourth.

Seven minutes without a point in a playoff game.

4) Only fifteen points from the Cavaliers non-starters and none higher than Caris LeVert's five.

One would think in a blowout, someone would have accumulated some points in garbage time.

5) Cleveland's forty-seven percent shooting is respectable but they were only four of seventeen from three-point range.

The upgrades that were supposed to bring improved outside shooting for this time of the season have not come through thus far.

6) Orlando outrebounded Cleveland 43-29 but the crazy number for the Cavaliers?
TWO offensive rebounds.

I'd think more than two would fall into your hands without moving!

7) Finally, I'm not ready to panic.

Yet.

The home team has won each game by big margins and now that this is a best-of-three series, Cleveland still hosts two of those three.

I would be mildly disappointed to win the series in seven games but not nearly as disappointed as the organization would be by losing the series because if that happens, there will be many changes on the horizon- for personnel on and off the court.

Cavaliers confounded by Magic in Game Three loss

  I've thought from the beginning that the Cleveland Cavaliers would win their series against the Orlando Magic in five or six games.

I also thought if there was one game that Orlando would almost certainly win it would be game three, with a pumped-up Magic squad grabbing their return to Orlando and not letting the game go behind an excited crowd.

 I did not foresee Orlando leading by thirty-five points at the end of three quarters and handing Cleveland a 121-83 defeat that was the largest in Cavaliers history in the postseason.

Only three Cavaliers finished in double-figures in scoring with Jarrett Allen leading with fifteen points in the setback. Hopefully, the loss is only an aberration for the Cavaliers before game four on Saturday afternoon in Orlando.

I'm not going too in-depth for this loss because, after halftime, I was flipping back and forth between the game and the NFL Draft, and as Orlando lengthened the lead, I watched less and less but I will say this- Cleveland lost some of the luster that they gained at home in the first two games.

Orlando was the more physical team adding Wendell Carter to their starting lineup, outrebounding Cleveland by nineteen, and sending Jalen Suggs to guard Donovan Mitchell to hound the Cavaliers' alpha dog.

Cleveland signed Max Strus and Georges Niang in the off-season to increase their shooting (especially from three-point land) and have helped next to nil as the pair are a combined three for twenty-four in the series.

I am betting that this will be written off as a bad night and that may be the case but the Cavaliers will have much to prove Saturday in game four- both in how they play and the attitude that they bring to the arena.

Cavaliers Bedevil Magic in First Two Games

   The Cleveland Cavaliers struggled to the finish of the NBA regular season but have looked very sharp in winning their first two games at home in the Eastern Conference first-round matchup against the fifth-seeded Orlando Magic.

I missed game one due to my road trip (I'll be writing on that sometime next week), in which Cleveland won 97-83 behind thirty Donovan Mitchell points but I did watch Monday's 96-86 triumph to give Cleveland two games to nil advantage.

Cleveland dominated the first quarter in building a twelve-point lead and thereafter all they had to do was keep Orlando even the remainder of the way to post the win.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with twenty-three points with Jarrett Allen contributing sixteen points and twenty rebounds in the victory.

Cleveland will travel to Orlando for games three and four on Thursday and Saturday nights.

Swashbucklings

1) The Cavaliers were favored in this series because the Magic are in the situation that Cleveland was in last season.

It was Cleveland who other than Donovan Mitchell needed the playoff experience from their young stars last season in their five-game loss to the Knicks, and Orlando requires the same "been there" in this series.

2) Part of learning about postseason basketball is learning how the physical play is turned up in the postseason.

Cleveland was bullied by New York last season and in the first two games, the Cavaliers are pushing around the Magic.

Can Cleveland do that if they move forward? Time will tell.

3) It's been defense-dominating for Cleveland as they held Orlando to 32 percent shooting in game one and 36 in the second game.

Orlando's young players haven't had the open shots or easy transition hoops that you can find in the regular season and the Cleveland defense has controlled this series in the two games.

4) Jarrett Allen received plenty of criticism in last season's playoffs for soft play but in the first two games against Orlando, he's combined for thirty-eight rebounds and has been the dominant frontcourt player in the series.

5) Orlando is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league and Cleveland has held them to only seventeen of seventy-two from outside the arc.

Cleveland isn't burning the nets from the outside but they aren't that awful!