Last Week in Cavs: Darius Garland finds rhythm, lack of defense, and more

Darius Garland smiles against Timberwolves
Cavs.com

The Cavs losing streak ended last night, but not before the problems of the week showed their ugly heads again for the Cavs. It was quite the crazy week. It saw an insane Cavs 2OT win after blowing a 10-point lead in the final minute, and the first 50-point game of the NBA season. The Cavs also took another fall in defensive efficiency and were the 25th-best defense in the league over this week. 

Let's talk about it, or recap if you will.

Darius Garland's Eruption

Darius Garland is back, baby.

He started off this week with a career-high 51 points against the Timberwolves. That game included a career-high 10 threes made and 27 fourth-quarter points. Just one week after Cavs twitter was starting to get a bit queasy about Darius' play, Garland averaged 38.8 PPG and 6.7 APG and did it while shooting 52% from the field overall, and 56% from behind the arc. 

After his previous week's 16 PPG on a dreadful 33% FG and 26% from three, those shooting numbers are very encouraging. 

Garland is also shooting 11/19 on pull-up threes over the past week, which is up from 3/25 during the season beforehand. (thanks to Tony Pesta who posted this stat while I was writing!)

It was always clear to me that DG was playing through some sort of injury or illness, and Donovan Mitchell stated this in a press conference following the game against the Sacramento Kings. So to see DG get back to health, and start playing his best basketball is extremely helpful for the Cavs. 

These games from Darius also help put to rest any questions about the fit between him and Mitchell. For the season, Garland is now averaging 23.6 PPG and 7.8 APG, while Mitchell is averaging a very casual 31.2 PPG and 5.8 APG of his own. The question for this team is not about the guards, these guys can get their own. The question right now is about how to solve the defense, and what to do about that starting-three role that's been up for debate since training camp.

Defensive Struggles

This is an issue that's gone back multiple weeks now but has gotten worse this week. The Cavs fell were 25th in the NBA in defensive rating with a DRtg of 118.2. Injuries definitely have played a role, but the play at the wing may also be a part of the issue. 

The Cavs played two out of their three games this week without Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade, and they struggled against big men in Jarrett's absence. 

Against Minnesota, the Cavs surrendered 29 points to Karl-Anthony Towns. In the Milwaukee game, the Cavs sold out to prevent Giannis from getting his. It worked partially, except for the other Bucks' big man, Brook Lopez, who scored 29 points of his own. 

As for Dean Wade, I think this week is when we can say he won a starting role for the Cavs once he's healthy. The Cavs have already begun experimenting with LeVert off the bench. They started Lamar Stevens over him against Charlotte. That lineup had a 110 DRtg in 20 minutes on the floor together, and you would think that when Dean Wade is healthy, the Cavs use him at the three instead of Stevens to see some improvement on numbers that are already solid. 

If the Cavs are able to improve defensively on the wing through Wade, Cleveland will have the opportunity to get back to locking teams down consistently.

Evan Mobley dunks on Giannis Antetokounmpo
Cavs.com

Some More Mentions 

-Evan Mobley had two very good games scoring the ball for the Cavs this week, putting up 20 points against Milwaukee, and 21 points against Charlotte. He also recorded his career high in rebounds last night, with 18 boards against the Hornets. 

-Lamar Stevens has once again come in a forced the Cavs' hand into giving him minutes. Recording 15 points against Minnesota, and 10 against Milwaukee, Stevens has solidified the temporary starting role. He slotted into Allen's place on Sunday and Wednesday and took over LeVert's spot in the win over Charlotte on Friday night.

-The Cavs have had some serious issues with closing down games recently, not just this week. A 12-point lead to the Clippers with four minutes left, a loss. An eight-point lead over the Warriors with four minutes left, a loss. With a 10-point lead with under a minute against Charlotte, that game ended in double-overtime. The Cavs escaped with a victory this time around. The Cavs have to figure this issue out.

Next Week in Cavs

In the upcoming week, the Cavs will open with a home back-to-back against Miami (7-9) and Atlanta (9-6) before hosting Portland (10-5) on Wednesday and traveling back to Milwaukee (11-4) on Friday. 

It's unclear how long the Cavs will be without Dean Wade. Wade's knee injury currently has no timetable for return, and the knee bursitis that Wade has is known for being a sporadic injury. 

Until next time, Go Cavs.