The cold-shooting Cavs found early success in the paint, but abandoned it when it mattered most.
If you had only watched the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Orlando Magic, it would have looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers would be force-feeding center Jarrett Allen for the entire game. Without Evan Mobley next to him, Allen has usually picked up the slack on both sides of the ball. Tonight appeared to be no different.
The Cavs, unable to put together consistent offense for most of the game, relied on Allen in the first half to provide a steady stream of easy looks at the rim. Whether it be off pick-and-rolls or even finding a few downhill opportunities, the Cavs put the ball in Allen’s hands against a physical Magic defense that otherwise made Cleveland’s possessions disappear.
In the first three quarters, Allen was 7-9 from the floor with 18 points. Then, in the fourth quarter, the Cavs’ offense shifted away from Allen and started to look more frantic from the perimeter. Shots weren’t falling, the turnovers piled up, and the normally cool and collected backcourt was off its game. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland shot 5-16 in the fourth quarter with three turnovers, a rough final frame that ultimately decided the game. Allen only had two shot attempts in the fourth quarter.
When asked if Allen should have been more involved in the fourth quarter, Mitchell praised Orlando’s defense for making things difficult on them. “I think they did a good job of presenting themselves and taking that away”, he said in the locker room afterward. “You got to give them credit. You make the pass and they all do their job and then rotate back out, so for him (Allen) to only have to shots and still be a menace on the boards is a credit to him.”
Allen was having an efficient game, but he was looked off in the fourth quarter in favor of the backcourt. It’s hard to go against that methodology when it has been effective all season, but fighting physical with physical may have been the right move. Orlando gives up the fewest three-point attempts in the league, but are 19th in shots given up at the rim per Cleaning the Glass. Going to the paint in general appeared to be a focal point in the first water, where the Cavs scored 38 points. They abandoned that mentality in the second half.
The Cavs shot the ball poorly overall, which can somewhat be chalked up as variance. After all, they are among the league’s elite when it comes to nearly every shooting category, and they missed a ton of looks they would normally hit. But the backcourt seemed to be forcing things in the fourth quarter, speeding up the processes that they have so masterfully executed all season.
“In the summer, I just worked on my game for moments like these,” Allen said post-game. “When you need me to have the offensive output when somebody’s out, like Evan tonight, somebody needs to pick up the scoring and that’s my job.”
But when the shots aren’t falling, the Cavs should have allowed Allen to go to work more against a Magic defense he was finding success against. Instead, they played into Orlando’s hands and, in the process, suffered their fifth home loss of the season.