Cleveland Cavaliers Finally Break Losing Streak
The Cleveland Cavaliers finally ended their losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday as they won 124-116. Could this victory turn the season around for them?
The Cleveland Cavaliers finally got a victory! Let’s end the season now and go straight to the NBA Finals!
Well, not quite.
The Cavaliers finally ended their second three-game losing streak on Friday against a short-handed Brooklyn Nets team playing without Brook Lopez, Joe Harris and Caris LeVert.
Just like in games during the losses, the Cavaliers started off sluggish, but finished the game strong and looked like a semblance of the championship team fans know.
Defense is still an issue with the club, but they tightened it up in the second half. It’s something that Cavs fans haven’t seen since the victory against the Phoenix Suns a week ago.
There was ball movement, penetration to the basket and best of all, they were out there having fun again. It’s been a long week with the losing and LeBron James speaking out against management, and this win will raise the morale and energy of the team.
The Cavaliers finished with 26 assists. Hopefully going one-on-one against opposing defenders has stopped, and team basketball is back.
The biggest thing that stood out to me was Kyle Korver. I think the Cavs, slowly but surely, are learning how to implement him within the offense.
He looked the most comfortable I’ve seen him since joining the team, and he knew his role. This was his second best game since the acquisition. He finished with 14 points, going 3-for-6 from three-point range and 5-for-11 from the field overall.
He’ still a defensive liability, but if he’s making open shots and making plays off the ball, it will definitely make up for it.
Tristan Thompson finally had a solid game. He and Kevin Love have been in the spotlight with the struggles of the interior defense.
He’s never been a shot blocker or an intimidating force in the paint, but he would at least give opposing offenses looks, and that disappeared from his game. Some people will put it on his life outside of the court, but I put it on having a tough year, and feeling the pressure of that $82 million contract he signed in 2015.
Thompson finished the game with a double-double with 10 points, 10 boards and one block.
The team still needs to address the center spot, but if Thompson can get back to the level he played at in the NBA Finals, it would help the team moving forward.
James still played a team-high 34 minutes, but he was efficient. He still had a high amount of turnovers at five, but they weren’t silly ones like he’s had during the losing streak.
It was also another historical milestone for James during the game. He passed Terry Porter for 14th place on the NBA’s all-time assist list. He now has 7,161.
That’s impressive. I have no doubt that he will be in the top 10 of assist leaders once he retires.
Kyrie Irving also had another good game with 28 points. He’s been on a tear lately, but unfortunately the losses and the other news has taken precedence over them. Is this Irving’s team now? Not just yet. But in the closing minutes, it is and should be.
The bench came alive with both Richard Jefferson and Kay Felder contributing. Jefferson had eight points and Felder had nine.
It was a win against the worst team in the NBA at 9-37, but fans questioned if they could get the victory after the past two performances, and they came through.
The Cavaliers will face Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. This will be a game that will show if the Friday’s victory was due to the Nets being terrible, or Cleveland finally turning it around.
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