No LeBron, but still, no real shame in Cavs' defeat

No LeBron, but still, no real shame in Cavs' defeat

Published Dec. 11, 2014 11:27 p.m. ET

Random dribbles on the Cavaliers' toughie of a 103-94 loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday.

1. The Cavs trailed by 20 points in the fourth quarter. They cut it to three with 2:00 left. Without LeBron James. That's good enough for me.

2. Kyrie Irving lunged toward Thunder guard Russell Westbrook late in the second quarter. Irving went for a shot fake and landed awkwardly. He clutched his knee. It looked bad. He had to be helped to the locker room. He started the third quarter and finished the game. He compiled 21 points and six assists. That, too, is good enough for me.

3. With Westbrook (26 points, eight assists) and Kevin Durant (19 points) healthy, the Thunder are again a Western Conference threat. The Cavs led by 11 and were in it until the end. And guess what? You got it. That's good enough for me.

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4. Kevin Love (18 points, 16 boards) gave another nice showing, but overall, the Cavs were too soft near the basket. They went on a 3-of-18 shooting stretch in the second quarter that killed 'em. They missed a lot of shots at the rim. They were a little too careless with the ball. They didn't do much right. But they played hard. Maybe not always smart, maybe not always strong. But there was no doubt about the effort. That's good enough for me.

5. The loss ended an eight-game winning streak. The Cavs (13-8) are just 1-7 when they fail to score 100 points. That means they're 12-1 in everything else. I bet LeBron could've gotten them an extra seven points.

6. James woke up with soreness in the back of his left knee. If this had been a playoff game, we probably wouldn't even have known about it. LeBron would have played. As it stands, he's 50-50 for Friday's game at the New Orleans Pelicans. As I wrote earlier, I would keep LeBron out. I would be extra cautious. Give it the weekend. After Friday, the Cavs don't play again until Monday (at home vs. the Charlotte Hornets). I may even hold out LeBron that game, too.

7. LeBron has almost played as many career minutes as Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird -- and LeBron doesn't turn 30 until the end of the month. Bird retired at the age of 35. If LeBron returns from his knee issue soon, he'll surpass Bird before the New Year.

8. Bird started his NBA career at the age of 23. LeBron was 18. So in basketball years, LeBron is Bird's age. The Cavs need to be careful with James' minutes. That's why I'd let him rest probably even more than he needs. If they can play like they did Thursday, it won't be too big of an issue. They can steal a few games without him.

9. The Cavs really hustled defensively, led by the backcourt of Irving and Matthew Dellavedova. I think Delly may have played the best game of his two-year pro career. He started in place of a four-time MVP and finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. Cavs coach David Blatt has really gotten the most out of the guy -- who already gives everything he's got.

10. Blatt also really seems to be reaching the team overall. I thought the Cavs looked good for most of the night. Again, the effort was there, man. When teams don't play hard, you usually have to blame the coach. But when they do, the coach deserves credit.

11. Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson came off the bench to finish with 14 points apiece. The Cavs have to like what they're seeing from those two lately, especially Waiters. Thompson also grabbed an underrated 13 rebounds. Waiters scored 12 of his points in the first half -- and the score was 47-all at halftime. The fact he didn't score but a basket in the second half, and the Cavs struggled, might tell us something.

12. Older veterans Shawn Marion (two points) and Anderson Varejao (nine) haven't been giving the Cavs as much as expected lately. They haven't been bad, and no one really expects them to be the stars of the team. But the Cavs could use a little more from both.

13. The Thunder (9-13) are really coming around after missing Durant (broken foot) and Westbrook (broken hand) for most of the first month. Durant played his fifth game of the season Thursday. The Thunder lost the first, but have now won four straight. And even Cavs fans had to admire how Westbrook threw down a monster dunk with that black cast-like thing on his hand.

14. The Cavs still look like a much better and much more cohesive team than three weeks ago. It's really not even close. That's good enough for me.

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