8 Takeaways from Cavs failed comeback attempt against shorthanded Thunder

The Cleveland Cavaliers fought hard to erase an early 23-point deficit, but they weren’t able to keep up with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s hot outside shooting. The Thunder prevailed 121-113.

The starting lineup doesn’t work in every context; this is one of them. Lu Dort and Cason Wallace‘s size and strength made it difficult for Donovan Mitchell and James Harden to attack off the dribble. The rest of the starters weren’t able to do much as Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen are all play finishers and not play creators. This hurt the Cavs and was part of the reason why they turned it over seven times before the first subs entered the game.

I’m in favor of Wade starting in most situations. His defense and rebounding add a different dimension for this team. However, there are some matchups where Cleveland would be better served starting someone like Jaylon Tyson or Sam Merrill. This is one of them.

The Cavs lost the five minutes the starters shared the floor by 14. They won the other 43 minutes by six.

You don’t want to over-index one game, but outings like this are why it’s fair to wonder if Wade can be a difference maker in the playoffs.

As mentioned, this wasn’t a great matchup to use Wade as a starter. There wasn’t a player that they specifically needed him to defend. When he doesn’t have that, his utility goes down, which only highlights how he can be a limited offensive player.

The Cavs needed players who could shoot or provide some level of ball handling. Wade was hesitant to pull the trigger and isn’t an on-ball creator. He had just one field-goal attempt in 18 minutes despite the defense being more than okay to cheat off him. You’re completely handicapping your offense if neither he nor his teammates trusts him to be an active part of the offense.

The Cavs wouldn’t start Wade if they played the Thunder in a seven-game series. They’d just use him off the bench as a backup. So, again, you don’t want to make too much of this one game. But there are other matchups, like against the Detroit Pistons, where the Cavs need Wade to guard the opponent’s best player. Wade can only be placed in a spot to do so if he provides something offensively.

The Cavs need to find alternative ways to get Allen involved. After spending the last few weeks talking about how they need to get him the ball early, he took just one shot in the first quarter. As has been the pattern, this carried over for the entire game as Allen had just six field goal attempts in over 28 minutes.

The Thunder deserve some credit for this. They did a great job of collapsing passing lanes and sending help whenever Allen did get the ball. Cleveland’s poor outside shooting allowed them to gamble as much as they did. That said, the Cavs’ offense didn’t really have a way to get him the ball besides just trying to force-feed him in the pick-and-roll.

Teams know that Allen is the key to getting their offense involved, especially after the addition of Harden. Allen’s rim pressure opens the floor up for the guards and for shooters on the perimeter. But if it gets shut down, things can become stagnant like it did in Oklahoma City.

Not every team has the ability to stop Allen with a drop big as good as Isaiah Hartenstein and the perimeter defender the Thunder have. It’s not like it’s the most replicable strategy. At the same time, a team like the Pistons — who the Cavs could face in the playoffs — can do something similar with their defensive personnel.

Allen needs to be a bigger factor than he was. There’s just not many situations where the Cavs are going to beat an elite opponent if he’s held to just six shot attempts.

Keon Ellis continues to impress with his defensive effort. He finished with two steals and was once again incredibly disruptive.

There aren’t many players of his size who can alter defensive possessions as he does. Plays like the one below are an example of that.

Ellis rotates like he’s going to contest Chet Holmgren’s drive. Holmgren assumes that Ellis is going back to the wing, but instead, he comes down and forces Holmgren out of his shot. It’s not often a 6’4” guard forces a 7’1” center out of a jumper.

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It’s difficult to keep someone this impactful defensively off the court.

There’s room for more Merrill and Harden two-man screening actions.

Merrill is a good screener and had his shot working on Sunday as he went 6-10 from three. Only one of those six triples was assisted by Harden, but the ease with which the shot was created makes you wonder why they don’t use it more often.

Here, a simple ghost screen from Merrill creates a wide-open look due to how much attention Harden draws to the ball. It helps that Harden can make behind-the-back passes with ease.

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It can work to create open looks for Harden as well. Here, the ghost screen makes an opening for Harden to get to his patented left-handed layup.

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These two have shown a natural chemistry in their first six games together. They should lean into that much more than they currently are. This has the potential to be as lethal a combination as Harden and Allen.

The spacing principles with Harden need work.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson is trying to find ways to keep elements of his movement offense while working in the isolation sets that Harden is comfortable with. In the previous five games, the Cavs were able to make that work. They weren’t on Sunday as Harden turned it over five times, with a few coming because the spacing just isn’t where it needs to be.

We talked about the starters not providing much spacing. This is an example of that. Four defenders are in the paint along with three Cavaliers when Harden committed the offensive foul.

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And here, Dennis Schroder is stuck trying to relocate to the corner in the middle of Harden’s drive, which disrupts the spacing, leading to the turnover.

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The Thunder are a tough matchup for Cleveland’s backcourt. There aren’t many teams that have more disruptive guard defenders than Dort and Wallace. They don’t give up many 30+ point games from an opposing guard. That means that the rest of the offense needs to be in sync, and they weren’t.

As was seen here, the Cavs’ offense has the potential to be good — and they were for stretches on Sunday — but they certainly aren’t fine-tuned yet. The spacing wasn’t great, they couldn’t find a way to get Allen involved, it’s fair to wonder where Mobley fits into the Harden offense, and the rotations are a work in progress. Games like this are going to expose those issues.

The Cavs are very much a work in progress. The talent is there, but they don’t know who they are and how they want to play enough to quite be on the Thunder’s level. In many ways, they’re trying to build the plane in the air.

Nothing from this game makes me think that the Cavs can’t reach that level. Even though the Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, they shot uncharacteristically well from three. Making more than half of your outside shots is going to make any team incredibly tough to beat. The Cavs also didn’t do themselves any favors with the turnovers and poor shooting, yet they still had chances to win this one.

Even though they failed this test, going through struggles like this is necessary. The Cavs aren’t far off. The question is whether they have enough time to actually put all the pieces together.

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