An irritating loss

That was an irritating loss.  The Cavs lose a 10 point lead, and fumble several times in the closing seconds (Mobley tipping a rebound out of bounds that would have gone the Cavs’ way if he didn’t touch it, Rubio missing a free throw to put them up 3 with 15 seconds to go). 

Frustrating, but a quality loss.  Normalizing 3pt and FT shooting and the Cavs have a 6-10 point win on their hands.  They outright win the game if Washington shoots anything less than 88% from the Free Throw line.  

Things I didn’t like first: 

Starting Wade+Okoro with the obvious 3 other starters.  Wade is just useless on offense without high level shot creation near him, and Garland isn’t that level on his own.  Dean ended the game with a 3.5% usage rate, Okoro 8.6%.  Offensively the Cavs looked awful until Osman entered the game.   You need a secondary ball handler and Okoro is a long shot to be it, and certainly coming off an injury with Beal as his defensive assignment is even less likely to be it. 

I also dislike the action to generate the last real shot the Cavs had, Garland taking a deep 3 is Okay, but I want more aggressive action between the big men giving the possibility for an easy offensive rebound and put back.  

Not being able to box out.  

Things I liked: 

Mobley embraced some shot creation and decent efficiency (36% usage, 55% TS).

The defense with Okoro in.  The Wizards were struggling offensively with good lineups against that defense, and basically only Montrezl kept them in the game for Kuzma to hit the late 3s.  That starting lineup but with Osman or Lauri instead of Wade has the chance to be really good.  

It’s really nice that Jarrett Allen can contribute 4 assists from time to time when the team is down a shot creator.  It’s a small bonus for a guy giving defense, rebounding and efficient scoring.  

Other than that what is there to say?  The Cavs looked like a good team playing another good team and they win this game 6/10 times, maybe 7/10.