CleveLAnd Cavs Weekly is a weekly column about the Cleveland Cavaliers, written out of LA (hence “CleveLAnd”). Each Friday, games from the past week are highlighted along with one key player of the week and cap it off with a preview for next week.
This trade deadline week was not about the on-court product for the Cavaliers. Instead, their roster moves stole the spotlight. Cleveland first shipped struggling forward De’Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for veteran point guard Dennis Schröeder, along with young shooting guard Keon Ellis. The team followed this up with a blockbuster move in trading away young two-time All-Star point guard Darius Garland and a second round pick for the 2018 MVP, aging point guard James Harden. Finally, they dumped point guard Lonzo Ball’s contract on the Utah Jazz, but sweetened the deal with two more second round picks.
Ellis and Schröeder will fill a few key roles off the bench for the Cavaliers. Schröeder will be the primary ball handler off the bench — filling the hole left by Ty Jerome’s departure in the offseason — and Ellis should emerge as a primary point-of-attack defender and spot-up shooter. The Cavs are especially excited about Ellis’ long term upside as a developing prospect.
Swapping Garland for Harden was a controversial move, and while Garland was beloved by “The Land”, Harden elevates the team’s floor with his durability. Harden’s pick and roll prowess will also elevate the play of former All-Star and elite lob threat, center Jarrett Allen, the perfect big to pair alongside Harden. Some would argue this trade gives away the future just to improve marginally for a couple years, but I believe that the future of the Cavs could not include All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell and Garland together. With how incredible Mitchell has been, it was just a matter of time until Garland was gone.
Finally, the Cavs cleared up some cap room and a roster spot for breakout two-way forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin by shipping off Ball — who struggled mightily this year and whose role was put in jeopardy after the acquisition of Schröeder.
While the trades were the talk of the town, the Cavs did play three games on the road this week, winning two of them.
Last Friday’s loss in Phoenix was a major letdown, ending the Cavs’ five game win streak. The team came out flat, with nobody exceeding the 17 points put up by Hunter in his last game in wine and gold. They shot 31% from downtown, while the Suns were able to produce good looks and hit 48% of their attempts. The Cavs also felt the absence of injured reigning DPOY Evan Mobley, only recording two blocks as a team. Cleveland’s poor shooting and defensive lapses on Friday was enough to give the Suns a comfortable 13-point win.
After trading Hunter away, the Cavs headed to Portland where they comfortably handled business on the back of Allen’s career high 40-point performance. No matter how you spin it, Allen was the story of Sunday night. He scored efficiently, shooting 17-of-23 from the field and logged 17 rebounds to go along with five assists and four blocks. It was far and away the best game of his nine-season NBA career. The win got the Cavs back on track as they continue to make up ground in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Cavs came down here to LA for their peculiarly timed matchup with the Clippers. Only a day after swapping Garland for Harden, the two teams faced off — each without their new point guards. Ellis and Schröeder however, did make their debuts for the Cavs. Ellis hit two shots from deep and picked up two steals, while Schröeder racked up 11 points and six assists. The Cavs crushed the Clippers, holding the lead for the entire game after guard/wing Jaylon Tyson opened up the game with a 3-point make. Mitchell looked rejuvenated, scoring 29 to lead the team after not surpassing the 20 point mark against the Suns or Trail Blazers.
Player of the week:
Reminder: Player of the week isn’t about overall impact, it’s meant to highlight a player who exceeded expectations and brought the Cavaliers’ quality of play up dramatically.
While he didn’t shine in matchups against the Clippers or the Suns — only playing 23 minutes in each of those matchups — Allen’s incredible Sunday night performance still earns him player of the week. Not only was this Allen’s most dominant game so far this year, it was one of the most impressive performances by a Cavalier at any point this season. He was the best player on the court, both offensively and defensively. Mobley’s absence throughout this week and the foreseeable future puts a heavy load on Allen’s shoulders. For the Cavs to keep winning without Mobley, Allen needs to keep this aggressive and active play up.
Next week’s preview:
Harden will make his Cavaliers debut in Sacramento on Saturday for a reunion with Hunter as they do battle with the Kings. The Cavs will then head up to Denver to face three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets before finally returning to Cleveland on Wednesday after a five game road trip to play the Washington Wizards for the last game before the NBA All-Star break. Mobley and veteran guard/wing Max Strus are both still out for next week, but may return after the break.