If you would’ve told me The Cleveland Cavaliers would be 1-3 in the first four games I’d tell you you’re crazy, but they are 1-3 and are playing like a team that is not hungry. The Utah Jazz played like a team that could be contending in The Western Conference when it’s all said and done. Gordon Hayward had his prints all over this game with 21 PTS on 7/14 from the field also he had 7 assists and 4 rebounds. The Cavaliers came out really flat on offense, but still kept up with Utah who shot 51% for the game.
The Cavaliers offense yet again looked confused and very stagnant with each possession. The Cavaliers would go down at halftime 59-48 and ended the half looking like it was going to be the same kind of loss they had in Portland thanks to their defensive efforts. The Cavaliers turned their intensity on defense up just a bit and got themselves back in this game lead by Kyrie Irving’s 34 PTS and LeBron’s 31 PTS, 4 REB, and 4 AST. The reason I only talked about Irving’s points is he simply did not have any assists in 45 minutes of play which is concerning and a head scratcher.
The fourth quarter comes around and The Cavaliers are down by one to start, but the fourth quarter seemed like a back and forth event between the teams. Things did get a little chippy when Trevor Booker gave Kevin Love a hard foul and stood over him saying something, which I’m sure didn’t make Kevin Love feel all warm and cozy. Towards the end of the fourth LeBron is leading the charge for The Cavaliers gets a 3 pointer from the corner then on Cleveland’s next possession he draws Derrick Favors to foul him behind the arc and LeBron would hit all three FT’s to make it 100-100 with 3 seconds left.
Gordon Hayward would get the ball with 3.5 seconds left and takes the screen which causes James to fall over and have a good look for the game winner which he would drain as the buzzer goes off.
Hayward sends The Jazz to a 2-3 record and Cleveland falls to 1-3.
Game Notes:
-Cavaliers Head Coach David Blatt’s rotation seemed a little out of whack once again his veterans Mike Miller and Shawn Marion did get more minutes, but not nearly as many shot attempts they deserve.
-The Utah Jazz played some good offense behind Hayward and Derrick Favors two guys I expect to make an impact for Utah.
-Dion Waiters would only get 13 minutes in this game which is David Blatt sending Waiters a message of his poor defensive play in Portland.
