Random dribbles following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 121-99 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
1. Well, the Cavs aren’t at the same level as the Clippers. We pretty much knew that coming in. But this is no time for anybody to start feeling sorry for themselves. If you’re the Cavs, you just have to dust yourself off and get ready to do this again.
2. Yeah, the Milwaukee Bucks are coming to town in two nights. The Cavs (10-12) aren’t at their level, either.
3. This isn’t meant to make anyone depressed or bash the Cavs. Despite having lost three of four (and five of seven), they’re already better than a lot of people expected and still hovering around .500.
4. So, what happened vs. the Clippers? That answer is simple. The Clippers (17-6) have Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and lots of winning experience. The Cavs do not.
5. It’s true that the Cavs trailed just 52-49 at halftime. They were able to stay in it with some hustle, and true grit on defense. But some of that may have had to do with the Clippers having played (and lost) the previous night at Brooklyn. They may have been a little pooped.
6. Whatever it was, the Clippers sure figured it out in time for the second half. That spelled bad news for the Cavs, who just are too young at key positions, not nearly as deep and still finding their way.
7. For instance, not a soul on the Cavs could come close to defending George. And it wasn’t for a lack of coach J.B. Bickerstaff trying to find somebody. George finished with 36 points, including 25 in the second half, when he almost single-handedly broke the game open.
8. Meanwhile, you would have barely noticed Leonard — until seeing he tore the Cavs apart to the tune of 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting. It almost looked like he was just sort of out there, going through the motions. And yet he was still at least the second-best player on the court. That’s just how great he is.
9. On the other hand, Cavs starting forwards Taurean Prince (seven points) and rookie Isaac Okoro (two) offered basically nothing offensively. Again, not a criticism. Just a fact that the Clippers have all-world guys at key positions. The Cavs? Yeah, not there yet.
10. Collin Sexton did have a nice night with 27 points and five assists, and Darius Garland scored 23. Other than that, it was a night to forget — in case you didn’t get that vibe already.
11. Not sure what was going on with Andre Drummond (13 points, five rebounds), but he sure didn’t look like himself. He missed last game with a sore lower back, so maybe that’s bugging him. Who knows? The Clippers outscored the Cavs by a massive 33 points when Drummond was on the floor.
12. Oh, and then there’s the matter of the 3-pointers. The Cavs attempted just 10, a season-low. The Clippers made 20, a season-high.
13. Bickerstaff on the game: “They’re a good team, there’s no doubt about it. … We didn’t defend the 3-point line well enough to give ourselves a shot. On offense, we didn’t generate enough threes. It’s hard to make a living shooting a lot of floaters. That’s what they forced us into.”
14. So, here we are again. It’s no time for panic, but an incredibly tough stretch awaits. The Cavs have playoff dreams, and they are indeed in the hunt. But they will need to find a way to beat a couple of these elites, or close-to-elites, to keep those dreams alive.
BOX SCORE | Clippers 121, Cavaliers 99
