Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 103-90 road win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
1. Good thins are happening when Darius Garland is in complete control of the offense. Not always, but more often than not lately.
2. We saw it again Wednesday, when Garland played with poise and confidence, offering another example that he continues to grow as a pro. The more you watch Garland, the more you think he may be the young man to really help change the direction of this franchise.
3. After all, it all starts with the point guard. And as I tweeted the other day, opposing superstars have been highly complimentary of Garland’s present and especially, his potential.
4. Defensively, well, that’s another matter. But it generally takes most players three or four years to catch up to speed at that end — especially guards. So let’s give it a little time.
5. Garland finished with 17 points and seven assists and obviously was a major factor. So were several others, as the finally (almost entirely) healthy Cavs showed what they can do when the key players are in the lineup and the ball moves.
6. Taurean Prince was especially excellent, scoring a team-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting. That included 6-of-8 on 3-pointers. It seems like a lot of people had written off Prince. But he very well could be an important part of the Cavs’ future.
7. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Prince: “He went through a long stretch where he didn’t get a chance to play because of injury, so he had to find his way back a little bit. But he’s been a really consistent punch off the bench.”
8. And Prince offers a little bit of everything. “Not only on the offensive end, but he gets a ton of deflections, he comes up with steals, he provides opportunities in transition when he runs, he can attack off the dribble and make threes,” Bickerstaff said. “He’s kind of finding his rhythm with the group.”
9. The game also marked the returns of Jarrett Allen and Larry Nance Jr., and what a great sight for the Cavs to behold. Allen contributed a very underrated 15 points and eight rebounds. Nance struggled with his shooting (five points, 1-of-7 from the floor) but was his usual active self, compiling four steals.
10. Along with that, Kevin Love may have put together his best all-around showing of the season — 17 points, 6-of-12 shooting and 11 boards.
11. All this and the Cavs were missing leading scorer Collin Sexton. The more this plays out, the more it would seem that Sexton really might serve the Cavs best as an automatic bucket off the bench. But how the Cavs would ever have that conversation …
12. Anyway, that’s way forward thinking. Now certainly is not the time for a change in Sexton’s role.
13. Overall, the Cavs’ starters committed just three turnovers. All were by Garland, but three is hardly a high number for a veteran point guard, much less a guy in his second season.
14. Bickerstaff on the offense: “The ball is popping, bodies are moving and we’re harder to guard because we’re less isolated. Everybody feels like they’re a part of it, everybody’s getting their opportunity, so they’re willing to make that extra pass because they know at some point that extra one is going to come back.”
15. Rookie Isaac Okoro finished with seven points and six rebounds; Dean Wade added six and seven, respectively.
16. The Cavs (20-34) are right back at it Thursday, when they host the Golden State Warriors. Ah, yes. Cavs vs. Warriors. Who can forget those days?
17. The Hornets (27-27) were missing the injured Gordon Hayward, LaMelo Ball and P.J. Washington. Shaker Heights product Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 22 points.
