The Spin: Cavs 'Run Out Of Steam' Vs. Pelicans, Finish Homestand 3-1

Spencer Davies highlights five observations from the Cleveland Cavaliers' 123-104 loss vs. the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the New Orleans Pelicans in their four-game homestand finale, 123-104. Spencer Davies highlights five observations from the game.

A Good Week Regardless

Although the Cavs didn't finish their homestand on a high note, there are no hanging heads in that locker room. What easily could've been a time to throw in the towel turned into a 3-1 stretch that saw everybody chip in.

"I think we just ran out of steam," Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the loss. "You can't knock the effort and what our guys have been doing. How they've been competing. Bodies down, and everybody's had to step up and do a little bit more. And I just thought we ran out of steam there.

"We've had a great week. To go 3-1 on this homestand and battle the things that we've had to battle. This has been a successful week for us. Now, we've just got to continue to put it together and hold down the fort."

Dean Wade echoed Bickerstaff's same thoughts.

"Man, we're a resilient team," Wade said "We're down a bunch of guys, but we never gave up. We fought until the end this whole time, and we're still enjoying it. No one is too down about it. Obviously when we found out those guys were hurt, we were down for a little while. 

"But next-man mentality. You see what Sam [Merrill]'s been doing this week. Unbelievable. So I think we really do believe in each other and believe in the system. That's one thing this week definitely showed me.”

Dec 21, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) shoots the ball as New Orleans Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels (11) defends in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

If You're Open, You Better Act Like It

Wade had a season-high 20 points on Thursday night, matching a career-high six threes made, the last occurrence of which happened Oct. 30, 2022 vs. the New York Knicks. As I wrote earlier this week, it can be as simple as taking the great looks that are available. The Cavs as a whole have been begging him to do it.

"A lot more confidence. We try to tell him to shoot the ball every time," Jarrett Allen said. "We all believe in him, and it's good to see he's starting to believe in himself."

"If I don't shoot it, I'm going to get yelled at by my teammates. Them guys believing in me goes a long ways," Wade said. "The whole thing, self-belief and everything like that — you've got to realize if you don't take the open shot, sometimes that's the best shot. You're going to get that whole possession a lot of times and, that possession, if you don't shoot, it might end up in a turnover or something bad. So might as well shoot it."

He was asked about turning down good ones before.

"Sometimes the ball's just not really flowing, doesn't find you," Wade said. [Wednesday] against Utah, they just never left my hip. But that's my job to space the floor. I had the defender next to me, so a lot of backside action, he wasn't helping. My job is just to stay spaced.  

"And nights like tonight where they help in, I'll shoot those ones. It just depends on the game really. If the ball's flowing, I try not to pass up too many shots. Occasionally, I'll pass up a few and I hear about it, but I try not to. It really just depends on the game.”

Rook Ready

In his second consecutive start, Craig Porter Jr. looked right at home. This was despite the amount of size and length hounding him on the outside (Dyson Daniels and Herb Jones in particular). Porter dished out a career-high 11 assists on the evening. He has recorded 17 dimes in his last two games while only turning it over twice.

"Just finding my teammates," Porter said. "One of the game plans going in was that they overhelp a lot of the time. Any time I got into the pick-and-roll, I just looked for my teammates and they were knocking down shots. So, that was good for us.” 

"He's been excellent," Allen added. "We've put a lot on his shoulders with DG (Darius Garland) and Donovan [Mitchell] out, but he's stepped up to the challenge."

Bickerstaff raved over how Porter has taken hold of engineering things.

"It might be the most difficult position in our sport to be the starting point guard for a team, and I think he's figuring it out," Bickerstaff said. "And he's just showing the different ways that he can help and how he contributes. But, he's solid. He makes great decisions, and so I think he just needs more time at it, and you're gonna continue to see him get better.

"I think he's got a really good feel for the game. He's got great spatial awareness, where he's at on the floor, where the defense is, where his outlets are and all those things. And he never gets sped up. He doesn't play out of his tempo, so he's able to see those plays and make those plays."

Switchy, Switchy

In addition to being gassed, the Cavs were quite frankly outsized in this game. It is a bit unsettling that opponents who present length and strength and switch defensively give Cleveland issues. Roster-wise, especially right now, it's not well-equipped to handle those types of matchups. So how can the wine-and-gold combat that?

"It’s hard. Longer teams like that with bigger defenders, you've just gotta learn how to play team basketball," Porter said. "You've got to fit different coverages and things like that. When they’re switching, you might have to slip. Just listening to the coaches and some of the game-plan things we went through, I feel like it worked at times, but the dead legs caught us."

"You just always got to have body movement, especially against those teams," Wade added. "They're so long and athletic. If you stand in one spot, they have so much length, they just kind of erase the whole court for 'em and so you just got to keep moving. Slip out of screens, set rip screens, things like that.”

Ice Quietly Stringing Starts Together

Since Isaac Okoro has entered the starting lineup, it's clear that he's been comfortable in the role he's playing. Thursday night, he put up 16 points, four assists and three rebounds. That's three double-digit scoring efforts in four starts. Not only is he bringing the defensive intensity, but he's also doing much more than waiting for the ball to come to him. He's actively putting pressure on opponents.

"I think he's done a little bit of everything for us," Bickerstaff said. "We know how he impacts the game on the defensive end of the floor. But I think you see offensively, making shots, driving, finding his teammates. I think he showed a diversity to his offensive game as well.

"It's what he's worked for. Before, we had him working on those corner threes. But now, he's able to be all over the floor because he's put the work in, shown he's capable of making shots. We've always wanted him to be a playmaker. I think you just see the confidence in him being able to play off the catch, get to the middle of the floor, either finish it or make the next right play."