Cavaliers win fourth straight, silencing the Jazz 109-100
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
Since Nov. 11, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been the best team in the NBA, winning 17 of their last 18 games. The feat is even more impressive than those numbers can illustrate.
After starting the season with a pedestrian 5-7 record, questions arose debating whether the Cavs (22-8) would, or could, reach a fourth straight NBA Finals at season’s end. Pundits placed the Finals projection upon the Cavs before the season started, largely because of their loaded roster.
Nevertheless, after Cleveland’s slow start to the season, prognosticators were ready to hop off the Cavs train and jump on the Celtics locomotive, especially after Boston started the season with a 22-4 record. Never mind the fact that the Cavs had to integrate a handful of new players and figure out rotations, while also missing several key players in the process, the Celtics to the Finals chatter became a healthy roar.
Fast forward to today, and the Cavs have quelled much of the Boston to the Finals talk with their play. Why is Cleveland’s recent stint of success so impressive? It’s because of the amount of games key players have missed.
Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, who finished fifth in league MVP voting last season (one spot behind LeBron James) hasn’t played a game this season because of injured right hip. The Cavs originally announced that they expect him to return in January, and whether he can come back sooner is still unknown.
Projected backup point guard to Thomas, Derrick Rose, has dealt with injuries and personal issues this season that have allowed him to play in just six games with the Cavs this season. Rose has missed 23 games for Cleveland this season, but played well when he was on the floor, averaging 14.3 points per game.
Shooting guard Iman Shumpert has played just nine games and underwent knee surgery earlier this month that will keep him sidelined 6-8 weeks, while Cavs center Tristan Thompson has played in just nine games this season because of a left calf strain.
Thompson was back in the Cavaliers lineup Saturday night for Cleveland’s matchup with the Utah Jazz. He scored four points in just seven minutes against Utah, but the Cavs needed every point to hold on for a 109-100 victory over the Jazz in Quicken Loans Arena.
LeBron James posted his fifth triple-double of the season and 60th of his career to pass Larry Bird for 6th all time, totaling 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Aiding James Saturday was Cleveland’s bench, which scored 46 points, including a career-high 10 points from Cedi Osman. While each of Osman’s points were necessary, he came up with his biggest play late in the fourth quarter.
The Cavs couldn’t stop Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell (26 points), who brought Utah within a six-point deficit, 106-100, with a layup as 1:28 showed on the clock. With just under a minute to play, Mitchell had the ball with a chance to bring the Jazz closer. But Osman stripped Mitchell to give the Cavs another possession, and James immediately knocked down two free throws to ice the game.
James has played more than 50,000 minutes in his career and is in his 15th season. No player has played to the level that James is with that many seasons under his belt. How does he do it?
“I think he just does a great job of taking care of his body,” Lue said. “Playing the games and as soon as the game’s over, he’s getting treatment, he’s getting stretched…Just taking care of his body is the biggest thing.”
Lue continued, “What he’s doing at his age in his 15th year is unbelievable. But it’s a tribute to him for just taking care of his body, doing all the right things, eating healthy, stretching, getting his treatment, and then putting the work in.
“As he’s gotten older, he’s added that three-point shot to his game the last couple years. When he’s making that shot, it opens up everything else for him. It’s just a tribute to him and what he does as a professional.”
Cleveland has now won 11 straight home games, and with their 10 three-pointers made on Saturday, the Cavs have now made at least 10 three-pointers in a franchise-record 19 straight contests. They’ve also scored at least 100 points in 23 consecutive games, their second-longest streak in team history.
With key players out of the lineup, others have had to step up, including point guard Jose Calderon.
“With Jose, (it’s) just being a professional,” Lue said. “Being a veteran in this league and sitting back, knowing we were looking for a point guard situation early on in the season, he just continued to keep working, never made a big deal of it and when we called on him, he was ready.”
The Cavs will attempt to keep their winning ways going on Sunday in the nation’s capitol against the Wizards. .
POSTED 12/16/2017 23:01
Lake County Sentinel
Photo by Greg Goth
