Cavs Top 3: Lauri Markkanen hinders Hornets in big win

The Cavs saw Lauri Markkanen swam the Hornets.

The Cavs were heading into Charlotte to take on the Hornets in the last stop of their five-game road trip. A road trip that saw them defeat the Nuggets and Clippers, but fall to the Lakers and Suns. A 3-2 road trip would be exactly what this team needed and Lauri Markkanen was exactly the guy needed to make sure a win happened.

With Kevin Love out due to health and safety protocols, it was unknown when the former All-Star and key bench player would be back for the Cavaliers. That meant that Markkanen and the rest of the Cavs would need to put their best foot forward.

And put their best foot forward they did. Markkanen harrassed the Hornet wings players, namely Gordon Hayward, and Charlotte was unable to make the Cavaliers pay with their three-point shooting. The Cavs were able to hang on to the win, holding off a rally from the Hornets and closing out the game to a score of 113-110.

Cavs can’t overcome LeBron James and the Lakers

As always, the bottom is in descending order with the lowest number being the worst and the top is in ascending order with three being the best.

The Bottom Three Performers

1. Collin Sexton
2. Darius Garland
3. Dean Wade

Collin Sexton was anything but consistent. He played poorly on defense, pooched the ball over twice, and shot below 30% on the day. Sexton’s only shooting 24% from three-point land to start the season.

For someone supposedly about to break out, Darius Garland has been wildly inconsistent. He’s shooting barely more than 30% from three, most games he’s turning the ball over almost as often as he’s distributing assists and his defense has seriously fallen off.

Lastly, Dean Wade goes here because, well we need three and he didn’t make that much of an impact in relief for Kevin Love.

The Top Three Performers

1. Cedi Osman
2. Jarrett Allen
3. Lauri Markkanen

If you play badly, I point it out, if you do well, I point it out. I’m consistent like that. Unlike Cedi Osman. I like Osman, but his streaky shooting is a problem. The streaky shooting of Sexton and Garland is a problem too. Streaky shooting in general is a problem. Osman wasn’t streaky on Monday, going 4-5 from three, taking all of his shots from behind the arc. His 13 point game was extremely needed to help hold off the Hornets. He’s also the worse rated defensive player on the team and that needs to change if he wants more minutes.

We gave Osman the nod over Evan Mobley because Osman rarely shoots this well, but we gave Jarrett Allen the nod over Mobley because Allen went all “Hulk-smash!” on the Hornets big men. Charlotte is lacking anyone who can stop Allen, so why not let him go to town. He had 24 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks, and two assists. He and Mobley really are a tough tandem to score on.

Exceeding expectations is like the first rule of listing players in post-game reviews. Lauri Makkanen has been exceeding expectations. Sure, his shooting has struggled early on, but his defense has not. The last three games have seen Markkanen shoot much better, hitting 44% of his shots from the floor. He posted a season-high in points (21) and a season-high in blocks (3) against the Hornets, and that’s partly why he was the top performer for the game.

"Yearly Standing:*TIE* Jarrett Allen &Ricky Rubio (8 points)*TIE* Collin Sexton/Lauri Markkanen/Evan Mobley/Kevin Love (6 points)Cedi Osman (5 points)Darius Garland (2 points)Dylan Windler (1 point)"

Note: Due to conflicting schedules, there was no Top 3 for the Suns’ loss on Saturday. Cedi Osman will get the three points, Kevin Love will get two points, and Dylan Windler gets one point. Those point additions will be added to the yearly standings above.