Cavs Top 3: Darius Garland out-shoots Raptors in dynamic victory

The Cavs toppled the Raptors behind Darius Garland’s big night.

Shooting efficiency is king in the NBA and Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen combined for 72% from the floor on Friday, in a road win against the Raptors. Cleveland downed Toronto 102-101 to lift the Cavaliers to 6-4 and to drop the Raptors to a fellow 6-4 record. The Cavs were able to achieve this through smart shooting and solid defense.

Also known as the J.B. Bickerstaff way. Concerns do still exist for the Cavs, as Collin Sexton has been anything but the team’s best player, shooting a horrid 4-17 from the floor, while also coughing up three turnovers. Sexton’s best gift is his scoring and if he’s not providing that (finished with only nine points) then how does he expect to get paid?

Sexton is now averaging just 16 points on the year.

Granted he’s not the only one who struggled against the Raptors, nor were Allen and Garland the only bright spots. Let’s dive into today’s Top 3.

Cavs drive Raptors to extinction with efficient shooting and solid defense

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. Dean Wade
3. Dylan Windler

You can’t really argue with facts right now, Collin Sexton is having a rough year. Sexton is shooting 45% from the floor, which isn’t bad, but he’s also shooting 26% from three-point and 74% from the free-throw line. Not good numbers at all. He also already has 29 turnovers this year, and just 17 assists. So not only is he not shooting well, he’s also not passing well. He hasn’t had an offensive RAPTOR score this bad (-1.5) since his rookie year (-2.8). Sexton is quickly becoming an issue on both ends of the court.

Dean Wade played fine, he’s a backup who’s only getting minutes because Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love are injured. The expectations on him aren’t great but going 0-4 from three-point when that’s supposed to be your thing, isn’t going to get you off this side of the list.

Playing just 11 minutes, shooting only two times, and missing both of them is good enough to get you on this part of the list

The Top Three Performers

1. Cedi Osman
2. Darius Garland
3. Jarrett Allen

A few more games like the ones Cedi Osman has had recently and he should warrant a spot in the rotation going forward. In his last four games, he’s averaging nearly as many points as Sexton (15.5), while shooting 50% from the floor and 55% from behind the arc. While these figures won’t be his norm, at least I don’t expect him to shoot like Kyle Korver the rest of the season, these are strong signs that Osman has gotten over whatever his issues were in 2020. A few more games of this production are needed to really make me buy in, however. That’s in part why he gets one point.

Two points go to the team’s starting point guard. Why? Well, once again, Darius Garland scored well (21 points), passed well (eight assists), and played solid defense against a team with a solid point guard. All in all, this is what we were hoping for from Garland.

Lastly, three points go to Jarrett Allen, who scored 16 points on just six shots, while racking up 15 rebounds.

Yearly Standing:

1. Jarrett Allen (14 points)
2. Ricky Rubio (8 points
3. Cedi Osman (7 points)
4. *TIE* Collin Sexton/Lauri Markkanen/Evan Mobley/Kevin Love/Darius Garland (6 points)
5. Dylan Windler (1 point)