Cavs Top 3: Darius Garland and Evan Mobley smother Pistons in blowout

The Cavs blew out the Pistons behind Darius Garland and Even Mobley

The Cavs blew out the Pistons 96-78 on Friday night behind an impressive night by Darius Garland and a rookie showcase from Evan Mobley. Garland continues his hot start to the season and the Cavs 5-1 record through November so far is backed by Garland’s efficiency through the start of the month.

The Cavs also got to see Mobley dominate the Pistons and No. 1overall pick from the 2021 NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham. Mobley is the front-runner to Rookie of the Year while Cunningham has looked anything but like a first-round pick.

The Cavs are sitting at 8-5 after 13 games, with two back-to-back games with the Celtics up next. The Cavs could realistically start the season 10-5. Through 13 games last year, the Cavs were 6-7, and after 15 were 8-7. That was the Cavaliers best showing for the year before falling apart. If the Cavs can get through the Celtics at 10-5, it may be enough to say for sure that Cleveland is for real. Yet, if they drop both and fall to a similar 8-7 record, then we’ll be once again forced to wait and see.

The Cavs top-three against the Pistons

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. Isaac Okoro
2. Dean Wade
3. Ricky Rubio

When it comes to Isaac Okoro, he’s just going to be held to a different standard. Offensively, he’s absolutely terrible. Meaning nights where he shoots 30% but plays good defense isn’t good enough for him. He’s the 5th overall pick from the 2020 NBA Draft. He doesn’t get to be absolutely useless on one side of the ball, no matter how good of a defender he is. If all he can do is play defense, then he should’ve been taken much later like Tony Allen or an undrafted player like Bruce Bowen.

Wade continues to play fine basketball but he really just seems to be filling in a spot at the moment. He’s not making an impact in any offensive category, averaging just 4.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game, while shooting just 28% from three for the month of November. He’s played solid defense but we need more from him.

Ricky Rubio played great defense, but he shot just 2-9 and finished with five points. The defense and nine assists are crucial but considering his usual play, these types of days are tough to watch.

The Top Three Performers

1. Evan Mobley
2. Cedi Osman
3. Darius Garland

For the first point of the night, we go with Evan Mobley. He played incredibly against the Pistons but with how bad Cade Cunningham has been since entering the NBA, it feels almost unfair to give Mobley too much credit for Friday night, as the Pistons were just awful.

The two-point performance goes to Cedi Osman. His shooting is much improved from 2020-2021, but he is still actively streaky. Prior to Friday, he had back-to-back games where he combined for 27% from the floor and 11% from three-point land. He can’t have days like that too often, not with his history. He only went 1-6 from three on Friday, which marks his third game in a row where he shot like garbage from three. Luckily he worked the ball inside and still got 17 points with his non-existent three-point shot.

Darius Garland and Mobley led the game with a box +/- with a +28. Garland is also shooting the ball super efficiently for the month of November. He’s hitting over 50% from the floor and just shy of 50% (48.7%) from three-point. His turnovers are down from October and his assists are up from past seasons. He’s living up to the pre-season hype so far.

Yearly Standing:

1. Jarrett Allen (16 points)
2. Ricky Rubio (14 points)
3. Darius Garland (11 points)
4. *TIE* Cedi Osman/Evan Mobley (9 points)
5. *TIE* Collin Sexton/Lauri Markkanen/Kevin Love/ (6 points)
6. Dylan Windler (1 point)