Darius Garland tries to out-duel Donovan Mitchell to secure Top 3 for Cavs vs. Jazz

Darius Garland secures top 3 spot for Cavs in loss to Jazz.

The Cavs fell to the Jazz 109-108 on Sunday afternoon in heartbreaking fashion, allowing Cleveland fans to feel like nothing has changed with the Browns bye week. The Cavs were down 91-82 entering the fourth quarter and the Cavaliers had every opportunity to win this game. Twice in the final minute, the Cavaliers had a chance to go up by one but whiffed both times. Failing to complete the comeback.

That said, while we’re doing a Bottom Three as always, this game was a perfect loss. If there is such a thing. Everyone did their best, they battled it out against a team many consider to be a dark horse NBA Finals contender and the Cavaliers never gave up the fight. If you have to lose, you want to lose to the best and by barely anything.

Now, onto the Top 3. 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 Top 3 from the heartbreaking Jazz loss

The Bottom Three Performers

1. Kevin Love
2. Lauri Markkanen
3. Jarrett Allen

Kevin Love has had a good year as reservist off the bench, and I’ve given him plenty of praise but that doesn’t mean he won’t have bad games and against the Jazz, he did just that. Love finished with 1-6 shooting, with just three points and two rebounds. If he makes just one more shot, the Cavs likely win.

Defensively Lauri Markkanen did what he does, but offensively he was taken out of the action by the Jazz’s defense. The team needs better games from him to beat the top teams in the league.

Jarrett Allen gets the last of the bottom spots. Remember, when it comes to the bottom performers, one is the worst, and three is the least bad. Allen had a double-double but defensively he was tested all game. He needed just one more stop to swing the tide of this close encounter. He’s one of the pillars of this team and he needs to play like it in crunch time.

The Top Three Performers

1. Darius Garland
2. Cedi Osman
3. Ricky Rubio

Controversial opinion time; Darius Garland’s defense was just as problematic as Kevin Love’s offense against the Jazz. If Love needed just one more shot to get the win, then Garland needed just one stop against Donovan Mitchell. That said, 30+ points should at least warrant one point on the game.

The two-pointer goes to Cedi Osman, who missed several games and came back like hadn’t missed any time. He did a little of everything, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while putting up a team-high box +/- of +5.

Ricky Rubio gets the tree point game for his offense, defense, and general overall decision-making. He finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists while posting ga box +/- of +1, tied for third on the team with Lauri Markkanen.

Yearly Standing:

1. Jarrett Allen (30 points)
2. Ricky Rubio (25 points)
3. Darius Garland (24 points)
4. Cedi Osman (16 points)
5. Lauri Markkanen (14 points)
6. Kevin Love (13 points)
7. Evan Mobley (12 points)
8. Dean Wade (3 points)
9. *TIE* Isaac Okoro/Dylan Windler (1 point)