The best and worst Cavs’ performances from the failed Bucks comeback

The Cavs best and worst Cavs from the failed comeback against the Bucks.

The Cavs failed to mount a comeback against one of the East’s best teams in the Bucks. The Cavaliers had no answer for Milwaukee’s championship trio of Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who combined for 68 of the Bucks 112 points. Cleveland mounted a comeback attempt in the fourth but couldn’t muster enough to get past the defending champs, falling 112-104.

The Cavs fall to 13-12 on the season.

Before going on, we’re undergoing a slight name change this week. From “top” to “best” and from “bottom” to “worst”. It’s a minor name change that I hope makes more sense with what we’re doing with this article. Nothing else is changing, however, just how we’re labeling things.

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 best and worst from the Cavs failed comeback against the Bucks

The Worst Three Performers

1. Isaac Okoro
2. Darius Garland
3. Cedi Osman

We know that Isaac Okoro isn’t a reliable scorer, so his defensive impact is all the much more important. The “well he’s young” or “well, he’s guarding the opposing team’s best” excuses are just that; excuses. It’s the only thing he can do reliably and in games where he’s the weak link defensively, this hurts. His box +/- of -20 is atrocious. It was a game-wide worse and Okoro can’t have nights like that.

Speaking of not having nights like this, Darius Garland had just 10 points on 3-13 shooting. Most of them were from mid-range and near the basket, which makes the shooting night that much worse. Yes, Holiday is a grinder on defense, but if fans are going to proclaim Garland’s “an All-Star”, which I don’t agree with, then he has to produce against Holiday and others of his ilk.

Lastly, streaky shooting is Cedi Osman’s downfall. He had a rough night, going 3-11 and finishing with nine points. His role is too valuable for him to struggle against the top teams.

The Best Three Performers

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

The first point of the game goes to Kevin Love, who had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists on 5-11 shooting in just 19 minutes. That’s solid production and maybe it’s time to start giving Love more than 19 minutes a game. I mean, is there a reason Lamar Stevens is getting 11 minutes against the Bucks? Give those to Love, so the team can actually produce more points.

The next two points go to Jarrett Allen, who put up 25 points and 9 rebounds on 10-12 shooting. He did finish with a box +/- of -10, so he clearly wasn’t turning away the guys at the basket, and considering how often Holiday and Antetokounmpo challenged him in the paint, he really needs to step up in games like this if the Cavs are hoping to make noise in the playoffs.

Go Lauri Markkanen. He earns the last three points, for dropping 20 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a box +/- of +8. He was the only Cavs player besides Stevens to finish on the positive side of the stat, and his play showed it, constantly challenging Milwaukee’s shooters and hitting 46% from the floor and 44% from three-point.

Yearly Standing:

1. Jarrett Allen (32 points)
2. Ricky Rubio (25 points)
3. Darius Garland (24 points)
4. Lauri Markkanen (17 points)
5. Cedi Osman (16 points)
6. Kevin Love (14 points)
7. Evan Mobley (12 points)
8. Dean Wade (3 points)
9. *TIE* Isaac Okoro/Dylan Windler (1 point)