Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – The Cavaliers were reminded what they look like without Kevin Love on Saturday. Detroit dominated Cleveland en route to a 129-93 win. The 36-point loss is one of the worst in Quicken Loans Arena history.
The Cavaliers are used to playing without Love – the five-time All-Star missed 52 games this season, but it was clear early on that it wasn’t their night. They shot 34.2 percent from the field.
Detroit made 66.7 percent (16-24) of their shots in the first quarter and took a 42-23 lead. The Cavaliers didn’t have an answer for Ohio native Luke Kennard, who finished with 26 points.
Cleveland was also without Ante Zizic, which meant they struggled guarding center Andre Drummond. The 25-year-old finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
"It hurt us," head coach Larry Drew said. "I was just more disappointed with just the way we played. I just don't think we played with the urgency and a togetherness that I've seen us play with the last three-or-four ballgames prior to this one. The bad news is we didn't play well tonight and the good news is we have less than 24 hours to redeem ourselves."
"You know going into a back-to-back, regardless of whether you win or lose the first one, you got to bounce back the second night."
Four players scored 20 or more points for the Cavaliers in Thursday’s comeback win over the Knicks. They didn’t have anyone reach that mark on Saturday. Collin Sexton led the Cavaliers with 16 points.
It’s Just Rest – Love is expected to return to action on Sunday against Orlando. The Cavaliers were resting him as a precaution since the team had to play a back-to-back. Zizic’s status isn’t as certain. He remains in concussion protocol and will likely miss the Cavs’ matchup against the Magic.
Lottery Check – The Bulls beat Atlanta in a four-overtime thriller on Friday night to improve to 18-45 on the season. The Cavaliers are three-games behind Chicago at 15-48. As long as Cleveland has one of the three-worst records in the NBA, then they’ll have as good a chance as anyone – 14 percent – of securing the top pick in June’s NBA Draft.
No Energy – The Cavaliers' lack of energy was obvious from the opening tip. Drew called a timeout 62 seconds into the game because he didn't like what he saw from his team.
"We can't have those problems. We have to play every night with a high-energy," Cedi Osman said. "I believe in this team and I know we'll be better tomorrow."
No Room for Error – The Cavaliers' margin for error is extremely small. It shrinks even more without Love or Zizic. If they aren't playing with energy and hustle, then they'll lose to most, if not every team in the NBA. They were 4-2 in their last six games heading into Saturday's game against Detroit. The Cavs had been playing well, with plenty of energy and confidence. Clearly this was a step back, but it could also be an outlier. Drew has this team playing hard on a nightly basis. Everyone has a bad day at work and it looks like Saturday was exactly that for the Cavaliers.
"If I could play another game right now, I would," Larry Nance Jr. said. "We're all chomping at the bit to get this one going tomorrow and I know you're going to see a better effort."
