The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered an embarrassing loss to the Golden State Warriors loss on January 20th, with the Dubs missing Draymond Green, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson. From the get-go, the Cavs came out sluggish. On Sunday however, they managed to fix that against the Los Angeles Clippers, beating them by 23 points.
Big man Jarrett Allen explained how that defeat to the reigning champions taught the team a specific lesson that was evidently corrected at home versus LA. Via Cleveland.com:
“We experienced the other side of this game,” Cavs center Jarrett Allen said, referring to the Warriors loss. “Coming out and setting the tone, that was the main thing for us. During the Warriors game, we kind of came out lackadaisical and this game we wanted to come out and send a message from the beginning.”
This was a similar game for Cleveland in the sense that Los Angeles was also shorthanded just like Golden State. Both Kawhi Leonard nor Paul George didn’t play, while John Wall, Marcus Morris Sr, and Reggie Jackson sat out this one as well. The Cavs could’ve laid back and taken the undermanned Clips for granted, but they learned from that mistake earlier in the month.
The Cavs came out of the gates firing, outscoring their opponents 31-15 in the opening quarter, and had a 64-34 lead at halftime. Cedi Osman even scored a career-high 29 points. It was pure dominance. Although the Clippers did make it closer with a much better fourth period, Cleveland poured it on throughout the contest and showed what they’re all about.
The moral of the story is no matter how strong or weak the opposition is, Cleveland must bring that same intensity each and every night. That’s the only way the Cavs can be a championship squad.