Cavs singing the blues, lose to the Jazz to drop to 1-3

(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

In what seemed like a rollercoaster game for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the ride ended with the Cavaliers leaving Utah with a 102-100 loss to the Jazz.

For as bad as the Cavs played in the first 26 minutes of the game, it was a surprise that the game was as close as it was. With 10:41 left in the third quarter, the Cavs trailed the Jazz by 16 and did not look like the team many predicted them to be. The defense looked pathetic, allowing the Jazz (25th in offensive efficiency last year) to score 59 points on 58.5 percent shooting in the first half.

The second half looked much better for the defense, as well as the offense, outscoring the Jazz 52-43. The Cavs had a chance at the end to send the game to overtime, with LeBron James hitting a three and three free throws to know the game up at 100. On the next possession for Utah, Hayward made all of Butler, Indiana proud by hitting a dagger over top of Tristan Thompson to put the Cavs at 1-3.

Individually, there were plenty of positives to go around. After being dominated by Damian Lillard last night, Kyrie Irving bounced back with 34 points. He had zero assists, which is not exactly what you want from your point guard, but he did have just one turnover to counter that argument. LeBron also had a bounce back night, scoring 31 points and hitting some big-time shots down the stretch.

As a team, there were plenty of negatives to go around. First off, the Cavs finished with six TOTAL assists tonight, compared to 26 for the Jazz. For an offense that is supposed to be all about ball movement, the ball moved from player to basket with almost nothing involved in between. If the Cavs want to have the all-world offense, they are gonna need to share the wealth a lot more.

Rebounds also did not go in favor for the Cavs. Many (including myself) thought the Cavs would be one of the better rebounding teams in the league. Through four games, they have been out-rebounded in every game, including tonight where they grabbed 11 fewer rebounds than the Jazz. Until the Cavs begin rebounding at a rate we expect, it will be hard for them to compete with the better teams in the league.

1-3 is not the ideal record for a team predicted to make the NBA Finals. However, this team is no where close to the final product that we will see come April and May (and hopefully June). LeBron stressed patience, but it is hard to tell a city that has not seen a competitive basketball team in four years to be patient.

Three Things
1. This defense, oh man.
It is one thing when you let the Portland Trail Blazers destroy your defense, considering they were second in the NBA last year in offensive rating (points per 100 possessions). But the Utah Jazz? Well, that is a problem. Jazz ranked 25th in offensive rating, but the Cavs made them look like a serious offensive juggernaut. Too many open shooters combined with zero interior defense will lead to an incredulous 59 percent from the field in the first half. The highlight of the Cavs D can be described by this vine:



In the second half, however, the defense looked a lot different than that in the first. After giving up 59 points in the first half, Cavs only allowed 44 in the second half. If the first half defense continues to show up, it will be painful. If the second half defense shows up, then there is plenty of hope for this team in the future

2. Where is the offense?
At least we knew the defense would be below-average; but the offense, on the other hand, was supposed to be the best in the league. So far, it has been no where near that hype. Too much standing around and barely any ball movement. Head coach David Blatt's offense was preached for his offensive genius, but so far, it looks as if Mike Brown is calling the plays. Obviously it's early in the season, and we here at Deep in the Q refuse to make any assumptions with small sample sizes, so we cannot say this is what we will see for the rest of the season. The bigger question is, when will see improvement from one game to the next?

3. The Jazz are not as bad as you think.
I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that the Jazz are going to go out and win 50 games and make the playoffs. If anything, they will again be a lottery team with a top-10 pick in next year's draft. However, they do have some nice pieces on their team, starting with Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors. Each had 21 points, with Favors grabbing 10 rebounds and Hayward grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists, while also hitting the game-winning shot. This team is young, and has a few pieces that could lead to them being good down the road.

Statline of the night: Gordon Hayward. 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists. 7-12 shooting from the field.

Hayward made two of the biggest plays tonight, with each coming on both sides of the ball. He stopped LeBron 1-on-1 with the Jazz leading by two and also hit the game-winning shot almost 40 seconds later. Many questioned the money that Utah gave him, but so far he has earned every cent of it.

What's next: Nov. 7, on the road against the Denver Nuggets. 10 p.m.