CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night to advance to the winner-take-all Game 3 of the NBA Play-In Tournament against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at home.
The winner of this game will hop on a plane and head down to Miami where they will be the No. 8 seed against the Heat in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, while the loser is done for the season. For many on the Cavs, including its two youngest and brightest stars, this is the most important basketball game they’ve played in.
Here are three keys to beating the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
DG the best on the floor
If the Cavs are going to win on Friday night and advance to the playoffs, point guard Darius Garland is going to need to be the best on the floor and the story of the game. He got his first taste of postseason action on Tuesday night in the loss to the Nets and performed well. He will need to play just as well, if not better on Friday night against the Hawks.
Garland went toe to toe with Nets point guard Kyrie Irving on Tuesday night and will have to do the same thing on Friday night against Atlanta’s All-Star point guard, Trae Young. The moment wasn’t too big in Brooklyn, and it will be fascinating to see how Garland plays in a win-or-go-home matchup at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Garland is certainly becoming one of the NBA’s brightest young stars, and a win Friday night would only cement that further.
If Garland can be the best player on the floor, and Rookie of the Year front runner Evan Mobley can be the third-best player, the chances of the Cavs winning the game are sky-high.
Role player help
One of the biggest reasons the Cavs lost on Tuesday night was because of the poor effort that the team received from some of the role players. Cedi Osman and Isaac Okoro contributed very little, Lauri Markkanen faltered on the defensive end, and the Cavs were outscored by 12 points in the seven minutes that Lamar Stevens was on the floor. If that’s the case again on Friday, the Cavs won’t be playing another game until next October.
Okoro and Osman combined to score just two points on 0-of-7 shooting in 34 minutes in the loss, a better offensive production should be expected by the Cavs. A big key is going to be how they shoot the ball from behind the arc after missing all five attempts the pair had on Tuesday.
Cleveland should be able to count on a strong effort from Kevin Love off the bench again after he was a bright spot against the Nets to the tune of 14 points and 13 rebounds in the loss. Backup point guard Rajon Rondo should be better on Friday than he was in the loss against the Nets as well.
One of the other players that didn’t play well and must improve on Friday is swingman Caris LeVert. After a poor first half he played a bit better in the second half, but he will need to take his game up to a level rarely seen by the Cavs since his arrival to help win this game.
A better start
On Tuesday in Brooklyn the Cavaliers looked overwhelmed early on in the game. The Nets are a team that has experienced far bigger moments than a play-in game. The moment on Friday night can’t be too big for the Cavs or they’ll get run out of the gym early on. The Cavs actually outscored the Nets in each of the final three quarters, but the 40-20 lead Brooklyn had following the first period was far too much to overcome. The Cavs don’t necessarily need to be leading following the opening quarter, but being down double digits would likely mean the end of the season is quickly approaching. Landing the first punch for the Cavs would make a win against the Hawks a much more likely outcome.