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The Cleveland Cavaliers narrowly took down the Brooklyn Nets. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.
LOSER – Playing down to your opponent
I understand that Sunday afternoon games can lead to weird outcomes. But, seriously? A dog fight with the Brooklyn Nets?
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It’s one thing when multiple key players are in street clothes. I was willing to take the moral victory against Milwaukee and Detroit. But this Cavalier squad is simply too talented to struggle against the Nets. Especially when James Harden, albeit playing with a broken finger, is back on the floor.
I don’t want to take too much away from Brooklyn. They executed their gameplan and played superb defense for most of the game. It’s just that Cleveland has enough tools in their box to overcome anything the Nets could throw at it. Not being able to counter something as redundant as trapping Harden is a huge disappointment for the Cavs.
Much of this comes down to energy and focus. Two issues that have plagued the Cavaliers at their worst this season. I’m not going to crush them for a Sunday game in March. But these things will need to be cleaned up as we enter the home stretch of the season.
WINNER – The James Harden Whistle
This was a nice change of pace.
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Harden recently ended a game with zero free-throw attempts for just the fifth time since 2021. Naturally, we began to wonder if that was a sign of trouble. Could Harden’s favorable calls be neutralized by being in the Wine and Gold?
That wasn’t the case in Brooklyn.
While some of the officiating was questionable, Harden earned 12 free throw attempts. He missed four of them, which was out of character, but maybe he’s just getting used to actually taking them again. Let’s hope his free-throw rate starts to normalize moving forward.
Harden finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. It wasn’t a perfect game, but the Cavs needed his creation tonight.
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WINNER – Evan Mobley
The Cavs have a few things on their to-do list before the season ends. Integrating Harden and the other newcomers is at the top of the list. But getting Mobley into a consistent…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/winners-losers-cavs-nets-cleveland-000000666.html
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Publish date : 2026-03-02 00:00:00
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