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The shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers, playing without Donovan Mitchell (groin), James Harden (finger), and Evan Mobley (calf), couldn’t keep up with a hot-shooting Milwaukee Bucks team, leading to their 118-116 defeat.
The stats in the table below are taken from Cleaning the Glass.
| Effective Field Goal Percentage | Offensive Rebounding Percentage | Offensive Turnover Percentage | Free Throw Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavs | 55.2%, 56th percentile | 35.4%, 80th percentile | 11.8%, 75th percentile | 23, 62nd percentile |
| Bucks | 66.9%, 96th percentile | 22.5, 21st percentile | 13.2%, 63rd percentile | 3.5, 0th percentile |
Now, let’s dive into the numbers.
- The Cavs have suffered their first loss when Jarrett Allen scores 20 or more points; they’re now 1-10. Allen was fantastic offensively, pouring in 27 points on 10-15 shooting.
- This is also the first time the Cavs have lost when Allen takes 10 or more shots; they’re now 1-14 when he does so. Allen was understandably featured early and often. He made the most of his opportunities and nearly sent the game to overtime, but his would-be game-tying hook shot came a fraction of a second after the final buzzer.
- Milwaukee posted an ethical 129.7 offensive rating (88th percentile). Their outside shot led the charge here.
- The Bucks took 49% of their shots from three (92nd percentile). This translated to 45 outside attempts.
- Milwaukee canned 42.2% of their triples (85th percentile). The Cavs, once again, dared their opponent to beat them from deep. The Bucks did so in a way the New York Knicks couldn’t the night before.
- Unlike against the Knicks, the Bucks converted 89.5% of their shots at the rim (97th percentile). Cleveland did a good job of limiting the Bucks’ ability to get to the basket. Only 23% of their shots came there (17th percentile). However, you can’t build your entire defense around giving up three-point shots to protect the rim while also not protecting the rim. The Bucks were able to have their cake and eat it too.
- Milwaukee did all of its damage in the half-court, with a 123.8 half-court offensive rating (97th percentile). The Cavs didn’t give them many opportunities in transition, but that doesn’t matter when the other team is executing that well in the half-court.
- The Bucks didn’t get to the line (0th percentile free-throw rate) and didn’t get many offensive rebounds (21st percentile). They simply out-executed the Cavs from the field.
- Cleveland shot poorly from three, going 12-40 (30%, 23rd percentile). There were guys out of the lineup, but this team is still built around outscoring its opponent. Shooting this poorly from deep isn’t going to cut it most nights, especially when your best three-point shooters — Sam Merrill (2-8) and Jaylon Tyson (1-6) — aren’t able to get anything to fall.
- Overall, the Bucks had 21 more points from beyond the arc. It’s a make-or-miss league.
- The Cavs outscored Milwaukee 25-6 in second-chance points. Winning this handily allowed the Cleveland to stay in this game despite not executing to the level Milwaukee did offensively.
- Dean Wade led the Cavs in plus/minus (+9) for the second game in a row. That said, he struggled offensively, going 0-4 from the field to finish with no points. He was a non-factor on that end.
- Dennis Schroder provided 26 points on 8-14 shooting. He did a great job of stepping into the starting point guard role. His scoring and playmaking kept the offense on schedule, which is all you want on a night you’re down this much firepower.
- The Cavs went 20-27 from the free-throw line, while the Bucks went 3-5. It once again felt like the Cavaliers were on the wrong end of some crucial calls, but the free-throw disparity paints a much different picture.