Cavs Fall To Nuggets Behind Harris’ 32 Points; Three Takeaways From The Loss

CLEVELAND, Ohio- The Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Denver Nuggets at home on Saturday night by a final score of 126-117. Gary Harris led the way for all scorers with 32 points and helped establish the game with his backcourt brethren, Jamal Murray. Murray added sixteen points for Denver and Will Barton rained down 23 en route to a strong offensive showing. Cleveland could never quite catch up on that front and succumbed another home loss with the new rendition of their squad. The “new-look Cavs” are now 1-4 at The Q.

Here’s our three takeaways from the loss:

1. Harris Has A Day- Gary Harris finished with a game-high 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 6-for-10 from long-range. While backcourt running mate Jamal Murray had a productive night, it was Harris that lined up the offense. He would move around the three-point line and position himself away from the ball before knocking down shots. If called upon to run the point, Harris would go and run a steady pick-and-roll to create another source for scoring.

It was a nice run for Harris following a 26-point outburst against Memphis the night prior. Averaging 17.6 points per game on back-to-backs heading into Saturday, it’s apparent that Harris loves the idea of having no rest in between games. He and the Nuggets continue to shine.

2. Larry Nance Jr. Provides Instant Spark- It’s a confusing thought to think about when wondering why Larry Nance Jr. is yet to get a significant amount of minutes and a role in the starting lineup. In a matchup against Nikola Jokic that defensively favored Nance Jr. Saturday, it was weird seeing a lot of Tristan Thompson to start the contest. Thompson’s inability to close out on Jokic and his struggles offensively led to Ty Lue making the substitution midway through the quarter for the twenty-five-year-old.

Nance Jr. brought many fun aspects to the game. For starters, he shot sixty-percent from the floor on his way to fourteen points and eight rebounds. Secondly, he rose up and posterized Mason Plumlee after securing an offensive rebound and working baseline on the play. He provided a spark that the Cavs were lacking and if not for that spark, Cleveland wouldn’t have had a shot in the second half.

3. Chemistry Once Again An Issue- From George Hill mishandling a pass in midair while swinging the ball to the corner for Rodney Hood to simple clumpy play designs, it appears the Cavaliers are still trying to figure out each other’s tendencies. Many times on Saturday it seemed as if Cleveland was unsure of where teammates would be on the floor. As a result, the shot clock fell under ten seconds a bunch.

After two games of flowy, play call-free basketball, Cleveland and their new additions are slowing down and have hit multiple bumps in the road. Though having an idea of a playbook is always good, it was quite puzzling on why the offense lost some luster. Sometimes less is more.