ICYMI: Cavs Win 4th Straight: New Recruits Continue to Contribute

Just a few weeks ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to embarrass them in front of their fans as OKC erupted for 148 points in what has transpired as one of the worse defeats LeBron James and company had to endure all season long. Well, that was a long time ago and a lot of things have happened.

Things have changed for the Cavs, indeed.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are now on a 4-game winning streak and 2-game winning run since they made the blockbuster involving 10 players. As it appears, the Cavs might just have made the right decision as the new recruits continued to make contributions as the Cavs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 120-112.  Despite having Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook back in the line-up, the Thunder failed to produce the same rhythm which enabled them to beat the Cavs a few weeks back.

So what were the differences this time around?

In a game that saw LeBron James and JR Smith as the lone starters of Tyronn Lue who scored in double figures, the new guys off the bench continued making the Cavs feel that they made the right decision. Against an Oklahoma team that relied heavily on their starters, Jordan Clarkson had 14 points on 6 for 10 field goal shooting. Rodney Hood also had 14 while Larry Nance Jr. scored 13 points while grabbing 8 of his 9 rebounds from the offensive end. Jeff Green added 10 points in 27 minutes of action.

That’s 51 points combined by the bench of the Cavs- a big difference to the bench of the Thunder who only scored 20 points.

Kevin Love is nowhere on the floor. Tristan Thompson only scored 2 points in 23 minutes. What do you expect LeBron James to do? One word: DOMINATE.

Against the Big 3 of Oklahoma, LeBron James showed why he is the King. He exploded for 37 points on 14 for 23 field goal shooting. He had 8 rebounds and 8 assists plus a blocked shot in 40 minutes. Some people may have thought that LeBron James has begun to lose his dominance but his numbers aren’t lying. He can still DOMINATE and will still do so in the coming games.

With their next game against the Washington Wizards scheduled a few days after the All-Star Game, the Cavs can use the break to rest their injured players and fix the flaws that are fixable. They can also use the time to allow the new recruits to bond more with the team to hopefully produce a better chemistry because that’s something that they will need in the second half of the season and during the playoffs.