Cavs keep playing physical defense, and the turnovers keep coming

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cavs once more showcased their robust protection in opposition to the Wizards in Friday’s 117-94 win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, forcing 17 turnovers that resulted in 21 factors for the Cavs.

Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. attributed the loss to the turnovers and mentioned they disturbed the move of their sport.

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“Moving into, we knew they had been going to be bodily and we didn’t do an excellent job of making leads or early separation,” Unseld Jr. mentioned, “and form of allowed them to set a tone with blowing our actions up, which facilitated a few of our turnovers.”

Bradley Beal placed on a stable efficiency for the Wizards, ending with 22 factors, 5 assists, eight rebounds, one steal, and one block in 33 minutes of play. Beal couldn’t assist however discover the bodily presence of the Cavs.

“They had been simply bodily. They had been actually bodily at each single place,” Beal mentioned. “They had been pushing us off our spots, they had been blowing up our handoffs, they had been blowing up our screening actions, they usually simply made life troublesome. They had been a extremely good help-defense crew. They helped the subsequent man very, very nicely, and it confirmed tonight. It did.”

Whereas the Cavs sometimes common 18 turnovers per sport, they had been in a position to solely give the ball away 11 instances, which resulted in solely eight factors for the Wizards.

Washington’s Kristaps Porzingis, who completed with 20 factors, a game-high 9 rebounds and a team-high two steals in 32 minutes, mentioned the Cavs’ stress was the primary cause behind the turnovers.

“Their stress, for positive — they’re the No. 1 protection within the league and you might really feel it,” he mentioned. “They’re blowing up all of the handoffs they usually’re not giving up on performs. They’re serving to one another, trusting one another, they usually made us flip the ball over so much and proved that’s the kind of protection they play and that’s the kind of crew they’re.”

Even with out injured middle Jarrett Allen, the No. 1 defensive crew within the league made its presence felt Friday. As they look ahead to the playoffs, they plan to remain a defensive pressure to be reckoned with.

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