REACTION: James Harden and Donovan Mitchell Fuel INSANE Comeback For Cleveland Cavaliers!
On this edition of Locked On Cavs, Danny Cunningham reacts to the Cleveland Cavaliers coming back from down by 15 points in the fourth quarter to take down the New Orleans Pelicans. Danny begins the show breaking down the crazy comeback, which was fueled by the Cavs stringing together defensive stops and offensive brilliance by James Harden and Donovan Mitchell. Next, Danny breaks down how the Cavs found themselves in that spot, highlighting the need to play a more complete game than they did. Finally, Danny talks about how this should be a moment that pushes the Cavs forward with positive momentum.
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19 Comments
The Cardiac Cavs pull another one out!
Timestamps!
00:00 – Cavs’ Comeback & Best Moments
Breaking down the Cavs’ wild fourth-quarter comeback against the Pelicans, highlighting what went right, standout individual performances (James Harden, Donovan Mitchell), and the defensive and offensive factors that fueled the rally.
15:35 – Red Flags & Offensive Issues
The conversation shifts to dissecting the Cavs’ biggest issues: offensive lulls, inconsistent defense, and why allowing Zion Williamson to dominate was problematic. Danny Cunningham details the problematic stretches and the need for lineup chemistry and more Evan Mobley involvement.
26:16 – Momentum, Schedule & Next Steps
Focus moves to what this comeback win means going forward. Danny Cunningham discusses whether this is a turning point or just covering deeper problems, the upcoming schedule, playoff momentum, and expectations for the next games.
The defense is scary. The Pelicans missed a lot a lot of shots.If those shots go in the Cavs would have been screwed. They gotta be careful going forward bro.
4th quarter Harden 🔥🔥🔥
16:48 naw bruh he was bulldozing and the Cavs adjusted
Lucky Cavss
A crazy comeback says it all. Why they were down is pretty depressing. It doesn’t bode well for the playoffs.
4:00 Dean wade is terrible
I’m not surprised or disappointed with the game. This is a good Pelicans team that if the season started today might be a threat to be .500 and Zion is really good when he’s in-shape like this.
Against Zion there were two primary options: Either keep Mobley away from Zion so he’s the rim protector or have elite nail defense that could force Zion to pick up the ball early. Mobley is the only rim protector who stood a chance and Keon was the only nail defender that’s elite enough to force Zion to pick up the ball early on his drive period but especially without giving up 3s. The third quarter was bound to happen like that and the fourth had playoffs levels of offensive and defensive adjustments by the Cavs.
Not only was Keon’s defense felt on-ball against Dejounte but you could see the court shrink because of him in the fourth especially. But Harden and Mitchell going to isolation basketball to attack Trey Murphy while taking advantage of Zion’s defensive rebounding weaknesses and the general lack of size in the court is not normal. Flashing a zone and double against Zion which forced a turnover since it effectively becomes a double with a trap on the pass is very smart but not something I’d expect the Cavs to use more than once or twice in a regular season game.
The Cavs could’ve played better but they could’ve also had Jarrett Allen (and Jaylon Tyson). Anyways, Max Strus’ versatility is going to be so helpful in a Boston or an OKC series. He’s doing a bit of everything on the court.
MOBLEY at the FREE THROW line should have been corrected by the Cavs org….his approach/routine and mechanics…UNACCEPTABLE!!! Where the hell is Mark Price?
KENNY…PLEASE…do NOT have Schroder in that p[layoff rotation. He has been on 25 different teams for a reason . Too much lolly gag dribbling and NOT a good shooter! What he does is slow down the pace…and kill the shot clock! We need ball and body movement/…not ISO BALL!
HOPE JA and TYSON get healthy!!! Plus a BIG shout out to TB!!!!!!
Get ready Cavs fans for the DM/HARDEN/SAM/STRUS/….and MOBLEY…5 man out…PLUS DEAN/Tyson/KEON…at times at the 3
the point guard trade seems to be working out quite well for both teams so far
No way he gives dean credit!! What is wrong with this man 😂
They aren't championship caliber. I wish they were but they're not. A perfect example of championship caliber teams are OKC and Boston they are the standard. They are blowing out teams left and right and will continue doing that into the post season where eventually one of them will win the chip. I hate to say it because the CAVS have been my favorite team and I've watched every game of theirs for the past 20 years of my life but you can almost bet on them folding in the playoffs. 😢 Blow it up
This is not a title contender. Yes they had a great comeback and we were missing JA and JT but they shouldn't have gotten down by that much to New Orleans. Their perimeter defense is still bad and they are a small team at every position. The Harden trade made them slightly better but I think they are still at best looking at a second round exit this postseason. We will see though.
Can we talk about how all of a sudden the refs stopped calling 3pt shooting folks when Harden gets his landing zone blatantly taken away?
When they do it against Boston, OKC, or NY, then I will get excited. That being said, New Orleans is a better team than record indicates, and a road win in the NBA is never easy. Hopefully the rotation will come into focus as we approach the playoffs.