The Cleveland Cavaliers finally put on the showing that the fans had been waiting for. A game they could be proud of from start to finish. It did not matter that Anthony Edwards went for 47 points and seemed to be getting wherever and whatever he wanted to get.
They stayed the course, and got sparks from all over their roster. It did sort of seem the sky was falling after two games, but that's the beauty of the NBA. 82 games to get it right before the postseason, and in number three, these Cavs did just that.
Here are my three major takeaways from the victory at Rocket Arena last night.
It does not come as a surprise to all that Meleek Thomas cooked in his NBA debut. His coach John Calipari knew he had it in him. Donovan Mitchell says the team is "lucky to have him", as everything seemed to come together during the first game of his NBA career.
Thomas scored eight points in the first quarter, knocking down two rhythm threes. He did a fantastic job, having the tough task of defending LaMelo Ball right off the bat. Minnesota is arguably the best team the Cavs have played so far this year, and tossed their second-round pick right into the fire.
He responded by showing up immediately, and he won over pretty much everybody who wasn't on board (not that many of them exist). Whatever reason he didn't suit up for the first two games, he's firmly cemented in the rotation moving forward. He is absolutely the real deal.
The big hype with Peyton Watson was that his defensive ability could help elevate the Cavs. And on display last night was exactly the type of player he can be on this team. Though he did shoot 0-5 from 3PT on the offensive end, he still wound up with 15 points and eight rebounds, an improvement on each of the first two games.
And on the defensive end, he wreaked havoc. Pinning shots off the backboard, blocking jumpers, getting into the passing lane. You name it, he did it. In total, Watson wound up with three steals and four blocks. This is an impact that Larry Nance Sr. used to have on the court with this team.
It was fantastic to see the former Nuggets confidence on the floor. A real gamer who is going to continue to contribute to winning.
On the one hand, Evan Mobley scoring 67% of his points from the three-point line isn't ideal. He's a 7-footer that needs to get some easy ones in the lane from time-to-time. But with that not available, he was able to pivot and still impact the game.
Mobley knocked down four triples (seventh time in his career), including two incredibly clutch ones. The first coming inside of two minutes with the team down by four. The other in the overtime session. The Cavs did not win an OT game last season, something they amended on try number one this time around.
Mobley is now 7-12 from 3PT (58.3%) to open the season, and he's opening up the lanes for everybody else that needs them in the process.
Watch for #4 to continue to bury them.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/cavaliers/onsi as 3 Major Takeaways from Cavs vs. Timberwolves .
