What happened
Cleveland ended preseason with a 132-116 loss to Orlando, and Meleek Thomas was the lone bright spot with 16 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, while Evan Mobley followed another quiet shooting night.
The game also highlighted Cleveland’s perimeter-defense problems, with assistant Mike Gerrity saying the team needs a stronger first line of attack, and Orlando using Mario Hezonja mismatch sets to create easier offense.
Thomas’s scoring gives Cleveland one more rotation case to weigh, but the article says preseason production alone does not guarantee an opening-night role. The Cavs still leave with unanswered questions about perimeter defense and which guards deserve minutes.
Automated brief based on the linked report. Lineup context is analysis; official starting-five labels come separately from our game data provider.
Original reporting: Cavalier superlatives: Meleek Thomas shines in an otherwise disappointing performance vs. Magic — Yahoo Sports ↗