Meleek Thomas impresses in Cavs’ 103-94 loss to Pistons

The Cleveland Cavaliers have dropped their first two games in Las Vegas. They fall to 0-2 in Summer League, this time suffering a 103-94 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Cleveland trailed by double digits early. Detroit’s Chaz Lanier scored 17 points in the opening seven minutes to cause that. The Cavs would eventually get things under control and rally back in the second half. That comeback fell short, just like it did on Friday when the Cavs had a similar loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The loss wasn’t the only thing that carried forward, however. Meleek Thomas’s strong showing also translated to Sunday.

Thomas, the 34th pick in the most recent draft, looked impressive as the lead ball-handler today. Cleveland has put him in a position to orchestrate the offense in a way he never could with Arkansas. This increased opportunity is leading to instant results, with Thomas’s playmaking being the biggest takeaway from this game.

Thomas dished 7 assists in the first three quarters. He kept his head up, manipulating the floor and creating advantages at every turn. This one-handed skip pass to the opposite corner was straight up ridiculous. It takes serious creativity to think of this in real-time.

The Cavs are confident they found a first-round talent with the 34th pick. Thomas is proving them right by showing he can do more than catch-and-shoot away from the ball. His patience and composure at point guard were extremely encouraging.

Thomas finished with 30 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and only 2 turnovers. Impressive stuff from the rookie.

Nae’Qwan Tomlin was Cleveland’s second-leading scorer with 17 points. Tomlin shot 7-for-10 from the floor and had 4 blocks.

Tomlin and Thomas have been the two standouts for the Cavs. So far, they’re waiting for someone else to step up and provide support. It was a relatively lackluster game from everyone else, with Malakai Branham being the only other Cav to score in double figures.

Detroit was led by Lanier, who scored 25 points on 7-for-12 three-point shooting. Brice Williams joined in on the splash party by nailing 6-of-9 three-point attempts for 21 points. Those two finished with more three-pointers than the entire Cavalier roster.