NBA 2018-19: 3 talking points from Utah Jazz's blowout win over Cleveland Cavaliers

The Utah Jazz flew out to meet Cleveland and handed them a disheartening eighth straight loss. The Cavs managed to waste another one of their good first halves over a pathetic showing in the last two quarters.

The Jazz had just been beaten by the soaring Raptors before they set foot in Cleveland, and had also lost three of their last five. But not many expect to falter against the plummeting Cavs, and Utah made sure they didn't either. The blowout road win takes their away record to 10-12 on the season, and they currently sit at the 11th spot on the West leaderboard. Now, eight games behind the West leaders, the Jazz are 18-20 (0.474) on the season.

The 26-point blowout of the lowly Cavaliers side meant that they have now lost ten of their last eleven games, having won just five games at home this season so far. They possess an East-worst 8-30 (0.211) win-loss record, now an insurmountable 19 games behind the leading Bucks.

Let's draw out some key takeaways from this game in which the Utah Jazz coasted past the dispirited Cavaliers side.

#1 4 of 5 Cavaliers starters make only three shots each from the field

The Cavaliers were East Champions last year, but are last on the standings this year.

The Cavaliers starting five comprised of Osman, Nance, Thompson, Sexton, and Hood for this clash against the visiting Jazz. Except for Larry Nance Jr. (who shot 5-of-9 and finished with 10 points), none of the other starters could make more than three shots from the field, or score more than 13 points.

Cedi Osman dropped 3-of-9, Tristan managed an even worse 3-of-10 while Sexton bested them with a discouraging 3-of-13. Rodney Hood could only contribute 13 points on the night, aligning with his teammates on shooting with a 3-of-6 night from the field.

Alec Burks and Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to drop 17 (team-high) and 12 points respectively, and for the sake of basketball gods, made six shots each.

#2 8 Utah Jazz players end up scoring in double digits

Utah Jazz's tough early-season schedule has taken a visible toll.

Donovan Mitchell led the scoring for Utah, dropping a game-high 18 points against the Cavaliers, shooting a decent 7-of-12 from the floor. Korver and Crowder combined for 26 points coming off the bench in their return to Cleveland, while Exum also chipped in with 10 of his own from the bench.

Although Utah are lying low on the East standings, they have a top 5 defensive rating in the league, and are bound to rise up the ranks once the hangover of a tough early-season schedule wears off. Even after trailing by a point at the half, the Jazz conjured a blazing 69-point second half, outscoring their opponents by 17 points in two quarters,

"That was pretty dramatic," Kyle Korver said of the second-half turnaround. "We were a little more aggressive in the second half and we made some better plays."

Favors, Ingles, Mitchell, Gobert and Rubio, all scored at least 10 points in a game that was there for the taking.

#3 Lengthy post-game meeting for the Cavs

Cavaliers now face the steepest downfall of any franchise in NBA history in just one year.

The Cavaliers were Eastern Conference champions last year for the fourth consecutive season, before LeBron decided to join the Lakers and leave Kevin Love with the ill-formed roster he had carried through the playoffs.

The Cavs landed talented rookie Collin Sexton, and lost Kevin Love to a season-destroying injury, following which Coach Larry Drew has had to deal with the steepest falls of any franchise in the history of the game. Cleveland are now dead last in the East and have won just one game more than the league-worst Phoenix Suns at the moment.

Four of their losses in the eight-game losing streak have been by a margin of 20 or more points. But after the Cavs lay an egg in the second half against the Jazz, Coach Drew decided it was time to talk.

"After a tough loss sometimes it's good to get your emotions off your chest, and go home and look in the mirror and say, how can I be better for this team," Tristan Thompson said after the meeting. "I've been around for a long time so I know how this stuff goes."

The meeting wasn't an heated exchange but rather 'pretty somber'.

Hopefully, things might turn around for Cleveland in time, but for now, they are just about staring at a point from which there will be no return.