Peyton Watson was so good on Wednesday night in the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ win over the Washington Wizards.
It was his best game since joining the Cavs from the Nuggets. He dropped a season-high 22 points while making 9-of-17 shots from the floor and 3-for-3 from the line (1-for-4 from 3). Watson added six rebounds, two assists and a block as the Cavs won 121-111.
He didn’t keep the good vibes going, though.
On Thursday night against the Atlanta Hawks, the Cavs lost 114-111 — and Watson was largely to blame.
Peyton Watson Stats vs. Hawks
Watson finished Thursday night with four points. He was 1-for8 from the floor, including 0-for-3 from 3, and 2-for-4 at the line.
Watson added four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two turnovers.
He was a minus-10.
Why Did Peyton Watson Only Score 4 Points?
Watson’s night was marred by foul trouble. He finished with five fouls and had to sit for stretches when other starters were in the game.
The other four Cleveland starters all played at least 30 minutes. Watson played just 22.
The Cavs relied a lot on their bench perimeter players — Sam Merrill got 27 minutes, Tyrese Proctor played 20 and Jaylon Tyson played 18.
The fouls, and the better play by Merrill (16 points) and Proctor (7 points) in particular in efficient showings off the bench, hurt Watson’s chance of being in the game more.
The concern for the Cavaliers is that this looked more like Watson’s first three games.
He shot 2-for-7, then 4-for-11, then 5-for-13 in the first three games of the year before breaking out against the Wizards.
If Watson struggles to be efficient this season, that’ll hurt the Cavs at the offensive end.
He’s still a relatively raw player, so Cleveland will be patient with him. And they’ve got him on a four-year contract for $88 million, so he’s going to play.
It’s just going to be a process, and sometimes he’ll have these quiet kind of nights.
Why Peyton Watson Scored Just 4 Points in Cavs’ Loss to Hawks