Post Game: Cavs Return To Form North Of The Border

The nightmare appears to be over, as the Cavaliers prevail in Toronto. I have a hard time saying that a December game is a must-win, but this is as close as you can get to being exactly that. Toronto, mere percentage points behind Cleveland for the number one seed in the East, had won six in a row, and the Cavs had dropped three straight. Let’s take a look at how things went down.

1. The JR Smith injury is heartbreaking. His journey through his career from being a relative joke, a court jester (see what I did there?) and a comedian, to being an NBA champion, an elite perimeter defender, and finally finding an NBA home in Cleveland, is what you make movies out of. He was in obvious pain, and seeing him with his jersey covering his face as he cried on the floor was an emotional thing over here at The House Of Wine And Gold.
2. DeAndre Liggins was simply fantastic. He came in, moved the ball with purpose when the swing found him, showed a lively effort and great scrap in a solid effort in which he posted five points and five rebounds, including a huge corner three late. If JR is going miss significant time, I would love to see him step into the starting role. His defense was dynamic and energetic, and he made the right play, in the right places, every time.
3. Channing Frye looked better than he has since before the hiatus due to the death of his father just before Thanksgiving. He was more active, and seemed to be able to get more legs under his shot. His team defense continues to be underrated, as does his head-fake-to-drive game. Really nice showing by him.
4. The Cavaliers found themselves falling victim to an 8-1 run in the early part of the second quarter, and down by five with six minutes left in the half. They were able to punch back, take a one point lead into the locker room, and then come out in the second half strong. As is often the case, the most important 18 minutes in the game came down to the last six of the second, first six of the third, and last six of the fourth. The Cavaliers excelled in those situations tonight, and were able to get a W.
5. Toronto is a really good club. I would be completely shocked if this wasn’t the conference finals for the second time in as many years. They do most things well, and DeRozan and Lowry have a strong case to make as the best two-way back court in the game (Steph and Klay don’t guard anyone. Don’t let anyone tell you differently).
6. LeBron threw in 34/8/7, and Kyrie added 24/2/7. Add in Kevin Love’s onslaught of 28/14, and the Big Three combined for 86 points, 24 rebounds, and 14 assists. That’ll do, and it is exactly the way things should go. You’d like to not have it come to that, but the nice thing is that when it does, the Cavaliers have it, and there might not be more than one group better as a unit than those three in the entire league.
7. This isn’t Cavs specific, but it makes me insane. All NBA teams have a press-break, or play that they can run under their own basket after a make. Teams only run it when they’re down. Twice tonight, the Cavaliers could have used that. The first time, they called a timeout, went to the side, and drew something up. This allows the defense to regroup and make substitutions without having to give a foul. Why? Run that same press-break that you would if you were down five, instead of up five, advance the ball, make the D foul, and then make shots. The second time, Kyrie wound up smacking DeRozan in the face and getting a foul that led to a later rescinded three point make by DeRozan. This one never felt in danger, but there’s no need to make things tough on yourself in you’ve got other options.
8. The Cavs had been deficient on the glass lately, and tonight got things sorted out to rebound at a +15 clip. This is huge. Some teams use great defense to start their transition offense, and that defense makes their offense run more smoothly. The Cavs are an average defensive team, so those opportunities to run have to come off of missed shots. When they run off of misses, they play better. It is infectious, and the ball pops and zips around in the half court in a very kinetic way. You simply cannot do that if you don’t rebound. It isn’t about stops, its about what you do after them.
9. The Cavs paint defense, and transition defense had been really awful of late. Accounting for roughly 74% of their opponents points scored per game during their losing streak. Tonight, they gave up 16 fast break points, and 32 paint points, totaling 48 points, or roughly 43% of Toronto’s total points.

All in all, tonight was a great team win. Next up is a trip to Basketball Mecca, MSG, to see Kristaps Porzingis, Carmelo Anthony, and a surprisingly competent Knick club.