That was a big week for the Cavaliers. a 3-1 week to push their record to 28-8, keeping their lead on the East, and a midweek trade that could well swing the balance of power further into the balance of the defending world champions. Let’s have a look at how the week went down.
The Games
The Cavaliers opened up the week against a New Orleans Pelicans team that appears to be getting a bit better each and every week. The Cavs were, once again shorthanded, but played aggressive defense, moved the ball relatively well on offense, and held the Pels to 82 points on 36% shooting, and appeared to be figuring things out on that end in terms of the way they defended bigs. Anthony Davis was still Anthony Davis, but the Cavs made him work in the post and the elbows, and did a nice job of limiting the effectiveness of sets initiated by Davis out high. The bench was great, and the Cavs needed it. Starters not named LeBron combined for a total of 20 points. Great to see the bench produce, and you have to figure that continues with the addition of Kyle Korver.
The lone loss came against a floundering Chicago team. The Cavs did a great job of controlling Jimmy Butler early on, but his 14 point fourth quarter was too much, and Cleveland never really made a substantial run on offense that was complemented with stops on the other end. The wing defense was tremendous, holding Dwyane Wade to 10 points on just 3-9 from the field. They helped in transition, they flew around a bit, and things were fine. This is not a loss to worry about.
The NBA has been beating up on Brooklyn all season long, and the Cavaliers continued to follow suit in their 116-108 victory on Friday. Kyrie Irving was back nailing daggers to answer runs and continue his development as a true play maker to complement his insane ability to score the ball with dizzying dribble drives and a plethora of “How Did He Get That Shot Off” rim finishes. The Cavs were in control and up 18 going into the fourth. Brooklyn used a 40 point quarter (!) in the final period to make things look a bit closer than they were. You don’t want to give up that many points in a quarter…ever…but this one was never in doubt, and things were fine.
The Phoenix game on Sunday was one of the more frustrating games that I can remember. This Phoenix team does not belong on the same planet as Cleveland, did nothing special, and was able to chip away at a big early lead to make things interesting well into the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers must administer a death blow when they get young and scrappy teams on the ground like that. Simply playing well enough not to lose will not get it done as the season gets older, opponents have more to play for, and mentalities and identities are cemented. Not to belabor the point, but if this was April, against a high level team, with the Cavs weapons all at 100%, this game is a 25 point blowout. Brooklyn’s big fourth, combined with the big second half from PHX on Sunday is cause for concern, I think, but not panic.
This Week
This week is going to be excellent. A nice mix of opponents sees the Cavs take on a legitimate player in the West, a team trying to figure things out, and one of the most fun to watch/follow bad teams in recent memory.
Things tip off against a Utah team that is just 25 games out of the number four seed, playing some nice ball, and looking more like the team we thought we were getting when we looked around the league in October. They do a lot of really cool things using the free throw line extended as a fulcrum for their offensive movement. Bigs play all over the place, Hayward is a great, and Joe Johnson at the stretch four is continuing to develop as a real true weapon in the half court. Utah is, by far, my favorite non-Cavs team to watch. Keep an eye on what an underrated passer Rudy Gobert is. You can make the argument, and I’ve done so recently, that Gobert is the NBA’s best center because of his impact on both ends. He’s a stud.
Another tough back to back throws the Cavs in Portland on Wednesday night to take on Dame Lillard and a roster that is rounding right into form. The results in terms of wins and losses aren’t always there, but head coach Terry Stotts is quickly figuring out ways to incorporate Evan Turner and Allen Crabbe into the mix more efficiently and with more versatile offensive sets that feature Turner as the primary, and Lillard, Crabbe, McCollum, and/or whatever big with them playing off the ball and moving on a string like the Blazers teams from a couple years ago did before Aldridge bounced and Batum was dealt. Should be a fun one.
The Sacramento Kings, you guys. DeMarcus Cousins is on a tear both in terms of what he brings to the stat sheet, but also bringing the pain to chairs, post game interviews, and beat reporters alike. All of that aside, the Kings, while bad, are fighting for the playoffs as we speak. With a savvy addition or two, or getting true value for Rudy Gay, the Kings could make themselves a seven or eight seed. Sure, they’ll be wiped off the face of the basketball earth by either Golden State or San Antonio in that scenario, but the basketball gods are good and just and they know that we need Cousins in the playoffs. The offense begins and ends with Cousins. He handles out high, he passes from the post, he’s working to dependably stretch range out to three point territory. Everything plays off of him. Sometimes, this limits Gay a bit. He has always been great at creating his own looks, but not having the ball in positions to do so while playing off of DeMarcus smothers that creativity a bit.
Shoot Around
After appearing to potentially be a legitimate rotation guy that can score, McRae has once again seen his minutes drop. His defensive incompetence and his poor, and frequent, shot selection get in the way of him developing into a real and valuable player. His contract just became fully guaranteed for this season which really means nothing. The Cavs weren’t going to cut him for nothing barring stealing a superstar on the trade market coming available, and the contract has no more or less value being an expiring as opposed to a non-guaranteed deal.
There was a good argument to be made that much of the recent successes on the floor and in terms of team building could be, at least in part, attributed to the work that Chris Grant did when they were in Asset Collection Mode. That can all stop now. David Griffin is simply the best exec in the league. His understanding of value, the current Xs and Os landscape, and team chemistry is unparalleled in today’s game. Sneaky additions like Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, and now Kyle Korver show a commitment to versatility, and the three point happy league that we have today. There is something else coming. Without getting too in depth here (because I’m not allowed yet) it is a significant move. If things hold true to the current conversation, it will be another move that challenges Ty Lue and veteran leadership, but we’ve seen that work before.
Stay tuned.
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