PD Representative Addresses Grossi Reassignment
January 28, 2012Report: Thome Has Handshake Agreement to Join White Sox Organization Upon Retirement
January 28, 2012For the first 45 minutes of game action last night, the Cavaliers were being solidly beat by a New Jersey Nets team that looked much better than they did in Cleveland on January 1st. Deron Williams looked like the perennial All-Star that he has been, Anthony Morrow added to his profile of Cavalier killer, and Kris Humphries outperformed Anderson Varejao down low and hit some surprise jumpers. Then, Kyrie Irving took charge with about three minutes to go, scoring 17 in that mad dash to the finish and 21 overall in the quarter, as the Cavaliers came up just short, falling 99-96 to the Nets in Quicken Loans Arena.
In a sequence that has only played itself out a few times this season, Scott’s Cavaliers started this one lacking energy and effort. When asked about his team’s effort, Byron Scott in the postgame press conference said, “I just didn’t think we came out with the right frame of mind for whatever reason. I don’t know if guys think that we’ve arrived or that we can’t stand prosperity, but whatever the case may be, we better understand that every night we better come out ready to play, because every team in this league can beat us if we don’t.” While I don’t believe any Cavalier thinks they’ve arrived, the team just came off playing Miami tough to the end and beating the Knicks, so perhaps they failed to recall just how much defensive will it took for those two outcomes.
It didn’t matter who was guarding Deron Williams last night, because he was his old self. Williams drained five threes and scored 27 points while dishing out 10 assists. As for Anthony Morrow, who started for the injured rookie Marshon Brooks, who is a having a fantastic rookie season thus far, he has hurt the Cavaliers a couple of times in his NBA travels. The type of player that can get hot fast and carry you through a quarter, Morrow notched 22 points of his own on 8-of-18 shooting. The Nets take the most treys in the NBA, and they didn’t shy away from that last night, making 11 of 28 attempts.
The biggest surprise was probably Kris Humphries, who drilled a handful of first half perimeter jumpers on his way to 18 points and 11 rebounds primarily because the Cavaliers failed to chase him off his spot on the floor. There’s a lot of NBA players who can make 18-foot jumpers when they’re standing still and have plenty of time to get the shot off. The Nets also reacted much better up against the shot clock than the Cavaliers did. In the first half, their shots fell and the Cavaliers either missed or turned it over.
If there’s one thing that I’m sure of, it’s that teams are going to quickly adjust how they defend the Cavalier offense. Mainly, they’re going to see more and more zone defenses in an attempt to keep Kyrie Irving out of the paint. When he does cut past that initial defender, he is now seeing more big bodies flying into his personal space, and they’re coming earlier than before. Since the Cavaliers outside of Irving only really have Jamison that has the ability to post back-to-back 20 point games, teams will increasingly try to take the ball out of #2’s hands. More defenders in the paint makes it more likely that turnovers will result, and that’s been a problem for not just Irving, but the entire team this season. Kyrie had just 2 assists, and while he continues to take on such a heavy scoring load, it’s on the rest of the team to catch passes when Kyrie creates space and draws their defenders. That remains a work in progress. The part that is on Kyrie is to trust his jumpshot more. When he does that, the lanes won’t close up as quick, and his defenders will have to respect his range. For a guy shooting 40+% from beyond the arc, Irving should have confidence to take that shot when his defender slacks off of him. To his credit, the rookie point guard seems to get the nightly grind that the NBA is, especially in this lockout-condensed version. Kyrie even admitted his role in the poor effort at the outset. “I feel like I was taking some plays off on the offensive end and not being as aggressive as I normally am,” said Irving.
If defense is what is preventing Coach Scott from playing Kyrie 30-plus minutes each night, Irving must work to improve it. I find the argument a little weak if you’re purely concerned about wins and losses this season, because Ramon Sessions isn’t any better on the defensive end, and his offense has plummeted lately. But, with the Cavaliers’ eyes set on the long term solution, Irving has to be able to keep the elite point guards in front of him. So far, that hasn’t gone so well, including last night with Deron Williams.
Now, for the good part. The Cavaliers trailed 90-77 with three minutes to play, but they came screaming back to make it a three-point game in the final moments. As passive and removed as Irving was most of the first three quarters, he was ferocious in the final three minutes, driving at will and knocking down a pair of three point shots. He took the contact and finished shots. Kyrie finished with a new career-high 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting, adding 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 turnover. If Kyrie approached the entire game with that aggressive mindset, the end result would’ve been much different.
The highlight of the night which I would be remiss if I did not mention was Alonzo Gee’s electric throwdown early in the second quarter. It started with a Daniel Gibson chip and steal underneath the basket, a heave by Boobie as he was falling out of bounds on the baseline, and it finished with Gee in the open floor, coming over the top and thumping the ball through the iron. Alonzo’s been the source of some highlight plays this season, and as his defense increases his minutes, he’ll be on the floor more to make those open floor plays.
Finally, free throw shooting has been the biggest issue for the Cavaliers after turning over the basketball. They were just 14-of-24 tonight (58%), and that will continue to cause them to lose games.
It doesn’t get any easier for the wine and gold. Next up, a pair of games with the Celtics, starting Sunday evening in Boston.
(Photo: Tony Dejak/Associated Press)
4 Comments
i agree. if you’re not playing Irving b/c of D, then playing Sessions more makes no sense. He’s just as bad and gives us even less on O.
I can’t understand why the O is so poor at times. Everyone stands and watches, you’d think somebody would get some movement going.
The numbers don’t back up your visual analysis of the difference in defense between the two point guards. I know the sample size caveat, but Sessions’ defensive numbers at both basketballvalue and 82games have him way ahead of Irving.
I admit that I’m not as into new metrics with basketball stats as I should be. But, from what I can tell, a lot of these stats are skewed by the fact that Irving plays more with Jamison and Casspi, below average defenders, while Sessions plays more with Gee, Tristan, and Boobie, some of the best defenders on the team. That, and as you mentioned, the small sample size. Not to mention, Irving going against the starting PGs and Ramon going against the second unit most often.
actually The eye test tells me boobie is our best on ball defender.