WFNY Board Game Review: Jamaica
December 17, 2014Cleveland Sports Lists to Commemorate 2014: While We’re Waiting…
December 18, 2014Atlanta Hawks (18-7) 127
Cleveland Cavaliers (14-10) 98
[Box Score]
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At the end of the first quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers were leading the Atlanta Hawks by a 34-26 margin. In what was hoped to be a good matchup between two of the Eastern Conference’s better teams, the Cavaliers looked like they were up for the challenge.
From that moment forward, it was all Atlanta, though. The Cavaliers hung in there through the second quarter despite giving up 39 points to the Hawks, but in the third, Atlanta turned it on and the Cavaliers stood around and watched on defense as the Hawks got anything and everything they wanted. The Hawks outscored the Cavaliers 30-15 in the third and the rout was on.
Those who remember the Cavaliers’ first matchup with the Hawks this season might remember a similar type game, only the roles were reversed in that one. The Cavaliers were hitting everything and the Hawks looked like they were playing in slow motion as they could only stand and watch.
So was this just one of those games, or was it indicative of a lethargic, poor performance from the Cavaliers? I honestly don’t know. Those things are so hard to judge on a game by game basis. Atlanta shot 64.5% from the field in this game. Was that just bad defense, or were the Hawks just on fire? There were a lot of breakdowns in the Cavs’ defense, particularly on the back end. Shelvin Mack hit all six of his three-point attempts and scored 24 points off the bench. Was he just “on”, or is there something bigger going on?
Typically we use Behind the Box Score to isolate some stats and trends that illustrate a deeper of sense of what happened in a game. We’re not going to do that for this game. I don’t think there’s much value in that for a game like this. There’s nothing inside the box score that will tell the story of what happened in this game. Instead, we’re going to use this space to talk a bit about the Cavaliers at this point in the season.
The Cavaliers came into this game having won twelve of their last fourteen games. Over that stretch they were holding teams to around 92 points per game. The defense seemed to be coming around and the team offense seemed to be growing together. But in reality, the Cavaliers have now lost three of their last four games and there seems to be some kind of regression happening. Their opponents have gone over 100 points in four of the last five.
Those who have been reading these columns all season know that I’ve been preaching that there will be more highs and lows yet to come this season. None of this is unexpected or a surprise. The Cavaliers have a lot of work to do. And as I always say, things are never as bad as they seem after a loss. But having said that, there’s no question this is a frustrating period for the team.
The Cavaliers still have a serious bench problem, they still lack good post defenders and rim protectors, and their shooting has been wildly inconsistent on offense. But I think one of the bigger problems right now is the disappearance of Kyrie Irving’s offensive game. I know, I know, the Cavaliers just gave up 125 points and let a team shoot almost 65% against them and I’m going to talk about offense.
The thing is, there’s not much that can be done about the defense. Certain teams will just have the matchups to exploit the Cavaliers’ problems on that end. That’s not going to change any time soon. But I think Kyrie’s struggling offensive game, or at least his role in the offense, is somewhat alarming.
A few weeks ago against the Knicks in primetime, Kyrie scored 37 points and put on a show in Madison Square Garden. In the seven games since then, Kyrie has averaged only 13.85 points per game. He has only scored 20 once and has scored in single digits twice. He’s getting a decent number of assists, averaging 6.43 per game in that stretch, he’s not turning the ball over, and he’s been demonstrably working hard on defense. His all around game might be improving, but his scoring is really sagging right now and he seems to be disappearing in the offense.
Which isn’t to say Kyrie should revert to the over-dribbling version of his game. But the Cavaliers won eight straight games with Kyrie averaging 19.3 points per game and 5.4 assists per game. He was shooting 50.9% from the field over that stretch. In the games since his 37 point night in New York, he’s shooting 37% from the field. I’m not going to sit here and say Kyrie is the most important player on the Cavaliers, but the team needs him to be effective on offense. It feeds a lot of the style the Cavaliers play and when he’s struggling, it just makes things too easy on opponents.
Kyrie knows all of this. It’s why an hour after the game Wednesday night Kyrie was still on the floor practicing shooting. LeBron knows it, too. It’s why LeBron was out there on the floor talking to Kyrie, appearing to try to keep him loose and show him support. It was a great view of the chemistry of this team that seems to still be getting stronger despite the recent struggles.
Look, there’s nothing major to worry about right now. The Cavaliers don’t seem to be too discouraged or pressing. They don’t look like a team that isn’t in this together. This is just a tough stretch of basketball. The good news is that they are showing resolve to fight through it and keep getting better slowly over time.
I asked earlier if this Hawks game was indicative of a larger problem or just one of those games. We’ll never really know, but I tend to lean more toward the latter. All it takes is a few more wins and this game will be long forgotten.
16 Comments
I don’t know a lot about the NBA so I am curious for other peoples opinions but I have some concerns. It doesn’t seem to me this team as currently constituted can win a title this season. The teams in the west appear to be so dominant and fully formed I think they would do to us what the Hawks just did on a regular basis.
Also, I am curious what people think about Kevin Love so far. I think he’s good but do you think he should be mentioned in any conversation as part of a “Big 3”? or “Big anything”? His defense is really bad and he seems to struggle to create his own shot. Whereas Kyrie and Lebron can decide to take over a game if they really wanted to it seems that Love needs to be set up.
Maybe it’s the offense? Because his numbers last season indicate he can score with ease. Or maybe it was the team he was playing with in Minnesota.
Anyways, curious what y’all think.
Tron- Lonnggg season man. Hang in there with us for a little bit. Finals are in June and its only December. We got time. However, you are right. If the season ended today I don’t think we hang with some of those teams in the west. Golden State in particular. I hate Miami and don’t want to compare this Cavs team to that of Miami’s when LeBron first went there but I’m going to. It took a while for their Big 3 to gel and get going but once they did they made a good run.
As for K-Love, he has really never been known for his defense. This is part of the reason we are hunting for a rim protector. He’s still in the Big 3 though. Effective scorer when he needs to be and lately his first quarters have been really productive. It would be nice to see him get aggressive on the boards like TT has been. But again, you make a valid point. If he gets going on both ends of the floor, look out.
Shawn Marion is a disaster. He stinks.
I’m done with him, and I hope the Cavs soon realize that he can’t play defense like he used to and he can’t shoot. At all. He is awful, and I think Cleveland leans on him for his D, and his failures are epitomizing the failures of the team’s defense in general.
They could do better with an athletic wing who just plays D, since Marion really adds nothing on offense.
Very unhappy with the effort. I understand the Cavs will probably be fine, and it is just 1 game. But I spent good money on Leagepass. Seeing the lack of interest last night was upsetting.
Completely agree on Marion. Cavs should start Delly.
He really looked lost to me. It seemed like he was getting confused with the defensive rotations and was constantly leaving one of their shooters open. Can’t have that… Mike Miller is going to steal his minutes when he gets back if Marion can’t get it together.
I watched the game until halftime and tried to watch the rest later on DVR, but it somehow skipped ahead to halfway through the 4th quarter. Once I saw the score, I knew I had zero interest in seeing how the Cavs arrived at that huge deficit. Shelvin Mack was 5/5 on three pointers in the first half. Shelvin Mack. That’s a guy you shouldn’t even have to guard at the 3-point line. 5/5. What do you do when that happens? I’m not letting the Cavs off the hook though… their defensive rotations were lazy and clueless.
They seem to go through stretches where they play like they give a damn…and others where they don’t. It’s strange that they don’t seem to have any fire most of the time.
We’re definitely not clicking yet, but I’ve seen enough to agree that the team as constructed won’t win a championship. I do think that K. Love is good enough despite his defensive limitations. He’s an elite rebounder and helps spread the offense. We can definitely build a championship contender around our three best players. We’re a couple pieces away; a three and D wing and a defensive big man. Hopefully we’ll get one of those near the trade deadline, and the other next offseason. Also, our young’uns need to develop and gain experience. After being battle-tested in 2015 I think our time will come in 2016.
they should start someone who can score – like Miller. Miller is just as good (bad) a defender as Marion, but at least he can score.
i wonder how much of it is LeBron telling everyone that titles aren’t won in December. To save their energy for the stretch run.
We know all the games count the same, so I’d like to see them win enough to cruise into the playoffs, but maybe LeBron has held his foot on the regulator a bit?
I hold out hope that it’s true…but, it’d be nice to exert some dominance for a little while just so you know you have it there if you need it. I also think a high playoff seeding is important…so, it’d be good to get headed in that direction, as well.
I like Delly. It’s becoming more and more apparent to me that he plays great as a shooting guard and not-so-great as a point guard. He brings the defense that we were supposed to get from Marion and he can hit an open 3 on a kick out. That’s all I need from our starting 2-guard. Oh yeah, and he moves the ball, which is important to offensive flow.
Agreed on Delly starting. We have enough scoring from the rest of our starters, Delly brings the D and intensity that bunch needs. Marion should come off the bench to give Lebron a rest, if at all.
I wish the Cavs would deal for a guy like Kent Bazemore to put in their starting five. A guy like him would be a perfect compliment to this team. Defense first. Could guard the opposition’s best offensive player. Extremely athletic and long. Would give Lebron an above-the-rim running mate which I think he would love. He gets chase down blocks and his dunks are Lebronish. His shot is good enough that opponents would have to respect it. And he gives Love another person to throw his full court passes to.
There is so much talent on this team, but I’m afraid that each player’s talent doesn’t compliment one another. Kyrie is exceptional on offense. Dion is an above average offensive player as well. But they don’t compliment one another well, and when they are both on the floor, I think it makes both of them less valuable. They both do a lot of the same things well, mainly create shots. But you can only have so many offensive-minded guys on the court at once. A guy like Bazemore could do what Shawn Marion is trying to do, which is make up for what Kyrie and Dion lack and compliment their game, and defer offensively to Kyrie, Lebron, and Love when he’s on the floor. I think Marion is doing a pretty good job at this (as demonstrated by his plus/minus most games when he is on the floor). He is a vet that understands his value to this team. But I think he may be more valuable if we can use him to spell Lebron more, instead of as our 2 in our starting lineup.
I feel the same way to a much lesser extent about having Love in the same frontcourt as Tristan/Andy. Love is an exceptional offensive player, and he compliments everyone’s game by spreading the floor on offense and being a guy who can get points in the paint. He’s an exceptional rebounder, but a below average one-on-one post defender. He’s not a rim protector by anyone’s definition either. TT and Andy compliment him by being scrappy guys who can defend better than he can. But they are extremely similar in what they bring to the table (seriously, look at a player stat comparison of the two), and don’t provide rim protection to make up for Love’s deficiencies on defense. It would be awesome if they could get a big who could defend the rim.
That being said, I really like some of the other pieces on this team. Delly is great because he, like Shawn Marion, understands his role. He works the ball around, shoots threes, dishes and plays defense. But I think he is a bench guy. And Lebron is easily the best player on the planet, and compliments whomever you put on the floor with him. Hopefully they can get it figured out.
There IS something major to worry about. This team is so soft inside defensively that it is scary. Also, we need a slick, scoring guard coming off of the bench. We get beaten nightly by opponent point guard play.