Video: JR Smith and LeBron James connect on half-court alley oops
January 23, 201510 Players for Browns fans to watch for at the Senior Bowl
January 24, 2015Charlotte Hornets (18-26) 90
Cleveland Cavaliers (24-20) 129
It was just last Thursday that I wrote in this space about how the Cavaliers broke free from the grip of the six-game losing streak that had been suffocating them since the start of 2015. Was it only eight days ago? Nay, it couldn’t have been! It must have been many seasons and many moons on top of that ago. Last Thursday’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers feels so distant—an age in the basketball universe. Some kind of devilry is at work here, friends! Because today’s Cavaliers, the Cavaliers that played the Charlotte Hornets in Cleveland on Friday night, are not the same team that ventured into the Staples Center a mere eight days ago.
Let’s revisit the Cavaliers performance that evening against the Lakers. Although it ultimately ended in victory, it was the same lethargic, painfully underwhelming team that was struggling to end a losing streak during which they had played horrendously. I described the basketball that the Cavaliers played against the Lakers as “mostly unwatchable.” Though it was a team exerting itself (albeit sporadically), it was a struggle to achieve any type of success.
Since then? The Cavaliers began a win streak the ensuing evening with a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. They then returned to Cleveland and dispatched the rival Chicago Bulls and visiting Utah Jazz with relative ease, playing a version of basketball unrecognizable from what they took into LA a week and a half ago. The streak continued Friday night with a massacre of the Charlotte Hornets. How ruthless was it? Let’s go behind the box score.
33-13 – The Cavs jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, taking the score to 33-13 by the end of the first quarter. They kept the intensity throughout the second quarter, and went to the intermission with a 75-40 lead, the biggest halftime lead in franchise history. The Cavs’ biggest lead of the game was a downright mean 49 points. They finished with 129 points, their highest point total of the year. The Cavaliers did it by taking to heart the poetry of beautiful basketball: aggressive defense, ball movement, and maximum team involvement on offense. The only Cavs performance from this season that compares is the 127-94 victory over the Hawks on November 15th. Like an Eli Roth film, this was wire-to-wire violence unlike anything that the Cavs have unleashed but a few times in franchise history.
14 & 10 – New addition Timofey Mozgov ended the night with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes. (The Mozgov Nicknaming Committee is still sequestered and hard at work debating the definitive nickname for the Cavs center, and is still taking submissions via Twitter.) 14 points and 10 rebounds is a double-double, sure, but is isn’t that overwhelming, even with the four-of-five shooting. But that would seriously undersell how Mr. Mozgov played Friday night and the impact he has had on this Cavalier team. No Cavs fan ever expected to hear these words in his or her entire life, but here they are: Timofey Mozgov has completely transformed the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was obvious that a true center would help this team defend the rim. Kevin Love is not a center, nor is Tristan Thompson. Anderson Varejao isn’t even a traditional center. But Mozgov has been much more than a 7-1 statue in front of the hoop. He has defended the pick-and-roll masterfully, and has even nimbly attacked the hoop in the pick-and-roll on offense in a way unforeseeable based on the rest of his career. He’s ran the floor, shown a competent post up game, and even hit a few 15 footers. All Mozgov needs to do is play sound defense in the post and in the pick-and-roll. If he can put up 10-20 points a night, then the Cavs will be one of the toughest teams in the NBA to beat.
29 of 73 – JR Smith is shooting 29-of-73 from 3-point range after Friday night’s scintillating 7-of-11 performance from deep. This takes his nine-game average for the Cavaliers dangerously close to 40 percent. If the Cavaliers have a two-guard like Smith who can score nearly 15 points per game on 40 percent shooting, they become even harder for defenses to corral. Smith has shown genuine chemistry with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving so far. Although Iman Shumpert may be the more natural fit as a traditional starter at the two, Smith has shown a real knack as an off-the-ball threat that elevates the Cavs offense another level.
7 & 3 – There’s certainly no complaints in a game won by nearly 40 points. But Kevin Love’s seven shots and three rebounds Friday night are indicative of a larger pattern. The emergence of newcomers JR Smith, Timofey Mozgov, and Iman Shumpert (who shot three-of-three in nearly 10 minutes), has come at the expense of Kevin Love, who’s beginning to look and feel increasingly marginalized. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as long as Love plays better defense (he has improved since he’s less frequently asked to be the primary rim protector) and makes the most of his touches. He will eventually nestle into a comfortable role as the offense comes along, but it’s been hard to find the right fit. He did have the fourth most touches on the Cavs Friday with 46, but it would be nice to see more of them come in the post where he can have quick shot opportunities, or at the elbow where his passing skills and midrange shooting abilities are a great asset to the Cavs.
27 – I mentioned the fastbreak game last Friday in the Clippers postgame on the heels of 24 Cavalier fastbreak points. Every Cavalier pushed the ball on Friday night, leading to 27 easy points, if you neglect the difficult acrobatics that some of the dunks required. If the Cavs play at the breakneck speed they’re capable of, they can evolve into an offensive juggernaut.
21,960 – Approximately the number of minutes Fred McLeod has been waiting to use the “To Russia from Love!” line in a game. His opportunity came Friday night, when Love whipped a pass to Cleveland’s favorite Russian for a great dunk. James Bond and classic movie references will always score bonus points, and you have to admit, it’s a pretty damn good line.
16 Comments
The Mozgov Cocktail!!!
Hopefully as the winning and good times continue, Love will find his comfort zone and start hitting those open shots.
The Russian Mozfia should work but its just to clunky. I really like the simplicity of The Moz. I want him to grow a mullet make a terrible action movie, feature in a poster called The Land of Moz with a sexpot Ukranian girl as Dorothy, TT as the Tin Man, Lebron as the Lion and Mike Miller as the Scarecrow. I want him to wear a tear away jersey and refer to the area inside the charge circle as Mozgovia: Land of Pain.
Seriously though whats wrong with simply The Moz?
haha you win, sir
During the lull/losing streak, I refused to get to low. Given this run, I’m being a bit reserved on getting to high, but it’s also worth noting that this roster is completely different than the one that was getting its ass handed to them with LeBron out.
It’s still a bit of a honeymoon phase for JR Smith et al, but for the shooting guard to say that this was “the most fun he’s had winning,” speaks volumes. It seems that even with new faces, they all appear to have had a predetermined role—Smith and LeBron work well together, LeBron has trusted Mosgov from the jump, Kyrie is moving the ball…hell, even Shump jumped right in and made an impact.
Even if the Cavs finish at the fourth or fifth seed, you’re going to see a lot of jockeying by other teams to avoid these guys in the first round. I have no doubt in my mind that there will be another hiccup somewhere, but the overnight change is incredible.
This team has been playing crazy good. I’ve watched every game in the streak and it reminds me of olden days (late 80s). Just great, smart basketball. Some of the points are coming off of bad shots, but most are just great plays.
I heard that the players all call him Mozzie. That seems to be a pretty darn good one. Especially if we can somehow creatively spell it Mo-Z because it then has the throwback to our beloved Z.
Can’t stop at “The Moz” – gotta take it all the way to The Wizard of Moz.
Wocka Wocka
I rather like “T-Mo” myself.
Mozzie Mozbourne?
Re Fred McLeod, I hated that Gilbert thought he had to can the serviceable Michael Reghi just to bring in a Detroit guy he knew. But McLeod has grown on me a lot – solid pro skills, a light attitude that shows he knows that it’s just sports and that sense of humor injected at just the right moment – like Miles Davis playing a phrase in a ballad, he has the courage to wait.
Let’s ride these JR Smith contributions as long as we can, and while the Cavs are hot that can last a little while. But let’s not fall in love. A decade long history does not lie. He’s as consistently implosive as explosive, epically immature even by NBA player standards. The best case scenario is that this season the Knicks absorbed Bad JR for us and he’ll keep his bib on and stay in the high chair through the playoffs. But can’t see a scenario where he returns next year: if he keeps being Good JR he’ll expect a big contract the Cavs won’t want to do, especially for a ticking time bomb. And if he metastasizes they won’t want him at any cost.
“The Kremlin Paint Gremln”? Nah … you win.
“The Russian Lane Drain.” (Getting closer …)
“St. Timofey’s Alter.”
(can I get an amen, somebody? That’s all I got)
The best move Gilbert ever made was to can the horrible Reghi. And remember, Reghi lives in Detroit and McLeod is a native Clevelander.