Free agent QB Josh McCown to visit Browns
February 24, 2015A new Browns Logo, another Cavs win, and evaluating NBA defense: While We’re Waiting
February 25, 2015Cleveland Cavaliers (36-22) 102
Detroit Pistons (23-34) 93
Box Score
Everything was cream cheese when the game got started in Detroit. Kevin Love was stroking from deep, Timofey Mozgov was hollering “Nyet!” at anything within two meters of the rim, and LeBron James was doing LeBron things. The Cavs were frustrating Greg Monroe inside and doing a credible job of keeping Andre Drummond off the glass. They were checking all of the necessary boxes to beat a frisky Pistons team, and raced out to a 17-8 lead in less than six minutes.
Pistons boss Stan Van Gundy called a timeout to stop the bleeding, and did quite a suture job on the sidelines. Detroit came out hotter than a Model T in the desert, rattling off a 14-0 run to take the lead. Only a late James Jones triple gave the Cavs a three-point advantage heading into the second quarter, but the Pistons kept their foot on the pedal.
Love and Tristan Thompson did well to contest Greg Monroe early—he shot just 2-of-8 in the first half—but he was resolute in his pursuit of rebounds and grew more influential. He managed 8 points and 9 rebounds in the half, while Drummond notched 10 and 6. The Cavs were out-rebounded 26-18 in the first 24 minutes.
Point guard Reggie Jackson, acquired on trade deadline day, attacked the paint with menace and had his floater working. He scored 15 in the first half on the strength of 5-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe. Yet, perhaps more than Jackson or the big guys, it was Detroit’s shooting that caused the Cavs problems: the Pistons hit 6 of their 10 three-point attempts in the opening half, including a perfect 3-of-3 by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Some of those threes were lucky chucks, but points are points.
Much of this damage happened with Mozgov on the bench, as he picked up three fouls in just 12 first-half minutes. His absence left a Moscow-sized hole in the middle of the court, and Detroit exploited that as much as possible. The bad guys scored a whopping 35 points in the second stanza. The Pistons’ offensive production slowed the Cavs’ attack, and the backcourt trio of Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert shot 3-of-15 combined in the first half.
As lackluster as the Cavs were in the second period, they shone in the third. Mozgov’s return revitalized the defense, as the team allowed just a dozen points in the quarter. The defense ignited the offense, and no Cavalier benefited more than Kevin Love. The man in the No. 0 jersey was a 6-foot-10 fire emoji, hitting four threes in a five-minute stretch, with three coming on LeBron assists. The Cavs were on the receiving end of some questionable whistles, but the Pistons looked the more frustrated side. Cleveland doubled up Detroit, winning the period 24-12.
Things were tight for a stretch in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs put a lid on the rim, corralled rebounds like a basketballing sheepdog, and did enough to get human victory cigar Joe Harris on the floor in the closing moments. Kyrie came alive, Tristan adjusted well against Monroe, and the Cavaliers leave town with another victory in hand.
Enough summarizing. Let’s hop into the numbers:
14-of-37 – The Cavs took a whopping 37 threes: 16 in the first half, 21 in the second. For many players, this was not a good thing. Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith were a combined 0-for-5 from deep. LeBron hit 1-of-5, and Iman Shumpert was 2-of-7. James Jones and Matthew Dellavedova were two of the best Cavs’ marksmen on the evening, sinking a combined 3-of-6. Let’s see, am I forgetting anyone…
8-of-14 – Oh, right: Kevin Love was straight cooking beyond the arc. The UCLA product went 8-of-14 from deep, with the eight made threes tying a career-high. Every one of Love’s 24 points came via the three-ball; he was on the J.R. Smith diet in Detroit. Cavs fans won’t want Love out there all the time, but this game was his finest shooting display in a wine and gold jersey. He also grabbed 9 rebounds and did not commit a turnover.
+20 – Timofey Mozgov’s plus/minus in his 20 minutes played. Plus-minus is a dangerous stat to cite given that a player has four teammates on the floor with him at any given moment; even a total schlub could post a good plus-minus when paired with the right guys. Sometimes, however, it confirms what the naked eye perceives, and tonight was such a case. The big Russian was a tremendous deterrent to Detroit’s interior efforts, blocking four shots and contesting plenty more. He gathered 14 tidy points on offense, most coming on dunks and bunnies inside. Another terrific game for the big guy.
22, 30 – J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert’s respective minutes played. Shumpert did not play very well—8 points, 3 rebounds, 2-of-10 shooting—but David Blatt favored the man with the hi-top to the one with all the tattoos Tuesday night. Smith’s 22 minutes played are his fewest as a Cavalier, excepting his debut, and he has averaged a shade over 30 minutes per game in February. This almost certainly is not a big deal. Don’t fret. Maybe Blatt wanted to give Smith some rest, or maybe he wanted more of Shumpert’s D. Either way, it was odd to see Shump on the floor so much and Smith so little.
35, 31 – The Cavs’ points allowed in the second quarter and the second half, respectively. They defended with all the urgency of a tree stump, and then they became a chainsaw. One would obviously prefer greater consistency, but it was kind of fun to see the Cavs flip the switch and harass the Pistons.
2, 2 – Kendrick Perkins’ minutes played and fouls committed. The big fella is gonna get his money’s worth. He did score a bucket before lumbering back to the bench.
17 of 19 – The Cavs have won 17 of their last 19 games. They have a marquee matchup with league-best Golden State Thursday at the Q. Getcha popcorn ready.
28 Comments
Nothin’ bad to say about this one. Detroit played their butts off, like it was a playoff game. But even on a meh offensive night for the Big Two, Mr. Big Three was a monster, not just shooting well but getting floor burns, passing great, the whole shebang.
The first, third and fourth quarters were as good defensively as I’ve seen any Cavs team play. Great help defense, no gimmes, effort top to bottom. Suddenly it looks like everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing on both offense and defense, and no one’s trying to stuff their own stat sheet. Could have sworn that Kevin Love almost smiled. Almost.
The defense in the 4th was amazing.
The offense going to pure spread-and-iso ball in the 4th was pretty lame.
Sorta OT, but the way the Cavs are playing coupled with Rose getting hurt again… have to think the division is the Cavs’ for the taking now.
I think it was just gas, not an actual smile.
Feel horrible for Rose. Only he knows how much physical and mental work it took to get back and play at the level we saw in the Cavs game just before the all star break. Bulls owe him a ton of money, his future has to be considered limited at best and they are in a tough spot.
I do as well. He and Brandon Roy had so much ridiculous promise only to be undone by their own bodies. It has to be frustrating.
Last night watching the Cavs: Kevin Love has a great game!
This morning listening to the radio: Broussard clip is played multiple times stating Kevin Love is definitely leaving Cleveland.
I wish I could stomach 92.3’s morning show. I really do.
And of course, when Kevin Love was asked about whether he was going to the Lakers, he simply said “No”.
Lots of teams would like to have him, but KLove isn’t stupid and would not leave Cleveland without a good reason. He came here for rings, and to play with LeBron and Kyrie, and I’d be extremely surprised if he left without a championship unless LeBron and Kyrie had packed up and left. About the only places he’d consider going would be other contenders, and they aren’t the ones clamoring to get him because they already have really good players.
Agreed, especially on that last point. The cupboard is basically bare in LAL and both NY teams.
Where else would he go, Houston? Good luck being the focal point of the offense when Harden and Howard are there. Miami already has Bosh. Portland has Aldridge. Indiana has West.
…I guess Phoenix has pieces and space for Love. Besides them, I can’t think of a non-crappy team that both has need of a star PF and isn’t the exact same situation Love is in right now, i.e. the 3rd option.
From an overall NBA health perspective, another (of the few) “big market” teams is less likely to go deep into the playoffs. Brian Windhorst said that last Sunday ABC cancelled the 2nd of the scheduled back to back NBA games for figure skating…not a good look for the NBA.
Penny is sad he was left out of the “so much ridiculous promise” group.
To me this one was far more impressive than the double digit beat down of the Wizards on Friday.
Detroit felt great about themselves coming off those wins against WAS/CHI and wanted to run with the Cavs early. 2 of our Big 3 were off and Swish/Shump were not hitting from the outside. It shaped up to be a perfect storm for the Pistons to pull it out but defense and KLove came to the rescue.
Amazing to watch a team so deep and a bench so engaged in every play in this city right now.
great point. that ’95 Magic team wasn’t the best team ever, but it may have been the most fun to watch.
Toronto
But there’s still DaRozan and Lowery. It’s not LeBron and Kyrie, but it’s still a similar situation.
I guess Love could have a bigger footprint on games that way, but still… They’d be the 2015 Cavs-Lite.
I couldn’t watch the game, but was following the live text feed. What is with Jones getting lots of PT early? Has Blatt made him a rotation guy?
I just loved Brandon Roy’s game and it’s like he’s almost forgotten already (at least in this part of the country). He might have gone to the all star game every year and then been HOF-bound. Even better than Kyrie at constant mini-speed shifts so that nobody could stay with him.
Not to mention that there were very loud whispers that the Blazers’ medical stuff actually made Roy’s injuries worse.
I’ve always detested the idea of team doctors and med professionals – such a clear conflict of interest when, for example, the ortho surgeon knows that the team so greatly increasing his professional profile wants/needs that player out there playing again as soon as possible.
I think it’s been a combo of Marion hurt, Miller’s shot falling off the face of the earth and Perkins first game last night.
I wondered the same thing, but actually found that I didn’t mind seeing James Jones out there in this game because he only had to guard Tolliver, who really can’t take advantage of Jones in the post. So over the last two games: Jones guarding Tolliver = Smiley Face. Jones guarding Jason Smith = Why.
I honestly still can’t believe how (seemingly) easily the Cavs were able to come back in the 2nd half. Especially considering the referees were abysmal in that game. I was convinced that David Blatt would have a tech by the end of it.
Tough times for the NBA. Both NY teams suck. The Lakers suck. Philly sucks. Boston sucks. Nobody in Miami watches the Heat unless they’re at the top of the league. Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta are all good but those aren’t great NBA markets comparatively. I think Chicago and the Bay are the only big NBA markets that are thriving.
What’s crazy about when they play D (and about their O, I guess) is how when the Cavs go on runs, they aren’t just little 12-4 runs for a three-minute span. They go on extended-length stretches where they literally double up the other team.
24-12 for the entire third quarter. Against the Knicks, they were up 52-25 with three minutes left in the first half. Against Washington they had a short 17-4 run to start the second, then later after the Wizards cut it to 12 early in the second half, the Cavs closed out by a score of 56-30.
Those are insane numbers.
I loved him as well and even wanted him on the Cavs when there was rumors of it a year or so back, whenever it was, even if he was a shell of his former self, just because.
P.S. what happened to your “21?”
the moniker was thoughtless choice while multitasking when I first found this site years ago – don’t see why I must be stuck with it. At least the avatar was carefully selected.
Agree and suspect it has something to do with them having a really high concentration level in their first year of being together. Reminds me some of the ’95 Indians when a bunch of those guys were so thrilled to finally be winning they were crushing teams by big scores throughout the shortened season. You look at the Cavs roster and the head coach and so many are newly gruntled (as opposed to disgruntled) for various reasons: finally coaching in the NBA, joyously returning home, playing meaningful games for the first time, getting out of a dysfunctional place …
Such thoroughly happy situations like this are always temporary. Let’s enjoy it.
Vindictive_Pat changed his moniker completely around (as did jimkanicki), so the move is not unprecedented.