Kellen Winslow Jr. mounting a comeback attempt
January 21, 2016LeBron James named 2016 NBA All-Star starter
January 21, 2016First, I’m calling this “Shallow Thoughts” because it’s lunchtime and I’m 1) at work and 2) hungry, so I’m not diving into the subject matter with the depth that you, the dear reader, deserve. Basketball writing has largely become a very intelligent space — in storytelling as well as analysis — and one can feel silly submitting something rooted in vague truisms and unproven assumptions to the greater discourse. I’m doing so anyway; cast the commensurate amount of scorn upon me.
I’m sure one could point to exceptions, but Cavs general manager David Griffin could not have done any better in constructing this Cavaliers team. I know, I know — Warriors and Spurs and small ball and everything else. But, respectfully, shut up. The Warriors and Spurs, as many have said more eloquently and with greater explanation than I, are really, really good. Unusually good. Good in irreplicable ways, because they have irreplicable parts. For the purposes of this conversation, let’s just agree that the likes of Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green and Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich are finite resources.
Let us also agree that the NBA has evolved quite a bit over the past few years. We’re seeing novel strategies employed, some informed by the great boogey-word of analytics and some enabled by the good luck of roster construction. Sometimes this progression yields interesting, fun, effective ideas, like the Warriors throwing out a lineup of five like-sized guys who can switch literally everything on defense. Sometimes it leads to things that inspire questions of what even is basketball anyway, like the Houston Rockets immediately intentionally fouling five times to start the second half last night, in the interests of getting in the penalty to maximize a hacking strategy against Detroit’s Andre Drummond.
The game has changed and is changing and will continue to change quite a bit, often in ways that no one could reasonably predict.
But in many ways, the basis of NBA basketball remains the same. Most every GM in the league wants the same things. You need a legitimate star or three to contend. You need threatening shooters both to make shots and open up floor space. You need guys who can then penetrate into that space. You need capable defenders, ideally in different shapes and sizes to allow for matchup versatility. You need big guys who can rebound and protect the paint. Certain players can fill multiple roles, but let’s agree that these things would appear on any NBA team’s shopping list.
By those criteria, Cavs general manager David Griffin could not have done a better job in constructing this team. One could certainly find individual moves that didn’t or haven’t panned out, or cases in which inappropriate amounts of assets were exchanged, or others that were not wholly within his control. But on paper, did he not build a roster that fills all of the above-specified holes?
Stars? The Cavs got ’em. LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving. Boom boom boom. Each is a proven 20-point scorer. LeBron is a brilliant passer, Love can be in the right situations, and Kyrie has shown growth in that area. Love has had his share of ups and downs, sure, but how much of that could have been predicted before he came to Cleveland? He was basically 20-and-10 for four straight years in Minnesota. Aside from Serge Ibaka, who would provide more shot blocking, or Draymond, whose rise no one could have expected, Love’s skill set was an ideal fit.
Shooters? Check: Kyrie, Love, and J.R. Smith, with Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova (and even Richard Jefferson and James Jones) bolstering the ranks. None of them is Curry or Kyle Korver, but neither is anyone else in the league. It would be splendid if the Cavs had someone who could hit about four catch-and-shoot threes every single game, but such players are tough to come by. Again, given the assets he had and the mandate he was given, what more could one ask of David Griffin than turning Dion Waiters and driftwood into Smith and Iman Shumpert, who adds bite to the defense?
That deal of course led to that which brought Timofey Mozgov to Cleveland. Mozgov has been a curious case this season, but his profile fits what the Cavs need: a true big man who can contest shots at the rim and roll to the bucket in pick-and-rolls. I know, I know, he has hands like feet, but we’re speaking in generalities here. You want a 7-footer who can move a little bit. If only for half a season last year, Mozgov showed that he can do it.
Tristan Thompson was already in town, and though he’s making a ton of money now, he offers an essential bit of versatility to the Cavs defense. With the prevalence of the pick-and-roll, you need big guys who can occasionally switch onto guards, or at least make a quick move to complicate the ballhandler’s path. Thompson isn’t perfect in this regard, but I’m not sure you could find five power forwards in the league who are better.
The point is that these Cavs are a really good team. I don’t think anyone would have disputed that, even while inside the mushroom cloud the Warriors left, but it warrants mentioning. The pieces don’t work together perfectly, but most part they do quite nicely. They are the sorts of pieces that one would want if designing a team from scratch. They have the do-it-all star. They have the wunderkind point guard. They have a multitalented four. They have a proper big man and a more lithe big man. They have shooters. We can pick nits, especially when comparing the Cavs to the Warriors or Spurs, but really, what more could David Griffin have done?
22 Comments
I agree with everything you’ve written, which is why it is more glaring that coaching appears to be the Cavs’ issue. The Cavs are more talented than both the Warriors and the Spurs. I don’t know that it’s easy to coach James, Irving, and Love into a unit as cohesive as the Warriors or Spurs, but it is the coach’s job and Blatt hasn’t done it.
Criticism + Compliments = I thought David Griffin did pretty well for the types of advisors who are out there. I mean there is a lot of bias information out there from ESPN, to advisors looking up to their views, and some players beyond glorified beyond stats, and some players having really good traits, but not good all around skill traits…etc…IF DAVID GRIFFIN WAS ALL KNOWING…He would have somehow pointed his finger, and told someone to find me for advise, BUT I would not have been so easy to find, and even this blog may not be easy to find….OK…THERE ARE MOVES I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE NOT MADE, BUT he brought good options in that I was willing to adopt, BUT FOR INSTANCE = I would have kept Wiggins because he is a defender. Even if I was not sure about his offensive development, I would have had confidence in his defensive ability, and I pictured him as being like Scottie Pippen, and maybe better on offense…The Batman and Robin thing, BUT I know that LeBron may have had influence there, because he is weary of rookies in a Championship chase. I think LeBron is wrong about that. BECAUSE, it depends who the rookie is = If the rookie is Andrew Wiggins, or Michael Jordan, then I would lean to keep that rookie, even if I brought a Veteran in to start, and Wiggins was my backup. OK…granted Jordan did not win a Championship as a rookie, but if he had the same team as he did when he won as a rookie…he may have won as a rookie. BUT that does certainly validate the consideration of the move. BUT THERE ARE SOME DEFINITE MOVES I WOULD NOT HAVE MADE = I would always take a 2-way or defensive player over a player who can play offense, and not defense. I am not referring to K Love on that point. I won’t say who, because I like the player..lol…OK…I would not have brought in Mo….it is quite romantic, and that is the romance that Griffin fell for, or maybe he didn’t think defense was a big deal…I would have brought in Norris Cole, or another player with a better 2-way balance. Cunningham is a pretty good defender in my view. I like Love, but I prefer post defenders who can slash even if they cannot shoot outside. Which means I like Tristan, and players who play similar to Tristans style. I like Markieff Morris, but only have seen highlights; I like defensive postman…HOWBEIT, I highly value Love’s rebound ability, and offensive post moves, which we do not use him much for..I think K Love would be a lot better as a Small Ball Center, SOMETIMES used to split wide as an S5, and defending Centers because I actually think K Love is a better defender than people think in the post, his weakness is defending the perimeter because of lack of lateral speed. So, I think the Cavs can improve with Love if they play him more in the post on offense + defense. I disgagree that he needs to be taller, and jump higher to play good defense in the post…He positions himself well for post defense. I still wonder why we cannot get a Center, or PF with a Kaun + TPE trade. I would consider trading Varejao, but it is OK to keep him also. I would consider a Dwight, Jones, Ariza trade for Love, Mosgov, and Mo if necessary. I would consider a Markieff, Chandler, Tucker trade for Mosgov, Love….BUT I also consider keeping Love, and even possibly keeping Mosgov if a TPE could get Markieff, or Nick Young, or Ariza…
More talented? Hmmmmmmm….Cavs ride or die here but I don’t know if I’d go this far. The Warriors, IMO, are the most talented team top to bottom in the league. They’ve also been the healthiest which could be a direct reflection on overall talent. San Antonio is also right there with the Cavaliers but definitely has the advantage in head coach.
But wouldn’t this just be like a Cleveland team. Have all this talent led by the best basketball player in the world and an owner who will spend whatever it takes only to run into a team like Golden State. Reminds me painfully of those Lenny Wilkens coached Cavaliers teams of Price and Daugherty. Could have been great if not for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
I have absolutely no complaints about David Griffin I mean what more could you ask from him or even Dan Gilbert? Compared to the painful way Chris Grant was building this team I’ll gladly take now as opposed to then.
Everybody is still getting over Monday’s debacle. There were reasons that game got so ugly but as hard as it is to admit or give credit Golden State looks and is playing like Goliath right now. Look what they did to the Bulls last night. Rose/Butler outscored Curry/Thompson and it didn’t even matter.
As far as the Cavs go while I don’t care for the salary of TT as I’ve been reminded next year his price will be average. (Scary stupid but welcome to the modern world of sports) The deal that kills me is Varejao’s. I never liked it from the start. But again next year his deal will probably be thought of as cheap. Personally I’m hoping maybe he and those exceptions could be traded. I doubt it but other then waiting for high priced veterans to be bought out I don’t see a lot of wiggle room for Griffin. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or Griffin won’t find it.
So on 1/21/16 I’ll be happy with a 29-11 (.725) record 20-6 in East good for top seed 5.5 games ahead of Chicago with a ton of home games in hand. I won’t worry about another potential finals appearance against the Warriors. I will be watching when Golden State faces San Antonio. I want to see what the Spurs can do. I think they are probably the Cavs best shot at taking down the Warriors.
They don’t move the ball and create shots, and they don’t create much off the dribble either. It is either iso 1 on 1 or pick and roll which the roller doesn’t get much love.
The key difference to me is that the talent on the Warriors seems to have only come out on the Warriors, which I attribute to coaching. Draymond Green was a second round pick having played four years of college ball, and he’s their third all-star. Compare that to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, both of whom were touted underclassmen who were all-stars when they were all their respective teams had. You can repeat the exercise up and down the lineups – Klay Thompson does one thing well, and somehow gets enough chances to do it that he averages 20 ppg. Festus Ezeli is a contributing rotation player, though he looks like one of 25 other 6’10” 285 pound big men that remains nailed to the bench. Meanwhile, the Cavs can’t get Kevin Love to double figures on a regular basis, Kyrie and Lebron expend blood and sweat for every basket they score, and a third of the Cavs’ possessions seem to end with a 20 foot jumper from Varejao or Mozgov.
It could just come down to basketball IQ i.e. Warriors have more intelligence as a team then do the Cavs. I hate to say that but as someone who watches every Cavs game it’s the only thing I can think of to explain the lulls and issues they seem to endure.
I agree with Natedawg the Cavs don’t share the ball well at all. When they do they looks so much better and as a result the offense flows. I also think the Cavs are way to sloppy with the basketball. Again maybe this is from them playing isolation and not sharing the ball. I don’t know I’m not a coach. I just know what I see and hear Austin Carr talking about it a lot.
You say “basketball IQ”, I say “looks like the coach’s fault”. We are not too far apart on this.
“Stars? The Cavs got ’em.”
Do we? At least like Golden State and San Antonio do? Irving and Love are big enough defensive liabilities against those two that you have to consider seriously cutting their minutes. Suddenly, the most important two guys on the court after Lebron are Thompson and Delly (who are second and fourth on the team in WS/48, Love squeezes in between, and Irving is all the way down at seven) who are well, not stars.
We may have big names, but they may not be as good as the reputation.
Absolutely agree 100%.. The coaching is the issue. The players are not being put in the best positions, to maximize their skill sets. Blatt is overwhelmed and outcoached game after game. For instance, Kevin Love has Harrison Barnes guarding him, so instead of exploiting that matchup and MAKING the opposition adjust their lineup, Blatt adjusts to theirs. I know they have not had a lot of playing time together as a unit, but this Cavs team is EASILY good enough to win a title. BTW- unless the other team turns the ball over, the Cavs do not get even close to as many easy baskets as they should with all the athleticism. Lastly, Iman Shumpert MUST start. If Blatt wants to win, it will be with defense, and Iman is one of the best in the league. We start every game slow, and everyone wonders why… How about because unless we are hitting jumpers, we get run out of the gym, because 4 out of our 5 starters are average at best, defenders.
Lebron or Steph? Klay or Kyrie? JR or Harrison Barnes? Love or Draymond? Bogut or Mozgov? Iggy or Shumpert? Ezili or TT? …….. Man it is awfully close.
A head coach can only do/say so much there comes a time when the players must execute. Perfect example is Luke Walton coaching a team with 3 losses in January. Do you think he’d only have 3 losses if he was coaching the Cavs? I think not. Golden State 1-15 is smarter then the Cavaliers.
Physical talent probably but I maintain Golden State has the edge as a group mentally. Take a look at their analytics. (Yep I said it) They have more games with 30+ assists then the entire rest of the NBA combined. They share the ball and they make shots. And I do not enjoy saying this at all but it’s the truth.
The Cavs do have stars unfortunately they also have their liabilities as well. Golden State is an animal that the NBA hasn’t seen in a long time. It’s why they have just 3 losses on January 21, 2016.
One very important fact that can’t be ignored is the way the current NBA game is being officiated. The league wants offense they don’t want low scoring tough hard fought games they want what the Warriors do best and that is wide open fast paced multiple pass plays.
San Antonio and Golden State are the top two teams defensively. The league is rewarding their defensive ability just as much as as their offense.
I don’t buy into Golden State’s defense as much even though they are the statistical leader. I think they are statistically the top defensive team because they make opponents play the Warriors game. They want frantic up tempo fast break games they don’t want 1 on 1 lock down defense. I’m waiting until the play the Spurs who are more of a prototypical defensive team. At least for me.
They just destroyed one of the best teams in the West. I really think GS was just a bad game.
But I don’t think Blatt is in the locker room saying, “Don’t pass! Keep the ball and dribble it a lot. Forget about Kevin Love!”
Of course the GSW/Spurs bother me… but not really. We still have THREE MONTHS until the games really count. No one can predict what will happen in the second half of the season, but things could look MUCH different by then. Everything aligned for GSW last year, but will it again? Injuries are a constant in this league. They will happen to someone along the way (knock on wood).
And the loss Monday is in a weird way relieving to me. The Heatles were ALWAYS the favorite. They were ALWAYS the team to beat. The Cavs are not. That’s not the character of a Cleveland team. We are UNDERDOGS. Always will be. I think these recent losses put the Cavs exactly where they need to be. Hungry. Angry. Questioning themselves and looking to be better. That’s where I want my team at this point in the season. Like the Buckeyes in 2014, it’s all about peaking your season at the right time.
I’m sure he is not doing that. But the coach is judged by the results, not by the ideas. One way or another, Luke Walton and Greg Popovitch have their teams playing at an elite level and Blatt does not.
How does playing up tempo fast break limit the opponents ability to score? It should increase the opponents score, and it does in this case. The Warriors are near the bottom of the league in fast break points allowed and points in the paint allowed. Opponents are getting easy points on a number of possessions against the Warriors. Despite that, the Warriors are still 2nd best in points allowed per possession and third in fg% allowed, which means they are absolutely locking teams down in the halfcourt. The Warriors defense is so good when the game slows down that it is still elite when you throw back in all the fast break opportunities the other team gets.
Watch some games instead of just looking at statistical end measures. If you did you’d see opponents playing to the Warriors strengths which is a full court wide open helter skelter game. Teams get caught up in their style, small ball and are careless with the ball either through ball handling or terrible passes. The Cavs showed in last years finals as well as the first meeting this season. The problem is that’s easier said then done. I’ll waiting until Monday when San Antonio plays them. The Spurs not only play defense well but present an interesting match-up problem with Aldridge and Duncan.