Cleveland Sports Forum

Anthony Bennett is no longer the worst #1 pick in the history of the NBA.

I have to cut Bennett some slack. He was injured coming into the season, then came on to a team that was transitioning into Brown's system (including emphasis on defense). Bad combination.

OK, now the Washington Wizards are calling THAT their worst loss of the season. I don't have to tell you rusty how well Washington has been playing. Weird.

TFIR wrote:I have to cut Bennett some slack. He was injured coming into the season, then came on to a team that was transitioning into Brown's system (including emphasis on defense). Bad combination.

OK, now the Washington Wizards are calling THAT their worst loss of the season. I don't have to tell you rusty how well Washington has been playing. Weird.

I think Bennett is going to be good and he was injured for much of the offseason but that doesnt account for the fact that he put on a flat tire between his last college game and the start of training camp. That is on him

I'd be shopping Deng, AV and Thompson hard for the next 2 wks...

I think Bennett is going to be good and he was injured for much of the offseason but that doesnt account for the fact that he put on a flat tire between his last college game and the start of training camp. That is on him

Agreed.

Hey, but whenever you feel that your team has made the worst move ever, it would be hard to top this one:

It’s more likely that the Pistons move players with expiring deals (Rodney Stuckey, Charlie Villanueva or Jonas Jerebko, for instance) than for them to part with Greg Monroe before the deadline.

OK, the free agent signing of Charlie V. has to be one of the all time stupidest signings of any franchise. Especially in a league with a cap. This guy ate up tons of cap space while sitting at the end of the bench.

fkreutz wrote:I'd be shopping Deng, AV and Thompson hard for the next 2 wks...

I would give away a protected pick to dump Jack and his salary figure.

fkreutz wrote:I'd be shopping Deng, AV and Thompson hard for the next 2 wks...

Anything is possible, but those are 3 of the only guys that actually hustle and try every night.

I would try to trade Deng for Asik and parts.

Waiters or Thompson for Ben McLemore.

Thompson or Waiters for Harrison Barnes. (Kyrie's best friend )

Thompson or Waiters for MKG. (Kyrie's HS teammate )

I would keep Andy.

rusty2 wrote:

fkreutz wrote:I'd be shopping Deng, AV and Thompson hard for the next 2 wks...

Anything is possible, but those are 3 of the only guys that actually hustle and try every night.

I would try to trade Deng for Asik and parts.

Waiters or Thompson for Ben McLemore.

Thompson or Waiters for Harrison Barnes. (Kyrie's best friend )

Thompson or Waiters for MKG. (Kyrie's HS teammate )

I would keep Andy.

I guess the 2 of us agreeing didnt last too long. Barnes Mclemore and MKG all stink. MKG's PER is in the !0 range. Bennett's PER is getting close to Mclemore. Barnes has been in an extended slump and is on where near the athlete that Waiters is. I dont want to trade any of the core except maybe TT. For sure I would trade Jack or Deng. AV needs to be traded while he still has value.

I can understand that. Cavs need someone that can shoot the ball.

Andy is the 2nd best player on the team and it is not even close. You can not replace him.

Don't give up on Anthony Bennett
Originally Published: February 7, 2014
By David Thorpe | ESPN Insider

"Bust." "Fat." "Tweener." "Not ready." These words have all been used to describe the top pick in the 2013 NBA draft. And with good reason -- he has been all of those things this season.

But those labels are likely only applicable for the short term. Because Bennett stands in a long line of young players who appeared to be short of the talent that the hype machine bestowed on them but eventually succeeded -- many of whom became All-Stars.

Remember when Dirk Nowitzki was too soft to be an elite player and his lack of a post game would keep Dallas from ever winning a title? Or when Steph Curry was just a shooter who could never be a point guard in this league? Or when Joakim Noah didn't have a game that could work in the pros?

Even LeBron James, the world's best player and now a two-time champ, had to break through one obstacle after another before truly claiming his throne.

If Bennett does not get distracted by failure and instead uses it as motivation to get better, he too has the potential to one day hear his name announced to the whole world at the beginning of an All-Star Game. While it's true that none of those players I mentioned were No. 1 picks (except LeBron) or as bad as Bennett was to start his rookie season, their breakthroughs are emblematic of what happens when off-court commentary is short-sighted. Young guys almost always get better as they mature as men and basketball players.

The key for Bennett is to have a plan, then start building a foundation one process at a time, with the help of his franchise.

Goal No. 1: Get in great shape
Starting right now, Bennett can significantly transform his body by the end of the season. Then he can use that as a springboard to get even slimmer in the offseason. It looks as though he can lose 30-60 pounds in the next six months, and that new body would unlock an incredible set of talents. From Udonis Haslem to Kevin Love and all sorts of players in between, there have been many forwards who looked completely different in college than during most of their NBA careers.

The best part for Bennett is that he has the type of body that should continue to exhibit power and force despite a significant loss of weight. The impact that new physique would have in the rebounding and transition game alone would be huge combined with his soft hands and quick feet. Being able to play faster and in longer stretches of faster play would help him impact the game without any other improved skill.

One of the basic NBA principles in rebounding is "the first man to the ball wins" because of the overall strength of the men playing this sport. It is not the same at any other level of play, though, where the first person to the ball can often be overpowered by a stronger player. So a sleeker (and still strong) version of Bennett can arrive at the ball faster and allow his long arms and soft hands to do the rest.

A Bennett who can race the length of the floor possession after possession would be a handful to defend, as well. Post defense is at its weakest in transition, and Bennett's build -- those massive shoulders especially -- could provide real problems for defenders who don't have help when they deny him the post. Men his size, after getting an interior pass in transition, often can simply turn and score at the rim, or use a fake to draw a foul and sometimes still get the basket.

According to Synergy Sports, Bennett has just 34 points in transition and on offensive putbacks combined. By comparison, Blake Griffin, likely the fastest and most powerful power forward in the game, has 308 points on those plays. Bennett might not ever be as fast and powerful as Griffin, but trying to get to that level will benefit him greatly even if he falls short.

Goal No. 2: Play athletically and energetically
This goes hand in hand with the first goal, naturally, but it needs to be said that just losing weight and increasing endurance is not a guarantee that Bennett will "out-athlete" anyone. Mentally, he has to get there, as well. Players who were once large or heavy (or both) have to learn how to use their new body just like someone who develops a new post move needs to learn how and when to try it. Once Bennett is physically capable of running faster, jumping higher and playing harder for longer stretches, he will still play as if he does not have those new tools on many possessions.

Studying game tape and identifying those missed chances at playmaking, due to inactivity, can help him avoid making those mistakes in the future. He'll also learn that the same balls he could not get to when he was heavier are now in play. Players who go after loose balls (which includes nearly every rebound in a game) time and again will get their fair share, both on the ground or in the air. The goal is to turn 20-80 balls into 50-50 ones, and 50-50 balls into 80-20 ones

Bennett looks as though he can be an explosive athlete once he transforms his body. Learning to finish explosively takes time, as well, but it pays huge rewards. He has finished less than 43 percent of his shots at the rim this season, a number that can't help but improve immensely if he could utilize a newfound athleticism at the rim.

Goal No. 3: Embrace the paint first
Watching Bennett shoot the ball during pregame warm-ups reveals one clear truth -- he has a chance to be a special shooter. He has very nice form, uses good arc and has a soft touch overall. Cleveland, as a franchise, has every reason to believe he will be a serious perimeter threat with 3-point range. But that does not mean he should be camped out behind the 3-point line for much of the game. It's one thing for a young guard who lacks driving skills to stick to the 3-point line, it's another thing for a huge power forward to do so.

Kevin Love, now considered the best shooter/rebounder in the league (and in NBA history), took all of 19 3s his rookie season. Bennett has already attempted 37 3-pointers and 80 shots total from beyond 15 feet, while taking just 69 shots inside of 15 feet (56 shots at the rim). That is the biggest reason why he has only 44 free throw attempts.

To build himself into the most potent offensive force possible, Bennett would be wise to begin and end most possessions inside. He has the size and skill to be more of a factor there, and with a new body, he'd be even more effective. Demanding space next to the rim and commanding the area around him with his arms and body would put defenses at a disadvantage. Defenders at a disadvantage, it should be noted, frequently foul. It's a mental error -- and a coaching error -- for Bennett to float so often to the outside.

Once Bennett can become a scoring and offensive rebounding machine inside, he'll demand so much attention from defenses that moving to the perimeter will be a natural extension to his game. While only being able to dominate the paint can be rewarding, as we see from Griffin, Bennett's natural shooting talent suggests he can be more like Love. Just being a perimeter threat, though, makes him more like Love's teammate Dante Cunningham, who is a nice role player -- but that isn't what the Cavs want or need from their top pick.

A slimmer, faster, bouncier Bennett who races to the rim possession after possession, pounding defenders with his body and using his long arms and good hands to make interior catches, can be a devastating force. Living in the paint will produce far more offensive rebounds, as well, a part of the game Bennett projects to be dominant in if he does as he should.

A new Bennett
Players as talented as Bennett, such as Lamar Odom and Rasheed Wallace, can get lost in their variety of skills. The best NBA players, though, become elite at one thing, then add to their game year by year or month by month. For Bennett, though, it's his day-by-day development that can spell success this season:

Making wise eating choices. Getting extra cardio work in on off days. Studying game film to see where he can make more rim runs or be more explosive. And choosing to make an impact in the paint each night while not even trying to be a perimeter player.

If he focuses on those kinds of small details each day, it will help him become more of a factor in games. He had a small dose of success recently and should see increased playing time as the Cavs likely fall out of the playoff picture and prepare for the draft. Bennett should be encouraged to make progress daily, rather than hope to suddenly wake up as a great player. Forget about any rookie awards at season's end; Bennett needs to work toward just being a solid rotation guy now.

If he can finish the season strong, he'll have something to build on this offseason, when he'll have months to prepare for his first summer league (he missed the one last July because of injury). And that is where the new Bennett can make his debut.

A new Bennett can be a terrific player who impacts the game all over the court, one who can be a top player on a good team. To get there, though, will require a level of dedication and work we have yet to see from Bennett. It is a mistake to wonder whether or not he can get there, but it remains fair to ask if he will get there. Only a Bennett fully invested in outworking people can make that question go away.

In Defense of Dion Waiters
Posted on February 8, 2014 by keepitcavalier

By KeepItCavalier

Around the league, and even within Cavaliers circles, there seems to be an image of Dion Waiters– the incorrigible, selfish gunner– that, while based on bad tendencies, is completely overblown.6685494

It all started when Waiters got picked 4th overall in the draft, much to the chagrin of NBA fans. People have blasted his low shooting splits, basketball IQ, draft position, ball-dominant style, defense, and questionable fit with Kyrie Irving since day 1.

While he still falls asleep on defense, can hold the ball for too long, could raise his free throw percentage, and become a better off-ball player, he has made significant strides and doesn’t deserve nearly the amount of criticism he receives.

There also seems to be this idea that Waiters is the root of the Cavs’ problems. That somehow trading Waiters will solve the dearth of talent on the team. Or getting rid of him will add adequate basketball tactics to Mike Brown’s mind.

I love Waiters’ game, and because of that I took it upon myself to debunk the Dion-hate that runs rampant around the NBA blogosphere.

The most popular Waiters criticism is the idea that he’s an unconscionable gunner who just launches errant 20-footers.

While he shoots a good deal of mid-range jumpers, he’s actually pretty decent at it.

Last season Waiters shot 40.1% from mid-range– ranking 44th among the 88 guards who shot 100 times from that distance. This season, he’s raised that mark to 43.1%.

The most impressive improvement has been Waiters’ three-point shooting, which has jumped from 31% to 36.6%– essentially a jump from “leave that guy alone” to “need to get a hand in his face”.

These aren’t flukey numbers. Waiters has become a better shooter by correcting his form, and controlling his body better on shot attempts. Last season he would fade, and it often looked like his legs, torso, and arms were each trying to execute a different type of shot; this season, while his jumper can still improve, and needs to be more consistent, its been a much more fluid motion.

Of the 108 players who’ve played 20 or more games, attempting three catch-and-shoot attempts per game, Waiters is 29th with a 59.2 eFG%– 0.2% behind Klay Thompson.

His worst outside shooting stat is his pull-up jump shooting, where he ranks 58th of 84 players who’ve played 20 or more games and attempt three or more jump shots per game.

At age 22, he is a below-average pull-up shooter and an above average set-shooter. Once he commits himself to his shooting fundamentals he often abandons when he goes off-the-dribble, his jump shooting will sky-rocket as well. There is nothing egregious about his shooting.

Player A: 38.7% eFG on jump shots; 59.5% eFG on catch-and-shoot

Player B: 37.8% eFG on jump shots; 56.4% eFG on catch-and-shoot

Player A is Waiters; Player B is Bradley Beal. As a shooter, Waiters has been unequivocally better than Beal this season. Not so bad for a second-year pro.

As far as “long, errant 2s” go, I think he’s doing pretty well for himself. Right now, he’s ranked 7th of 34 guards who have attempted 100 shots between 16-24 feet in shooting percentage at 45.5%– one spot above Tony Parker. Hate on long 2s all you want, hate on him taking long 2s, but just understand he is really good at long 2s.

The difference between Waiters and the average guard is Waiters’ free throw shooting (67.6%, down from 74.6% last season) and finishing ability (35.4% on drives; 46% in restricted area; 23% on other paint attempts).

While his long-2s still garner most of the hate, his poor shooting percentage at the rim has killed his field goal percentage and opened up his driving game to a great deal of hate, too.

Waiters is 14th in drives per game this season, at 7.4. He’s third (or fourth, depending on how you view the Eric Bledsoe/Goran Dragic duo) amongst all shooting guards.

His 35.4% shooting on drives ties him with Luol Deng (WTF?!?!? Not even getting into this…) at 107th of 117 players who have driven at least 90 times this season, and logged at least 25 games.

Even worse, his shooting percentage in the restricted area has gone down from 50.9% to 46% since last season.

This is where our analyzation of his game usually stops, which results in a lazy interpretation of Neon Dion.

The Cavaliers’ front court has managed to dodge blame for Waiters’ poor percentage, and high turnover rate. Justice needs to be served.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s going on in their front court:

Tristan Thompson can’t shoot. His change to the right hand was great. The fact he has something more than a push-shot, he is hitting his free throws at a higher clip, and his growing comfort with his awkward jumper are all huge pluses. Still, he’s far from average, and I think his smile and work-ethic somehow convinced people he’s a good shooter.

For one, people don’t guard him on mid-range shots. Secondly, he’s not a good mid-range shooter. That’s really all there is to say.

His front court mate, Anderson Varejao, has been lights out from mid-range (45.3%– tops among centers who’ve attempted 75 mid-range jumpers). Despite that, he is still visibly reluctant to let it fly, and teams don’t respect his jumper the same way they would a jumper coming from David West, someone shooting slightly worse than Varejao from mid-range. Some of this has to do with Varejao’s limited range, some of it is lack of fluidity, some of it is his track-record, and some of it is his own visible insecurity about his shot.

The two-headed monster of Earl Clark and Alonzo Gee were no help at small forward. While Luol Deng is an upgrade over those two, he’s still a sub-par shooter.

Obviously Bynum did not help as a shooter; Zeller is solid, but his shooting ability hasn’t commanded respect because in the short minutes he’s logged, he hasn’t aggressively pursued his opportunities– often times he won’t even look at the basket when he’s uncovered from 17 feet.

(Anthony Bennett… I will not speak on him. He’s been doing well recently! Progress!)

The closest thing the Cavs have had to a front court player who can legitimately stretch the floor was Clark when he got hot for a couple weeks in December. For a while he was sitting at +40% from deep, and that helped ignite the bench. Mike Brown, being the rotation virtuoso we all love, moved him to starting small forward, and it all turned to ashes. Clark’s 34.8% from three and 37.4% overall shooting from the field is all that remain from the golden age of the Cavaliers post-LeBron era.

The Cavaliers have the worst front court shooting of any team in the NBA, period.

Because they are the Cavaliers, that’s not the only reason their front court has provided the worst spacing of any team in the NBA.

There is a good amount of dangerous front court players who can’t shoot, but make up for their deficiencies as a shooter with ball-handling, passing, post-play, athleticism, and/or basic court-vision. Blake Griffin and Josh Smith (when he’s aggressive, and playing like the Smith we love) are great examples of mediocre (Smith’s case atrocious) outside shooter who can create space for teammates by penetrating, drawing double-teams in the post, and pushing the ball in transition– not many defenses can successfully contain the opposing 4-man going coast-to-coast without being forced into an ugly mismatch.

(It should also be noted that non-shooters typically, and ideally, play next to guys who can shoot.)

Thompson, Clark, Bennett, Gee, Zeller, and Bynum have not exhibited any talent to leverage poor shooting. Deng has even seemed a bit confounded by the lack of fluidity and spacing, which has yielded meh results.

Varejao is really good at creating off the bounce, and seeing the floor. But he’s the only front court player whose overall output has consistently augmented the success of other players on the floor. Because of that, Varejao and Waiters have actually formed a very formidable duo– posting a whopping (by Cavs standards) 3.6 net rating. Varejao compliments everyone, but his two-man game with Waiters is one of the few things this team produces that can be fun to watch.

This is the same spacing, by the way, that contributed to Bynum, who was almost headed to China, basically saying “screw making $6.5 million and being able to showcase my talent for the rest of the year, I can’t take this shit anymore”, going rogue, and razing his relationship with the team in a few short months.

These are the players who are supposed to supplement Waiters’ talents!

To highlight how bad these front court guys have been, this team’s best front court player for chemistry purposes since Kyrie joining the team, other than Varejao, has been Luke Walton. Waiters, Kyrie, everyone was significantly better with him on the floor playing power forward, simply because he knew what he was doing. HE’S LUKE WALTON! HE’S NOT EVEN IN THE LEAGUE! HE WAS PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR HIS COACHING CAREER DURING THE LOCKOUT BECAUSE HE WAS SO BAD! YET, HE LOOKED LIKE A GOD-SEND COMPARED TO THOMPSON! THAT’S HOW POORLY CLARK, THOMPSON, BYNUM, AND GEE FIT WITH THIS TEAM’S STRENGHTS!

Excuse me, got kinda carried away there.

Of the top-50 players in drives per game (Waiters ranks 14th), he is 37th in field goal attempts inside of 8-feet per game. This is indicative of three things: 1. he’s not forcing shots in the paint; 2. he’s cognizant of his poor shooting; 3. he’s passing the ball when he gets into the lane way more than the average shooting guard.

Eleven of the thirteen players behind him in the stat I just mentioned– Jameer Nelson, Mario Chalmers, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, Raymond Felton, Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul, D.J. Augustin, Jordan Crawford, Will Bynum, Trey Burke, Deron Williams, Paul Pierce– are pass-first point guards. That’s the type of penetrator he’s been this season– a poor finisher who has become reluctant to finish the majority of his drives.

The problem for Waiters is as much his questionable decision-making as it is him playing with the worst crop of big man finishers in the league.

Thompson’s 51.4% shooting in the restricted area ranks 55th of 56 forwards with 80+ attempts from there on the season; Anderson Varejao ranks 21st of 24 centers who’ve attempted 80+ in the restricted area, with a conversion rate of 54.9%.

Basically, when Waiters drives, gets into the teeth of the defense, and makes the adjustment to pass instead of taking a low-percentage attempt, his dump-off options are the worst in the NBA.

His kick-out options have been pretty awful as well, for the most part.

Kyrie has been awful off the catch, shooting 30.3% from three– worse than Kawhi Leonard, slightly better than Draymond Green; Deng’s at 28.6%; there is no point in even mentioning Clark, Bennett, and Gee here.

The only reliable set-shooters surrounding him have been C.J. Miles, Jarrett Jack, and Matthew Dellavedova. The problem with Jack is he takes the ball out of Waiters’ hands, and given the way he plays, it’s obvious he laments playing off-ball.

Since Dellavedova seldom plays at all, especially in lineups with Waiters and without Jack, Miles has been the lone guy consistently camping out on the perimeter, allowing Waiters do what he does best. But more on this guard fiasco later…

(MAYBE THIS IS WHY KYRIE AND WAITERS TAKE A LOT OF JUMP SHOTS! MAYBE! NOT THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE WORLD, BUT IT COULD PLAY A SMALL ROLE!)

There are things Waiters could do to improve his conversion rate in the paint, and become an overall more efficient driver. The biggest, and simplest improvement would be strengthening his left-hand finishing. The more advanced improvements would be starting to use more jump stops and pump fakes, and adding a good floater (his current one is pretty awful). He would also benefit from probing. These are some things Ty Lawson and other guards operating in compromised space do to thwart their team’s shortcomings. These things come with time, though. That’s why it’s ludicrous to blame Waiters for not possessing these qualities. He turned 22-years old two months ago!

Maybe, instead of blaming him for not having the artifice of a veteran who has been navigating seas of intelligent defenses for years under tutelage of top-notch coaches and veterans, we should take a gander at his surroundings.

Any player, especially one in his second year, is generally as good as his context allows him to be. In this context, from a pure talent standpoint, there is no wonder why Waiters is struggling.

Eric Bledsoe is a guy who was in a situation much like Waiters’ last season. Just by getting out of Vinny Del Negro’s hideous, crunched offense, and moving to an up-tempo, outside shooting team, Bledsoe improved his shooting <8ft by 11% in one season. That’s not to undermine any hard work Bledsoe did over summer to improve his game, but that big of a statistical jump is at least partially due to the change in strategy and personnel.

It’s very possible Waiters saw his shooting percentage decrease by virtue of losing Walton and, as much as it pains me to say this… *sigh* Byron Scott. Kyrie has experienced a similar drop-off in paint efficiency from year-to year: 55.9% in 11-12; 52.5% in 12-13; and 51.9% this season. His overall shooting percentages have dropped, too (46.9 to 45.2, 42.6). This is in all likelihood a result of supplanting Thompson for Antawn Jamison, and Brown for Scott.

Since his name is in my mouth, it’s about time I factor in the inscrutable Mike Brown who adds his own unique elements to drag Waiters down on a team, that in the eyes of a penetrator, looks like the result of a nefarious underground drag racing league in Atlanta during winter.

I mentioned two reliable set-shooters– Miles and Dellavedova– who are willing to play off of Waiters. Those are his ideal wing mates. Two guys who don’t need the ball in their hands to be effective, who can spread the floor for him, and knock down open shots on kick-out opportunities.

In the time Waiters has spent on the court with Dellavedova, the team has a +7.7 net rating; in the time Waiters spends with Miles, the team has a +6.6 net rating; when all three share the floor, the team has a +33.6 net rating.

The problem is Coach Brown has played those lineups for 321, 203, and 58 minutes respectively.

The aggregate total of those lineups still falls 89 minutes short of the amount of time the Waiters-Jack pairing has played this season. A lineup that has recorded a -3.9 net rating, and is only so high because of the times Waiters says “screw you” to Jack, takes the decision-making duties over, and forces Jack to play off of him.

The point is, although the Cavs don’t have many guys to augment Waiters’ abilities, they still exist. They just don’t play. The fact that Jack plays over them confounds me to this day, but that’s Brown logic.

His inability to structure a rotation, design sets, and control a locker room has lead to the idea that’s now synonymous with the Cavaliers– that Irving and Waiters can’t play together.

Irving and Waiters

There exists this idea that Irving and Waiters will never be able to work together because they are both ball-dominant players.

While there is typically a struggle for both of them to gain a rhythm playing next to each other, this chemistry problem has been completely overblown.

I would like to tell you a love story about two guys who met in Phoenix. One is named Dragic, the other Bledsoe. People didn’t know how they would mesh; both are ball-dominant, slashing point guards! It’ll never work! But with a touch of Disney magic by Phoenix coaching, the pairing is taking the league by storm.

First, the Suns did staggered their minutes– allowing each player to command his own units for nice chunks of the game.

The second thing they did was implement a run-n-gun system, and filled the roster with players who fit a full court style of play. This allowed Dragic and Bledsoe, two open court, slashing players, to not spend too much time in typical half court settings that would force one of them to act as more of a traditional shooting guard. This is also the easiest way to get easy looks for guys who are fantastic in transition, with a full head of steam, attacking the basket.

The third thing they did was ensure 4/5 players on the court could shoot the ball! Slashers need space! The Suns gave each of them breathing room so they could comfortably do what they do best.

Right now, the Cavs are staggering minutes, and that’s it.

Staggering their minutes was the first step in learning how to use both of these players on the same team. You can look at that as “they can’t play together, and the longer they are on their own, the better” or you can see it as a team keeping one legitimate playmaker on the court at all times. The Bulls did it with Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan; the Heat do it with Wade and LeBron; the Warriors get grilled for not doing it with Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry; the Suns do it with Dragic and Bledsoe. The list goes on.

Allowing each player to get hot, handle the ball, and be the guy with respective units is not only a great way to get each player into a rhythm, it’s also proven to be the smartest way to win games for a team with multiple ball-dominant playmakers. It’s been done before. It’s probably going to be done again.

The Cavs absolutely struck out when it comes to pushing the tempo. The dearth outside shooting, and lack of floor spacing of any kind surrounding the two has hurt their on-court production tremendously.

These are two simple changes that would improve their chemistry immediately, and they have nothing to do with either player.

If Kyrie ever raises his catch-and-shoot efficiency out of the gutter, this duo could be lethal. Since he is 21-years old, and an extremely talented shooter, my money is on him learning how to shoot with time to get his feet set. Right now, Waiters has proven to do that better than most players in this league. If Kyrie can reciprocate, Chris Grant’s dream might become a reality.

The funniest part about all of this is this duo, as flawed as this situation is, is that it has actually proven to be good recently, contrary to popular belief.

Since the Bynum departure, the Cavaliers are a net -7.2; Kyrie-Waiters lineups are a net -3.9 in 269 minutes together over the same span of time. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been better with Kyrie and Dion on the floor. Yes, as in they are a more productive team when Kyrie and Waiters share the floor.

There is certainly a correlation in their on-court chemistry to the rise in time spent with Varejao, the offensive focus panning away from force-feeds to the post, the general improvement Kyrie made after his early season slump, and Dion’s improvements as a shooter.

An even better statistic: the team has posted a +12.7(!!!) net rating in the 67 minutes Kyrie-Waiters-Miles have shared the floor; the 4-man group of Kyrie-Waiters-Miles-Varejao has posted a +34.3 net rating in 48 minutes! These are the optimal lineups that feature a legitimate, set-shooting, non ball-dominant wing, and heady big man to compliment Irving and Waiters! And they have been wildly successful! I understand this a very small sample size, but this has to give Cavs fans hope; it works logically, and has worked on paper.

But back to strictly Waiters and Kyrie. These guys have actually managed to play really well together, especially on the offensive end– where everyone rips them. They have mustered a 105.6 offensive rating in those 269 minutes, which would make them the ninth most efficient offense in the league. Unfortunately, they have surrendered a 109.5 defensive rating– well below the worst defense in the league.

Defensively, they both have a long way to go. They have both improved, however, and it’s not strange for young guards to struggle on that end of the floor. It certainly doesn’t help the two when nobody on the team plays transition defense, Waiters logs minutes at small forward, Jack plays, and the best rim-protector on the team is mediocre at best.

The two players still have a lot of kinks to work out together. By no means are they flawless little offensive angels, but doling the brunt of current Cavs pessimism, and pessimism about this team’s future, on the duo’s chemistry issues is a bit inane.

If you think their recent success has been flukey, you still have to expect them to build some sort of potential together, right? They are 22, and 21-years old respectively!… Forced to play under Mike Brown (for the next x-many games)!

Still, the hate lives on. There are still people who think the Cavs blew the fourth pick in the draft by selecting Waiters.

If you eliminate Drummond, who nobody was touching in the top-5 because of the variety of red flags surrounding him during the pre-draft process, Waiters was clearly the best player they could have chosen.

Lillard has been the most impactful, but there is no world where the Cavs draft him and play him behind Kyrie, given the holes on that roster coming into the draft.

Who should they have drafted over Waiters? Harrison Barnes? Terrence Ross? Thomas Robinson? Austin Rivers? Any argument suggesting the Cavs should have taken a different player with this pick, other than Drummond, is completely vacuous. In a re-draft, the latest Waiters goes is number five. He’s proven to have, without a doubt, the best combination of talent and potential of any player chosen in the draft not named Beal (I personally think Waiters is better, but understand and respect the case for Beal), Drummond, Lillard (there is an argument that Waiters has more potential), and Anthony Davis.

Yet, to quote Jim Lahey, because Waiters was a surprise pick, and is caught in the perfect shit storm in shitville, all of his struggles and deficiencies are magnified.

He has plenty of things to clean up. His ability to finish, while not aided by his surroundings, needs to improve; he can get better as a shooter; he’s turnover-prone; his body language is poor; the ball sticks in his hands too much; and he needs to get better, and become consistent defensively off the ball (his on-ball defense still needs to improve, but isn’t nearly as bad).

The guy is 22-years old in his second season, playing for the most dysfunctional franchise in the league, and he makes his team better whenever he steps on the court. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing about him. That seems to get lost amongst the fervent, league-wide criticism of his game.

Maybe we should take a second before we write his narrative.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com.

Cavs' new man Griffin preaches love of game
Sam Amico

FOX Sports Ohio

FEB 09, 2014 9:04p ET


CLEVELAND -- David Griffin wants the Cavaliers to be happy, but that doesn't mean the acting general manager thinks the NBA is all rainbows and unicorns.

Griffin has already delivered a stern message to the underachieving team, according to several insiders.

"I wouldn't want to share what I told them," Griffin said at an introductory press conference prior to the Cavs' 91-83 overtime victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Griffin basically told the players they're either all in, or they're out -- that there's no middle ground. And who could blame the man? The Cavs' inconsistent and maddening play resulted in the firing of former GM Chris Grant last week. And Griffin knows, if the Cavs (18-33) don't get things turned around quickly, he could be the next to go.


"If I'm going to be successful in this position, it's because we as a group have results," Griffin said.

"And if we have those results, then you tend to get to stay. If you don't, you go away. That's the nature of this beast. Dan (Gilbert) doesn't need to say anything to me. We need to produce."

That's basically Griffin's message. It's that simple. The Cavs need to produce.

We've said that all along, but maybe Griffin can actually do something about it.

It's true that as acting GM, Griffin won't be donning a uniform and bringing the ball up the floor. He won't be imploring the Cavs to bend their knees, shuffle their feet and defend during games. He probably won't say much of anything at all. He doesn't have to.

His task will be to implement a strong culture that Grant, try as he might, was unable to build.

Lately, the Cavs have gone in the other direction. When it comes to professional basketball and togetherness, the Cavs have sort of acted as the counter-culture.

Griffin understands his task is to change all that. He wants to end the nonsense and shape something closer to what was expected. The Cavs were expected to be a mostly young, mostly up-and-coming bunch that gave fans, at the very least, reasons for hope.

"It's time to move on," Griffin said. "It's time to capitalize on all of the benefits we have and, more than anything else, I think it's time to really bring this to a place where everybody wants to be ... where we believe in each other enough and trust each other enough to tell each other what they need to hear and to do it on the court."

Again, those in team circles have said Griffin has accomplished the first part. He has told Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Luol Deng and the rest what they need to hear. The rest is up to coach Mike Brown and the players.

Griffin is in his fourth season with the Cavs, taking the spot of assistant GM when Grant was promoted to Danny Ferry's spot in 2010. But Griffin isn't a Grant clone. Just because you work for somebody, it doesn't mean you think exactly the way they do.

Griffin respected Grant. But this is Griffin's show now. He'll tackle it with his own slant.

Prior to coming to the Cavs, he worked in basketball operations with the Phoenix Suns since 1997.

"I've been part of a lot of success," Griffin said. "Some of it was because of me and some of it was despite me. But I think I have some real value in the area of personnel, I think I have real value in the area of leadership more than anything else."

Basically, Griffin's career has been molded by more than Grant. He's developed his own philosophy of how to manage things based on his own experiences.

He said a number of things that Cavs fans want to hear, including the idea that if the Cavs are to be involved at the trading deadline, they will be "buyers," as opposed to giving away existing talent.

"I don't see how you get better and win more games selling," Griffin said. "We are dedicated to getting better."

But Griffin says he's confident the Cavs, as currently constructed, can work. He probably only has 30ish games to prove that -- but based on his attempts to influence things already, he appears as if he's off to a commanding start.

"We don't have to look cool," Griffin said. "We have to look like we're in love with this. That's what I want us to be.

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Two games into new era, Cavaliers suddenly looking capable
Sam Amico

FOX Sports Ohio

FEB 09, 2014 10:17p



CLEVELAND -- Random stuff following the Cavaliers' 91-83 overtime win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday:

-- It may not seem like a resounding victory, and the Grizzlies may have been shorthanded without their starting backcourt of Mike Conley and Tony Allen. But as we all know by now, facing shorthanded opponents at The Q has meant little for the Cavs this season. Besides that, Memphis big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol can win games all by themselves, and no matter who's on the floor, coach Dave Joerger has the Griz always playing hard.

-- Not often do you have to make excuses for a team after a win, but hey, that's the Cavs (18-33) this year. Either way, the bottom line is they've won two in a row. After losing eight of nine (and six straight), that just feels good.

-- OK, let's go ahead and say what sounds like an indictment, but really is not: The Cavs are 2-0 since David Griffin replaced Chris Grant as general manager. But as Mike Brown has said repeatedly, the GM doesn't suit up or pace the sidelines or draw up plays. So neither Grant nor Griffin nor even owner Dan Gilbert impact what takes place on the floor during the action. All the GM can do is watch and pray for those 48 minutes like the rest of us.

-- Obviously, the GM molds the roster. He drafts the prospects, he pulls off the trades, he dives into free agency. If he fails to get the right mix, not even the wizardry of Harry Potter can save the Cavs. But as difficult as it can be to fire a dedicated guy such as Grant, something about a change in the front office can help a team. It's only been two games, but the Cavs seem to be a little more energetic, a little more mature, a little more united. Not a ton on any of those things, but a little.

-- I wrote a separate column about Griffin, which you can find here. So I'm not going into too much detail. Just know Griffin has already met with the team at least twice -- once last week, once during Sunday's shootaround before the game. His message last week was fairly clear, and it supposedly wasn't real charming. Again, it's two games, and neither has been perfect. But Griffin isn't looking for perfection. He wants effort, and based on his early tenure, he'll be doggoned if he doesn't get it.

-- Griffin on his expectations: "I want to see us remember this is a game. I want to see us remember that there's passion involved in this. We're not robots. Nobody is flawless. We've all made mistakes. I want guys to accept making one and then move on."

-- OK, now to the actual players. Kyrie Irving is starting in the All-Star game. You don't need me to tell you he can be great. But the last two games, he's been remarkable. Mostly, Irving and Dion Waiters have played as well together in the previous two games as any time during their nearly two seasons together. Irving even referred to Waiters as "a good friend."

-- Here's what Irving said: "Having one of your good friends out there, we can play off one another. He's got so much talent."

-- Kyrie scored 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Waiters struggled early, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-21. Of course, he also had a monster dunk in traffic that basically put the game away. In the win over the Wizards, Waiters scored a team-high 24. Irving finished with 23. Dion said it's important for the two of them to play off each other. Kyrie called them pals. Based on the past two games, you have no choice but to believe them.

-- Interestingly, according to Brown, the play on which Waiters dunked was actually drawn up for Irving. Waiters saw the opening, though, and made the play. "Dion's dunk toward the end of OT was huge," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "He recognized where he had an advantage and took it to the hole the right way."

-- All this talk about Griffin and Irving and Waiters is great, but we can't forget about Anderson Varejao. Goodness gracious, the man was huge. He only scored four points, but he grabbed 14 rebounds and did a defensive number on both Randolph and Gasol. "(Varejao) was the difference in the ball game tonight," Brown said.

-- So what's it all mean? Well, it means the Cavs haven't really proved anything yet. Other than, of course, they can win when they hustle. But we've known that all along. Can they do it consistently? We're about to find out. The best news is they had 33 games left after Grant got fired to try to make this work. It may not have anything to do with Grant, but they're 2-0 with 31 to go.

-- Finally, Waiters said some telling stuff on the meeting prior to the Cavs' win over the Wizards on Friday. He spoke about it after Sunday's game. "I think (the meeting) was great for us. Sad to say (Grant) lost his job, but I think it woke up a lot of people. Me, I felt half of that was my fault, how we played. We just didn't come out right as a unit. I think it cost the man his job. If we had been playing the way we have the last two games, he'd probably still be here. We can't dwell on the past, we've got to continue to play the way we've been playing and keep it up."

Follow on Twitter @SamAmicoFSO