Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1711Go Cavs!!
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1712High praise:
Kyrie Irving - G - Cavaliers
Kobe Bryant praised Kyrie Irving after his 35-point performance vs. the Lakers on Wednesday.
"He has a killer mentality," Bryant said. "He can shoot the long ball. His midrange game is excellent. And he can finish at the rim. So, he has all the tools there. It’s just a matter of continuing to work and get into rhythm where he can start doing that on a consistent basis."
Irving has finally found his stride, averaging 28.2 points, 6.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.4 3-pointers over his last five games.
Kyrie Irving - G - Cavaliers
Kobe Bryant praised Kyrie Irving after his 35-point performance vs. the Lakers on Wednesday.
"He has a killer mentality," Bryant said. "He can shoot the long ball. His midrange game is excellent. And he can finish at the rim. So, he has all the tools there. It’s just a matter of continuing to work and get into rhythm where he can start doing that on a consistent basis."
Irving has finally found his stride, averaging 28.2 points, 6.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.4 3-pointers over his last five games.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1714Civ, you should take that snark act out on the road. Kyrie has been injured giving effort.
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1715Cavaliers Gore the Bulls, Add Side of Frye
Posted By Chris Parker chris.parker@clevescene.com> on Fri, Feb 19, 2016 at 7:39 AM
The Cavaliers rolled over the struggling Bulls last night 106-95, much like Queen’s disco-inflected pop hit “Another One Bites the Dust.” It wasn’t a work of art, certainly not compared to what we know they’re capable of. There was something a tad perfunctory about it, while the relentless repetition of the chorus echoes the punishing grind of the NBA season.
Certainly the Cavs sometimes single-minded pass-light offensive approach has at times recalled the no-frills, ‘why-do-more-when-five-words-will-do’ choral ethos of the song’s author, bassist John Deacon. (We’ll give a secondary assist to the Jacksons, and Michael in particular, who met Queen backstage in L.A. and encouraged them to release the track as a single.)
Like the song – which was apparently inspired by a Chic track (“Good Times”) Deacon heard hanging out at their studio – the Cavaliers executed well enough to get the job done. There were moments of inspiration – a powerful slam by LeBron off a J.R. Smith feed, back-to-back Tristan Thompson steals and breakaway dunks – but the level of competition has to be considered as well.
We’re not saying the Bulls are as hopeless as same-year hits Olivia Newton-John’s “Magic,” or should be given the Old Yeller treatment like Captain & Tennille’s Viagra-ode “Do That To Me One More Time.” But absent the injured Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic, they’re not the same team that’s beaten the Cavaliers twice before.
Indeed, Chicago’s in a massive tailspin that seen them drop 13 of their last 18. During that time their defensive efficiency’s ballooned to 107.4 points, falling dramatically from what had been one of the league’s five best defensive teams with a defensive efficiency of 99.0 points. The Bulls offense has also regressed to one of the league’s five worst during this stretch (falling to 99.8 from 100.9).
So while it’s always nice to beat an Eastern Conference contender, it’s hard to be too impressed by what we witnessed. It was a good win, but there’s still ample cause for concern.
The Lue Effect
While Coach Tyronn Lue has made no bones about the need to play better defense, it remains a hit-or-miss prospect. There was more consistency, and after the game Lue complemented the team’s game-long physicality, which were both positives, but there were also lapses. After pushing out to a 17 second-quarter lead, the Bulls closed out the half on a 16-5 run.
This is of course just part of the process. Certainly in the first half the Cavaliers defended well, forcing seven turnovers that produced 13 points while only surrendering 3 points off five turnovers. But they also let the Bulls get 10 second chance points (to their eight).
The issue locking down the defensive boards has been a continuing feature of the Lue regime and it’s hard to Sherlock the culprit. The Bulls finished +4 (17-13) on second chance points, and only trailed 48-40 on points in the paint. The Bulls had 15 offensive boards to the Cavaliers 11.
Cleveland also trailed the Bulls in free throw attempts (22-17), seemingly a side-effect of the team’s love affair with the three. They finished the game 7-24 (29%) from three. The team’s taking 2.5 less free throws each game under Lue than Blatt.
This would seem like a bigger issue were the team not shooting better overall (47.5% to 45.2%) even as they they’ve lost a percentage point off their long distance shots (down to 35% from 36%). As we pointed out before the break, that’s probably due to the fact that the team’s getting more open or wide open shots.
Under Blatt the Cavaliers were getting 23.4 open (no defender for 4’-6’) and 16.1 wide-open shots (defender >6’ away) versus 27 and 18 since Lue took over. That’s 5.5 more open/wide-open shots each game.
That’s especially interesting because the team’s taking 5.1 more shots/game since Lue took over. Indeed, those extra shots would seem for much of the team’s 5.7 point improvement in offensive efficiency. (Now they just need to address the 5.2 additional points per 100 possessions they’re surrendering.)
What’s even a bit nuttier about it is that that Cavaliers are making 20 less passes per game than they did under Blatt (306.1 to 288.6), even with more overall possessions, yet are somehow getting more assists (23.5 to 22).
Not sure how you can argue anything other than that the Cavaliers offense is running much more efficiently, even if the ball movement is arguably worse. (Secondary assists have dropped to 5.7 from 6.2.)
It’s beginning to seem that allowing Irving and James to do their thing might hamper ball movement but still make the offense better (at least during the regular season).
The Game
The good news was that Pau Gasol’s superior size and strong post skills didn’t allow him to overpower Tristan Thompson when the Cavaliers undersized center was manned up on him. Gasol finished with 14 points and four assists, but was never truly a threat.
Too bad we can’t say the same about Derrick Rose who played one of his best games since his knee surgeries, going 11-19 including 6-7 at the rim and 2-3 from distance. He only had two assists because he was calling his own number so often, and at times Kyrie played him tough. Other times he reached foolishly and ineffectually, letting Rose go by as though wearing Acme Rocket Skates.
One of the noteworthy aspects of the game was how much LeBron handled the ball. This is part of what Lue talked about when he mentioned making Kyrie Irving an attacker with less responsibility to run offense. Instead that’s fallen to James who made good quick decisions with the ball all night. James had more touches (76) than anyone, and Love (62) actually had more than Irving (59) despite playing two less minutes.
While the Cavs did run some offense, many possessions revolved around pick-and-rolls by James and Irving designed to either get LeBron the ball in the post or open up the middle of the floor for him. James is particularly devastating splitting the lane, as the collapsing defense opens up shooters on both sides.
d_collaspses_on_james_leaving_love_open.png
In the above play, Kyrie pushes the Bulls get back and rather than force it, Irving pulls the ball out along the baseline as James finds an open space near the free throw line. As the Bulls collapse on him, James finds Love on the wing.
Other plays frequently involved James on the left block. On one occasion, while the Bull’s attention is on the ball-side, J.R. Smith sets a backside pick on Love’s man, allowing him to flare into the corner wide-open.
cavs_take_advantage_of_bulls_weakside_for_love_3.png
James is so deadly in the post, he needs to be double or at least shadowed as Gasol attempts to do by cheating into the lane. LeBron naturally spots this and whips a pass to the wide open Love for a corner three.
james_finds_love_in_corner_from_post.png
This will be the team’s bread-and-butter come playoff time; they couldn’t fully unlock it last year because of the personnel and the need for James to score, not just facilitate, which as we all remember, deeply impacted his offensive efficiency. For optimal effect, James really needs to have offensive threats all around him to take full advantage of his passing skills should teams attempt to double him.
We noted increasing interaction of this James-Irving-Love triad, and see that as being essential for a high-functioning Cavaliers offense. Last night the ball movement was there at times, and while the team only had 21 assists on 42 buckets they did have 9 secondary assists, which is a positive sign.
Large & In-Charge
It was a good day for all the Cavaliers big men that weren’t traded. Russian bear-tamer Timofey “Siegfried” Mozgov expressed his enthusiasm by scoring double digits for just the eleventh time all season (but fifth time in the last month). He tied a season high with four blocks, had four offensive boards (fourth time in 36 days), and didn’t commit a single turnover.
Nobody wants to get too far ahead of themselves but Mozzy seems to be getting closer to where he was last year and further away from what he’s been most of the year (see, disappointing). The fact that things have really only begun to turn in the last 30-45 days seems to support the idea that Mozgov’s finally rounding into form.
Mozzy’s shooting over 60% since January and has committed only 12 turnovers the last 23 games, after committing 32 the first 27 games of the season. Indeed he’s only committed one turnover in seven February games, which maybe only seems like some personal record.
Mozgov played 26 minutes last night, even joining Tristan Thompson on the floor for stretches without mishap (one of team’s worst defensive pairings this year allowing 109.7 points per 100 possessions). It was the most minutes Mozgov has played since mid-November. It’s seems like his fall-off in play was physically-related because you can track his fairly steady upward progress.
Timo seems to be winning Coach Lue’s confidence, and with Anderson Varejao on a flight out-of-town, there seems a good chance Mozgov’s minutes might stabilize in this 25 minutes/night range.
We’re hoping his improvement will allow Timo to play with Tristan, which during last year’s playoffs was very effective defensive pairing (97.7 vs 102.2 during regular season). That’s largely because Thompson steady play also seems to be on an incline.
As we noted a couple weeks ago, Thompson’s rebounding rates are worse as a starter than off the bench, almost assuredly from him wearing down from extra minutes given his poor fourth quarters since assuming the new role. Other skills, from shooting percentage to blocks and assists, are up even accounting for the greater minutes.
More than that, he has looked much more at home out there and less frequently out of position. Last night Thompson tied a season high with 8 buckets, had 3 steals (he’s only had as many as two once this year) and two blocked shots. His scoring was more incidental to his running the floor, though he did take back-to-back steals the length of the floor for scores.
Thompson and Mozgov’s play is even more encouraging as it occurred against one of the best frontlines (Gibson/Gasol/Portis) in the league, even missing Mirotic and Noah.
LeBron, Facilitator
We’ve mentioned before that under Lue, James has become the team’s de facto point guard. In those 12 games James has racked up 96 assists (eight/game), while only making 28 turnovers (2.3/game), a terrific 3.5 assist/turnover ratio.
It would appear that Lue’s harping on him is having a positive effect on Irving as well. His assists have gone up from 3.9 game under Blatt (James was at 6.2) to 5.2. Both Kyrie and LeBron have also seen their assist-to-pass percentage increase from 12.1 and 17, respectively, to 13.4 and 18.3.
It’s all a reminder of how much of the game is about slow progress, much like life. A person’s personality will no sooner change overnight than a team’s character, but both with continual attention can turn the boat around.
Between the increased passing, better play by their bigs and the increasing number of open shots, we feel the team is beginning to make strides. They’re probably closer to half-steps at just this moment, but they’re all moving in the same direction, and that’s a big positive.
Goodbye to the Wild Thing
We don’t blame anyone that’s disappointed the Cavaliers traded Anderson Varejao, Jared Cunningham, and a protected 2018 first round draft pick for 6-11 Channing Frye. The prototypical stretch four, Frye’s a 32-year old, nine-year vet out of Arizona. He’s a career 39% shooter from three and he’s shooting 40% on the year. Frye gives the Cavaliers another big who can stretch the floor besides Kevin Love.
This was sort of the issue with Varejao. While he still could hit the midrange jumper (47% from 10’-16’) he was shooting a career low of 42% from the field including just 54% at the rim and 29% from 3’-10’.
Those are No Country For Old Men kind of stats. According to defensive plus/minus he wasn’t doing too badly (+1.9), but his defensive FG% is +3.6, including +9.6% inside 10’. (He was -3.2% versus threes.) He was allowing a scary 57.4% at the rim.
By comparison, Channing Frye is a greater threat on both sides of the ball. Aside from his three-point shooting, Frye’s proven himself a savvy defender. He’s only allowing +0.8% on defensive FG%, and he’s -2.8% inside of 6’. Those are very close to his numbers from two years ago, so they seem pretty consistent. He only allowed 48% FG at the rim, better than anyone on Orlando but Aaron Gordon.
That ability inside is why some have suggested that Frye could play the “5” with Kevin Love. Though he’s obviously a lot better suited to the task than Love, it still seems like a “stretch.” Frye’s not that beefy. However, according to Basketball-Reference.com, Frye’s spent just over half his time at the center position. That brings the Cavaliers the kind of flexibility they’ll need to beat a team like the Golden State Warriors.
We’ll miss the energy and spirit Varejao demonstrated on the court. We’ll miss him personally in the locker room where he always seemed upbeat and willing to talk. Even though we didn’t know him well, he always made it a point to say hello.
He’s a great fellow and will definitely be missed. (And no, he can’t be resigned once the Trailblazers cut him, as they’re allegedly planning to do, thanks to rules enacted in 2011 following the episode where Ilgauskus resigned with the Cavaliers after being traded away and bought out.) Jared Cunningham's athleticism and ability to cover point guards might also be missed, but his offensive deficiencies became more apparent as the season went on, making it harder to justify giving him minutes, even over Mo Williams.
Final Analysis
The Cavaliers looked pretty refreshed by the break and delivered what was expected of them. They’re by no means a consistent team, but the things they’re attempting to do are showing up in games with generally positive results. This is what known as moving in the right direction, but anyone who’s followed the Cavs this year knows it’s just as likely to be followed by a step backwards.
There will be a fine chance for that on Sunday when the Cavs fly into Oklahoma City to face their Western Counterparts, the Thunder. They’re almost like a mirror image of Cleveland with their Hall of Fame wing and unstoppable offensive point guard. We expect it to come down to how well those surrounding the teams’ twin stars perform.
Regardless of what happens, it’s just rehearsal for the real thing come mid-April. In the meantime it’s just a slow train, blowing its whistle and moving on down track.
We’ll be watching at home like you on Sunday, posting video, analysis and snark, though not necessarily in that order. Follow us on Twitter @CRS_1ne and read our postgame analysis Monday morning in the Scene & Heard blog.
Posted By Chris Parker chris.parker@clevescene.com> on Fri, Feb 19, 2016 at 7:39 AM
The Cavaliers rolled over the struggling Bulls last night 106-95, much like Queen’s disco-inflected pop hit “Another One Bites the Dust.” It wasn’t a work of art, certainly not compared to what we know they’re capable of. There was something a tad perfunctory about it, while the relentless repetition of the chorus echoes the punishing grind of the NBA season.
Certainly the Cavs sometimes single-minded pass-light offensive approach has at times recalled the no-frills, ‘why-do-more-when-five-words-will-do’ choral ethos of the song’s author, bassist John Deacon. (We’ll give a secondary assist to the Jacksons, and Michael in particular, who met Queen backstage in L.A. and encouraged them to release the track as a single.)
Like the song – which was apparently inspired by a Chic track (“Good Times”) Deacon heard hanging out at their studio – the Cavaliers executed well enough to get the job done. There were moments of inspiration – a powerful slam by LeBron off a J.R. Smith feed, back-to-back Tristan Thompson steals and breakaway dunks – but the level of competition has to be considered as well.
We’re not saying the Bulls are as hopeless as same-year hits Olivia Newton-John’s “Magic,” or should be given the Old Yeller treatment like Captain & Tennille’s Viagra-ode “Do That To Me One More Time.” But absent the injured Jimmy Butler and Nikola Mirotic, they’re not the same team that’s beaten the Cavaliers twice before.
Indeed, Chicago’s in a massive tailspin that seen them drop 13 of their last 18. During that time their defensive efficiency’s ballooned to 107.4 points, falling dramatically from what had been one of the league’s five best defensive teams with a defensive efficiency of 99.0 points. The Bulls offense has also regressed to one of the league’s five worst during this stretch (falling to 99.8 from 100.9).
So while it’s always nice to beat an Eastern Conference contender, it’s hard to be too impressed by what we witnessed. It was a good win, but there’s still ample cause for concern.
The Lue Effect
While Coach Tyronn Lue has made no bones about the need to play better defense, it remains a hit-or-miss prospect. There was more consistency, and after the game Lue complemented the team’s game-long physicality, which were both positives, but there were also lapses. After pushing out to a 17 second-quarter lead, the Bulls closed out the half on a 16-5 run.
This is of course just part of the process. Certainly in the first half the Cavaliers defended well, forcing seven turnovers that produced 13 points while only surrendering 3 points off five turnovers. But they also let the Bulls get 10 second chance points (to their eight).
The issue locking down the defensive boards has been a continuing feature of the Lue regime and it’s hard to Sherlock the culprit. The Bulls finished +4 (17-13) on second chance points, and only trailed 48-40 on points in the paint. The Bulls had 15 offensive boards to the Cavaliers 11.
Cleveland also trailed the Bulls in free throw attempts (22-17), seemingly a side-effect of the team’s love affair with the three. They finished the game 7-24 (29%) from three. The team’s taking 2.5 less free throws each game under Lue than Blatt.
This would seem like a bigger issue were the team not shooting better overall (47.5% to 45.2%) even as they they’ve lost a percentage point off their long distance shots (down to 35% from 36%). As we pointed out before the break, that’s probably due to the fact that the team’s getting more open or wide open shots.
Under Blatt the Cavaliers were getting 23.4 open (no defender for 4’-6’) and 16.1 wide-open shots (defender >6’ away) versus 27 and 18 since Lue took over. That’s 5.5 more open/wide-open shots each game.
That’s especially interesting because the team’s taking 5.1 more shots/game since Lue took over. Indeed, those extra shots would seem for much of the team’s 5.7 point improvement in offensive efficiency. (Now they just need to address the 5.2 additional points per 100 possessions they’re surrendering.)
What’s even a bit nuttier about it is that that Cavaliers are making 20 less passes per game than they did under Blatt (306.1 to 288.6), even with more overall possessions, yet are somehow getting more assists (23.5 to 22).
Not sure how you can argue anything other than that the Cavaliers offense is running much more efficiently, even if the ball movement is arguably worse. (Secondary assists have dropped to 5.7 from 6.2.)
It’s beginning to seem that allowing Irving and James to do their thing might hamper ball movement but still make the offense better (at least during the regular season).
The Game
The good news was that Pau Gasol’s superior size and strong post skills didn’t allow him to overpower Tristan Thompson when the Cavaliers undersized center was manned up on him. Gasol finished with 14 points and four assists, but was never truly a threat.
Too bad we can’t say the same about Derrick Rose who played one of his best games since his knee surgeries, going 11-19 including 6-7 at the rim and 2-3 from distance. He only had two assists because he was calling his own number so often, and at times Kyrie played him tough. Other times he reached foolishly and ineffectually, letting Rose go by as though wearing Acme Rocket Skates.
One of the noteworthy aspects of the game was how much LeBron handled the ball. This is part of what Lue talked about when he mentioned making Kyrie Irving an attacker with less responsibility to run offense. Instead that’s fallen to James who made good quick decisions with the ball all night. James had more touches (76) than anyone, and Love (62) actually had more than Irving (59) despite playing two less minutes.
While the Cavs did run some offense, many possessions revolved around pick-and-rolls by James and Irving designed to either get LeBron the ball in the post or open up the middle of the floor for him. James is particularly devastating splitting the lane, as the collapsing defense opens up shooters on both sides.
d_collaspses_on_james_leaving_love_open.png
In the above play, Kyrie pushes the Bulls get back and rather than force it, Irving pulls the ball out along the baseline as James finds an open space near the free throw line. As the Bulls collapse on him, James finds Love on the wing.
Other plays frequently involved James on the left block. On one occasion, while the Bull’s attention is on the ball-side, J.R. Smith sets a backside pick on Love’s man, allowing him to flare into the corner wide-open.
cavs_take_advantage_of_bulls_weakside_for_love_3.png
James is so deadly in the post, he needs to be double or at least shadowed as Gasol attempts to do by cheating into the lane. LeBron naturally spots this and whips a pass to the wide open Love for a corner three.
james_finds_love_in_corner_from_post.png
This will be the team’s bread-and-butter come playoff time; they couldn’t fully unlock it last year because of the personnel and the need for James to score, not just facilitate, which as we all remember, deeply impacted his offensive efficiency. For optimal effect, James really needs to have offensive threats all around him to take full advantage of his passing skills should teams attempt to double him.
We noted increasing interaction of this James-Irving-Love triad, and see that as being essential for a high-functioning Cavaliers offense. Last night the ball movement was there at times, and while the team only had 21 assists on 42 buckets they did have 9 secondary assists, which is a positive sign.
Large & In-Charge
It was a good day for all the Cavaliers big men that weren’t traded. Russian bear-tamer Timofey “Siegfried” Mozgov expressed his enthusiasm by scoring double digits for just the eleventh time all season (but fifth time in the last month). He tied a season high with four blocks, had four offensive boards (fourth time in 36 days), and didn’t commit a single turnover.
Nobody wants to get too far ahead of themselves but Mozzy seems to be getting closer to where he was last year and further away from what he’s been most of the year (see, disappointing). The fact that things have really only begun to turn in the last 30-45 days seems to support the idea that Mozgov’s finally rounding into form.
Mozzy’s shooting over 60% since January and has committed only 12 turnovers the last 23 games, after committing 32 the first 27 games of the season. Indeed he’s only committed one turnover in seven February games, which maybe only seems like some personal record.
Mozgov played 26 minutes last night, even joining Tristan Thompson on the floor for stretches without mishap (one of team’s worst defensive pairings this year allowing 109.7 points per 100 possessions). It was the most minutes Mozgov has played since mid-November. It’s seems like his fall-off in play was physically-related because you can track his fairly steady upward progress.
Timo seems to be winning Coach Lue’s confidence, and with Anderson Varejao on a flight out-of-town, there seems a good chance Mozgov’s minutes might stabilize in this 25 minutes/night range.
We’re hoping his improvement will allow Timo to play with Tristan, which during last year’s playoffs was very effective defensive pairing (97.7 vs 102.2 during regular season). That’s largely because Thompson steady play also seems to be on an incline.
As we noted a couple weeks ago, Thompson’s rebounding rates are worse as a starter than off the bench, almost assuredly from him wearing down from extra minutes given his poor fourth quarters since assuming the new role. Other skills, from shooting percentage to blocks and assists, are up even accounting for the greater minutes.
More than that, he has looked much more at home out there and less frequently out of position. Last night Thompson tied a season high with 8 buckets, had 3 steals (he’s only had as many as two once this year) and two blocked shots. His scoring was more incidental to his running the floor, though he did take back-to-back steals the length of the floor for scores.
Thompson and Mozgov’s play is even more encouraging as it occurred against one of the best frontlines (Gibson/Gasol/Portis) in the league, even missing Mirotic and Noah.
LeBron, Facilitator
We’ve mentioned before that under Lue, James has become the team’s de facto point guard. In those 12 games James has racked up 96 assists (eight/game), while only making 28 turnovers (2.3/game), a terrific 3.5 assist/turnover ratio.
It would appear that Lue’s harping on him is having a positive effect on Irving as well. His assists have gone up from 3.9 game under Blatt (James was at 6.2) to 5.2. Both Kyrie and LeBron have also seen their assist-to-pass percentage increase from 12.1 and 17, respectively, to 13.4 and 18.3.
It’s all a reminder of how much of the game is about slow progress, much like life. A person’s personality will no sooner change overnight than a team’s character, but both with continual attention can turn the boat around.
Between the increased passing, better play by their bigs and the increasing number of open shots, we feel the team is beginning to make strides. They’re probably closer to half-steps at just this moment, but they’re all moving in the same direction, and that’s a big positive.
Goodbye to the Wild Thing
We don’t blame anyone that’s disappointed the Cavaliers traded Anderson Varejao, Jared Cunningham, and a protected 2018 first round draft pick for 6-11 Channing Frye. The prototypical stretch four, Frye’s a 32-year old, nine-year vet out of Arizona. He’s a career 39% shooter from three and he’s shooting 40% on the year. Frye gives the Cavaliers another big who can stretch the floor besides Kevin Love.
This was sort of the issue with Varejao. While he still could hit the midrange jumper (47% from 10’-16’) he was shooting a career low of 42% from the field including just 54% at the rim and 29% from 3’-10’.
Those are No Country For Old Men kind of stats. According to defensive plus/minus he wasn’t doing too badly (+1.9), but his defensive FG% is +3.6, including +9.6% inside 10’. (He was -3.2% versus threes.) He was allowing a scary 57.4% at the rim.
By comparison, Channing Frye is a greater threat on both sides of the ball. Aside from his three-point shooting, Frye’s proven himself a savvy defender. He’s only allowing +0.8% on defensive FG%, and he’s -2.8% inside of 6’. Those are very close to his numbers from two years ago, so they seem pretty consistent. He only allowed 48% FG at the rim, better than anyone on Orlando but Aaron Gordon.
That ability inside is why some have suggested that Frye could play the “5” with Kevin Love. Though he’s obviously a lot better suited to the task than Love, it still seems like a “stretch.” Frye’s not that beefy. However, according to Basketball-Reference.com, Frye’s spent just over half his time at the center position. That brings the Cavaliers the kind of flexibility they’ll need to beat a team like the Golden State Warriors.
We’ll miss the energy and spirit Varejao demonstrated on the court. We’ll miss him personally in the locker room where he always seemed upbeat and willing to talk. Even though we didn’t know him well, he always made it a point to say hello.
He’s a great fellow and will definitely be missed. (And no, he can’t be resigned once the Trailblazers cut him, as they’re allegedly planning to do, thanks to rules enacted in 2011 following the episode where Ilgauskus resigned with the Cavaliers after being traded away and bought out.) Jared Cunningham's athleticism and ability to cover point guards might also be missed, but his offensive deficiencies became more apparent as the season went on, making it harder to justify giving him minutes, even over Mo Williams.
Final Analysis
The Cavaliers looked pretty refreshed by the break and delivered what was expected of them. They’re by no means a consistent team, but the things they’re attempting to do are showing up in games with generally positive results. This is what known as moving in the right direction, but anyone who’s followed the Cavs this year knows it’s just as likely to be followed by a step backwards.
There will be a fine chance for that on Sunday when the Cavs fly into Oklahoma City to face their Western Counterparts, the Thunder. They’re almost like a mirror image of Cleveland with their Hall of Fame wing and unstoppable offensive point guard. We expect it to come down to how well those surrounding the teams’ twin stars perform.
Regardless of what happens, it’s just rehearsal for the real thing come mid-April. In the meantime it’s just a slow train, blowing its whistle and moving on down track.
We’ll be watching at home like you on Sunday, posting video, analysis and snark, though not necessarily in that order. Follow us on Twitter @CRS_1ne and read our postgame analysis Monday morning in the Scene & Heard blog.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1716Channing Frye trade could save Cleveland Cavaliers more than $9.3 million in luxury tax
on February 19, 2016 at 7:00 AM, updated February 19, 2016 at 7:10 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavaliers entered the 2015-16 season as the team with the highest payroll in the NBA. Before Thursday's NBA trade deadline expired, the Cavs acquired former Orlando Magic forward Channing Frye in a three-team deal sending Anderson Varejao to Portland and Jared Cunningham to Orlando.
So how does Thursday's deal for Frye affect the team's salary situation and luxury tax situation? It saves the team more than $9.3 million in luxury tax costs.
If you're new to the NBA luxury tax structure, here's how we got to that point.
Prior to the trade, the Cavaliers' payroll was valued at almost $109.4 million, the most by more than $10 million. Varejao was owed $9.7 million this season and next season along with a team option in 2017-18 for $10 million. Cunningham's salary was just $981,348.
Frye is in the second year of a 4-year, $32-million contract that he signed with Orlando in July of 2014. He is owed almost $8.2 this season before his salary drops to $7.8 million in 2016-17 and $7.4 million in 2017-18.
This year alone, the trade will save the Cavaliers about $2.49 million in payroll.
This season's salary cap is set at $70 million, with the luxury tax limit at $84.74 million. At nearly $107 million in total payroll, that means the team is $22.18 million above the luxury tax.
By comparison, the Cavaliers were $4.55 million above the luxury tax threshold last season. They paid $7 million into the luxury tax for that season.
Because the Cavaliers only paid the luxury tax last season, they do not fall into the repeater category. The repeater tax applies when you pay the luxury tax three times in four years.
According to CBAFAQ.com, teams that are $20 million above the luxury tax threshold must pay an additional $3.75 per dollar spent on salary and it increases by $.50 for every additional $5 million above that $20 million threshold.
In total, the Frye trade should save the Cavaliers more than $9.3 million when they have to pay the luxury tax.
It may also mean the Cavaliers could be closer to the luxury tax apron next summer when the NBA salary cap is expected to skyrocket due to the new TV deal. That could help the Cavaliers avoid being a repeat payer in the future.
on February 19, 2016 at 7:00 AM, updated February 19, 2016 at 7:10 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavaliers entered the 2015-16 season as the team with the highest payroll in the NBA. Before Thursday's NBA trade deadline expired, the Cavs acquired former Orlando Magic forward Channing Frye in a three-team deal sending Anderson Varejao to Portland and Jared Cunningham to Orlando.
So how does Thursday's deal for Frye affect the team's salary situation and luxury tax situation? It saves the team more than $9.3 million in luxury tax costs.
If you're new to the NBA luxury tax structure, here's how we got to that point.
Prior to the trade, the Cavaliers' payroll was valued at almost $109.4 million, the most by more than $10 million. Varejao was owed $9.7 million this season and next season along with a team option in 2017-18 for $10 million. Cunningham's salary was just $981,348.
Frye is in the second year of a 4-year, $32-million contract that he signed with Orlando in July of 2014. He is owed almost $8.2 this season before his salary drops to $7.8 million in 2016-17 and $7.4 million in 2017-18.
This year alone, the trade will save the Cavaliers about $2.49 million in payroll.
This season's salary cap is set at $70 million, with the luxury tax limit at $84.74 million. At nearly $107 million in total payroll, that means the team is $22.18 million above the luxury tax.
By comparison, the Cavaliers were $4.55 million above the luxury tax threshold last season. They paid $7 million into the luxury tax for that season.
Because the Cavaliers only paid the luxury tax last season, they do not fall into the repeater category. The repeater tax applies when you pay the luxury tax three times in four years.
According to CBAFAQ.com, teams that are $20 million above the luxury tax threshold must pay an additional $3.75 per dollar spent on salary and it increases by $.50 for every additional $5 million above that $20 million threshold.
In total, the Frye trade should save the Cavaliers more than $9.3 million when they have to pay the luxury tax.
It may also mean the Cavaliers could be closer to the luxury tax apron next summer when the NBA salary cap is expected to skyrocket due to the new TV deal. That could help the Cavaliers avoid being a repeat payer in the future.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1717NBA Sunday Roundup: LeBron James Exposes Kevin Durant's Hidden Limitation
By Grant Hughes , National NBA Featured Columnist Feb 21, 2016
If LeBron James looked hesitant in the early parts of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 115-92 road win over Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder, it was only because he was processing everything. Calculations complete, he proceeded to dominate in his team's statement win with versatility and start-to-finish control that nobody—not even the seemingly unstoppable Durant—could match.
There's room for criticism of James' I'm-in-charge approach.
It sometimes feels as though control is something he demands, often to the detriment of his team. He slows the pace and surveys the floor early in games, perhaps pulling the reins too tight and constricting the natural flow of the offense. The results are generally good, and it's hard to be too critical of a Cavs attack that ranks fourth in the league in offensive efficiency. But there's often a sense that the Cavaliers must not only succeed, but succeed on the terms James dictates.
And that's awfully close to the kind of play that gets more ball-dominant superstars like James Harden, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony vilified.
But James' plan worked Sunday, just as it generally does. And it needed to, as the Cavaliers came into the game missing Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Mo Williams. When Kyrie Irving exited with flu-like symptoms in the first quarter, Cleveland's only point guard was Matthew Dellavedova, who was on a 25-minute limit because of a sore hamstring.
The first quarter was all about James getting shots for his teammates, often passing up exploitable one-on-one matchups of his own. As a result of early touches, J.R. Smith, Kevin Love and even Tristan Thompson were fully engaged throughout.
And things got particularly exciting when James decided to pick up the pace in the second quarter. He played point guard for a long stretch before halftime and found Tristan Thompson with this pretty lob at the end of the second quarter.
James would finish with 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Durant, meanwhile, played his typical game. He scored 26 points on 21 shots, hit a handful of beautiful in-between runners and flips that only he could and generally looked the part of the league's scariest all-around scorer. But it wasn't nearly enough—not even with Russell Westbrook chipping in 20 points, 11 assists and nine boards.
This isn't to say Durant is at all selfish or objectively inferior to James. It's just that he's different.
KD is a dominant scorer—probably the single hardest offensive player in the league to stop. He makes his teammates better just by being there and drawing the attention he does. As a byproduct of his individual greatness, shots come easier for teammates. But James actively involves others in an effort to get them going. It's just how he's wired.
Durant, even when he's deferring to Westbrook, isn't exactly setting him up. It's more like he's getting out of the way. Like he's letting someone else take a turn.
This isn't a crazy strategy. And as a general principle, it's a good idea to get out of Westbrook's way:
ESPN Stats & Info
✔
@ESPNStatsInfo
16th head-to-head matchup between LeBron James & Kevin Durant. LeBron has won 12 of the 15 matchups. 3:30 ET on ABC
James manipulates space on the floor—probing, faking and drawing players on both teams into positions he prefers. It's a deliberate process—one distinct from Durant's simpler approach, which is to score on whoever's guarding him.
James' tactics seem to produce better success in his supporting cast.
Example: When OKC lost to the Cavaliers back on Dec. 17, nobody outside its top three (Durant, Wesbrook and Serge Ibaka) scored more than six points. In that 104-100 win, six Cavs reached double figures, and neither Irving nor Shumpert even played. On Sunday, the story was exactly the same: Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka were the only Thunder players in double digits, with KD's 26 points leading the way.
Six Cavaliers scored at least 11 points, led by Kevin Love's 29.
Thanks to constant early touches, many of which came directly from James, Love was dialed in, per Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer:
It's not fair to credit James entirely for Love's performance, but there was no question whether involving the often marginalized Love was a priority. James helped make it happen.
After highlighting the distinctions between superstars, the next impulse is to make value judgments. We want to rank these guys because we like order. And if James is more versatile and has this unique ability to control games, it's tempting to say he's just better than Durant. That's certainly what the career head-to-head record between the two suggests, via ESPN Stats & Info:
Make that 13 wins in 16 games for James.
Remember, though, we're a couple of ill-timed postseason injuries away from a world in which Durant has a ring or two. And even if James clearly dictated the outcome in Sunday's game—in a way Durant simply couldn't have—KD might just as easily score his way to wins in their next half-dozen meetings without surprising anyone.
Durant is a brilliant player, but when you think about the ways he's capable of beating an opponent, it's always about how easily he can score. James isn't limited in that way. He lets you pick how you'd like to be beaten. And because his skill set is so varied, it doesn't really matter what you choose.
If James and Durant meet again this season, it'll be in the NBA Finals. And while Durant's dominant scoring generally gives his team an edge, James' versatility remains the biggest factor in that hypothetical matchup—and any other the Cavs are likely to see down the stretch.
By Grant Hughes , National NBA Featured Columnist Feb 21, 2016
There's room for criticism of James' I'm-in-charge approach.
It sometimes feels as though control is something he demands, often to the detriment of his team. He slows the pace and surveys the floor early in games, perhaps pulling the reins too tight and constricting the natural flow of the offense. The results are generally good, and it's hard to be too critical of a Cavs attack that ranks fourth in the league in offensive efficiency. But there's often a sense that the Cavaliers must not only succeed, but succeed on the terms James dictates.
And that's awfully close to the kind of play that gets more ball-dominant superstars like James Harden, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony vilified.
But James' plan worked Sunday, just as it generally does. And it needed to, as the Cavaliers came into the game missing Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Mo Williams. When Kyrie Irving exited with flu-like symptoms in the first quarter, Cleveland's only point guard was Matthew Dellavedova, who was on a 25-minute limit because of a sore hamstring.
The first quarter was all about James getting shots for his teammates, often passing up exploitable one-on-one matchups of his own. As a result of early touches, J.R. Smith, Kevin Love and even Tristan Thompson were fully engaged throughout.
And things got particularly exciting when James decided to pick up the pace in the second quarter. He played point guard for a long stretch before halftime and found Tristan Thompson with this pretty lob at the end of the second quarter.
James would finish with 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Durant, meanwhile, played his typical game. He scored 26 points on 21 shots, hit a handful of beautiful in-between runners and flips that only he could and generally looked the part of the league's scariest all-around scorer. But it wasn't nearly enough—not even with Russell Westbrook chipping in 20 points, 11 assists and nine boards.
This isn't to say Durant is at all selfish or objectively inferior to James. It's just that he's different.
KD is a dominant scorer—probably the single hardest offensive player in the league to stop. He makes his teammates better just by being there and drawing the attention he does. As a byproduct of his individual greatness, shots come easier for teammates. But James actively involves others in an effort to get them going. It's just how he's wired.
Durant, even when he's deferring to Westbrook, isn't exactly setting him up. It's more like he's getting out of the way. Like he's letting someone else take a turn.
This isn't a crazy strategy. And as a general principle, it's a good idea to get out of Westbrook's way:
ESPN Stats & Info
✔
@ESPNStatsInfo
16th head-to-head matchup between LeBron James & Kevin Durant. LeBron has won 12 of the 15 matchups. 3:30 ET on ABC
James manipulates space on the floor—probing, faking and drawing players on both teams into positions he prefers. It's a deliberate process—one distinct from Durant's simpler approach, which is to score on whoever's guarding him.
James' tactics seem to produce better success in his supporting cast.
Example: When OKC lost to the Cavaliers back on Dec. 17, nobody outside its top three (Durant, Wesbrook and Serge Ibaka) scored more than six points. In that 104-100 win, six Cavs reached double figures, and neither Irving nor Shumpert even played. On Sunday, the story was exactly the same: Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka were the only Thunder players in double digits, with KD's 26 points leading the way.
Six Cavaliers scored at least 11 points, led by Kevin Love's 29.
Thanks to constant early touches, many of which came directly from James, Love was dialed in, per Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer:
It's not fair to credit James entirely for Love's performance, but there was no question whether involving the often marginalized Love was a priority. James helped make it happen.
After highlighting the distinctions between superstars, the next impulse is to make value judgments. We want to rank these guys because we like order. And if James is more versatile and has this unique ability to control games, it's tempting to say he's just better than Durant. That's certainly what the career head-to-head record between the two suggests, via ESPN Stats & Info:
Make that 13 wins in 16 games for James.
Remember, though, we're a couple of ill-timed postseason injuries away from a world in which Durant has a ring or two. And even if James clearly dictated the outcome in Sunday's game—in a way Durant simply couldn't have—KD might just as easily score his way to wins in their next half-dozen meetings without surprising anyone.
Durant is a brilliant player, but when you think about the ways he's capable of beating an opponent, it's always about how easily he can score. James isn't limited in that way. He lets you pick how you'd like to be beaten. And because his skill set is so varied, it doesn't really matter what you choose.
If James and Durant meet again this season, it'll be in the NBA Finals. And while Durant's dominant scoring generally gives his team an edge, James' versatility remains the biggest factor in that hypothetical matchup—and any other the Cavs are likely to see down the stretch.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1718Cavs update:
Cavs 100, Pacers 96; Jason Lloyd's 25 thoughts defense, Kyrie Irving rumors and Mo Williams' knee
By Jason Lloyd Published: March 1, 2016
CLEVELAND: Twenty-five thoughts for 25 free throw attempts in a 100-96 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday…
1. So, so much to get to. It’s a good thing the Cavs are off for the next two days because it’s going to take that long to wade through everything. From Mo Williams’ knee to Tristan Thompson’s removal from the starting lineup, the Cavs’ refusal to play hard for 48 minutes and the latest Kyrie Irving rumors. And by the way, the Cavs played a game Monday and won.
2. Ty Lue acknowledged Monday what we already knew: This team often refuses to play hard until they absolutely must. Down 4 in the fourth quarter after already losing three of their last four, apparently this began to feel like a must. They defended better in the last seven minutes Monday than they have in quite a while. They flew around the ball, blitzed pick-and-rolls, kept the Pacers off the 3-point line and limited them to one look at the basket.
3. Why they can’t play that way all the time, no one seems to know. Not Tyronn Lue, not Kevin Love, not LeBron. No one.
4. “We’ve done it all year,” Love said. “I do not know (why). We’re very talented and sometimes we get away with being so talented, but if we could just sustain and turn it on and keep it on we’re so much better.”
5. “I think that’s a good thing. That can also be a bad thing as well,” James said. “I think the fact that we can handle a little adversity, if you want to call it that, and be able to respond like we did tonight, it’s a good sign. But we shouldn’t have to get to that point sometimes, but hey, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.”
6. “When our backs are against the wall, that’s when we tend to play harder,” Lue said. “It’s annoying, but when you have a team like we have with great individual players, they can turn it on at any point in time. Sometimes it can come back and bite you but I have to get that effort out of those guys for 48 minutes. When we play the good teams, we do that. But when teams don’t have a great record, we tend to kind of let up a little bit.”
7. This is just the reality with this team. If it hasn’t changed through the first 58 games, it’s probably not going to change over the last 24. As James said, however, he’d like to at least see this team build good habits so they have something to fall back on. This team more often than not just wins by out-talenting the opponents. I’m not sure how many good habits are being built.
8. Kyrie Irving denied (kinda, sorta) Stephen A. Smith’s report that he’s unhappy and wants out of Cleveland. Now first of all, of course he’s not going to confirm it. And it’s also worth mentioning that the smoke around the “Kyrie wants out of Cleveland” fire has been billowing since his second year in the NBA. Of course, this team looks much different as presently constructed as those teams did, but the smoke has been there nonetheless.
9. “There’s nothing to really address,” Irving said. “Obviously there’s going to be some misunderstandings, it’s part of being on a team. For me, as a maturing young player in this league, I know what we have and the opportunity we have in order to be something special. My communication is open with all of my teammates, just knowing what’s going on and how I feel about things. For me, all that other stuff, what everyone is going to say, they’re going to pick one player, it’s going to change every single week. When they think that we’re down and out, they’re going to choose one player, so, for me it has no effect on my life or what’s going on. It’s all about winning and winning a championship for Cleveland.”
10. I don’t want to get too far down this rabbit hole. In all honesty, I haven’t heard the “Irving wants out” talk lately – certainly not as much as a few years ago. Irving can deny it as much as he wants or think the media is picking on him, but early in his career those close to him were talking about getting him out of here. That’s fact. Whether or not it’s still happening, I can’t say for certain.
11. It hasn’t been a good few days in the Cavs’ locker room. It wasn’t a good road trip and some of the players were irritated with each other. That’s not entirely uncommon after losses and could be part of the “misunderstandings” to which Irving was referring. “Things get a little tough, our backs are against the wall, but it’s really not even adversity yet,” Irving said. “We haven’t even hit anything that’s going to be a test for us yet.”
12. I spoke to James last month about his process to get Irving to learn to share with others. James openly called him “hard-headed at times” so it seems fairly likely the two have probably clashed more times during their two years together than anyone on the outside really knows. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wants out, however.
13. Being James’ teammate can be difficult. For as easy as he can make the game on the court, he can make it difficult, too. Some days he loves you and some days, well, he doesn’t. Just ask Timofey Mozgov. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan were famous for being hard on teammates, too.
14. The Cavs are shutting Mo Williams down for the next two weeks. One source with knowledge of the reasoning said Williams recently received another injection in his ailing left knee from Dr. James Andrews, this time a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection and they need to give the knee time to heal.
15. Williams hasn’t played well since he was pulled from the starting lineup, but Lue explained to him the importance he get the knee straightened out prior to the playoffs. That’s why the Cavs would rather shut him down now in the hopes of having him right by April.
16. Channing Frye received his first DNP-CD since joining this team. Lue told me he was tinkering with different lineups and used James a lot at power forward when the Cavs went small. Lue doesn’t seem comfortable using Frye at center in some lineups when James is at the 4.
17. Frye, incidentally, is an avid comic book collector. He told me he has thousands of comic books on his iPad. He used to have the actual comic books, but they kept getting ripped up in all of his moves. Now he’s digital. And he is a huge, huge fan. He prefers Marvel to DC and he really gets into the storylines that develop. Since I’ve never been to a Comic Con and have no interest in going, it was hard keeping up with it all. But Frye seriously loves the stuff.
18. Big performance by Tristan Thompson tonight with 14 points and 11 rebounds, including the big basket and block in the final minute. Thompson was a defensive substitution in place of Love for the final minute, yet James dumped the ball off to him after driving the lane for a jump hook.
19. Thompson then had the big block on George Hill to preserve the win – all on the same day he lost his starting job. This wasn’t a temporary switch to deal with the size of the Pacers’ frontcourt, this move with Mozgov back into the starting role is long term.
20. Lue originally thought Thompson played better when he started, but after watching it for a while, Lue believes grinding against the league’s bigger centers every night might be wearing him down. Past Cavs coaches had similar concerns with Thompson wearing down late in the season. By March in previous seasons, coaches have noticed how long it took Thompson to recover to his man after a hard show in pick-and-roll schemes.
21. “Teams are hitting him with two or three bodies to keep him off the offensive glass. It’s been tough on him,” Lue said of Thompson. “I just thought at times having to guard those big centers to start the game just kind of wears him down a little bit throughout the course of the game. It’s kind of tough on him because he’s truly a 4.”
22. Lue also likes the energy Thompson brings off the bench and doesn’t know where else he can find that energy guy – particularly now that Anderson Varejao is with the Warriors.
23. Iman Shumpert missed all six of his shots Monday and is 5 of 20 since returning to the lineup following his sprained left shoulder. Shumpert had a miserable February, shooting 29 percent overall (17 of 58) and a dreadful 19 percent from 3-point range (5 of 26).
24. Here is your odd stat of the day: Shumpert has attempted just 26 free throws this season in more than 822 minutes. James Jones, the noted 3-point specialist who has played about 15 minutes since Lue became the head coach, has even shot 21 free throws in 345 minutes.
25. James spoke to the media for nine minutes after the game and was terrific covering a variety of issues. I’ll write more about it in the coming days. The Cavs have the rare luxury of not practicing the next two days. Tuesday is a complete off day, while players will come in Wednesday to get treatment and get some shots up, but it won’t be a full practice. They’ll practice Thursday before hosting the Washington Wizards on Friday. Talk to you then from the Q.
Cavs 100, Pacers 96; Jason Lloyd's 25 thoughts defense, Kyrie Irving rumors and Mo Williams' knee
By Jason Lloyd Published: March 1, 2016
1. So, so much to get to. It’s a good thing the Cavs are off for the next two days because it’s going to take that long to wade through everything. From Mo Williams’ knee to Tristan Thompson’s removal from the starting lineup, the Cavs’ refusal to play hard for 48 minutes and the latest Kyrie Irving rumors. And by the way, the Cavs played a game Monday and won.
2. Ty Lue acknowledged Monday what we already knew: This team often refuses to play hard until they absolutely must. Down 4 in the fourth quarter after already losing three of their last four, apparently this began to feel like a must. They defended better in the last seven minutes Monday than they have in quite a while. They flew around the ball, blitzed pick-and-rolls, kept the Pacers off the 3-point line and limited them to one look at the basket.
3. Why they can’t play that way all the time, no one seems to know. Not Tyronn Lue, not Kevin Love, not LeBron. No one.
4. “We’ve done it all year,” Love said. “I do not know (why). We’re very talented and sometimes we get away with being so talented, but if we could just sustain and turn it on and keep it on we’re so much better.”
5. “I think that’s a good thing. That can also be a bad thing as well,” James said. “I think the fact that we can handle a little adversity, if you want to call it that, and be able to respond like we did tonight, it’s a good sign. But we shouldn’t have to get to that point sometimes, but hey, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.”
6. “When our backs are against the wall, that’s when we tend to play harder,” Lue said. “It’s annoying, but when you have a team like we have with great individual players, they can turn it on at any point in time. Sometimes it can come back and bite you but I have to get that effort out of those guys for 48 minutes. When we play the good teams, we do that. But when teams don’t have a great record, we tend to kind of let up a little bit.”
7. This is just the reality with this team. If it hasn’t changed through the first 58 games, it’s probably not going to change over the last 24. As James said, however, he’d like to at least see this team build good habits so they have something to fall back on. This team more often than not just wins by out-talenting the opponents. I’m not sure how many good habits are being built.
8. Kyrie Irving denied (kinda, sorta) Stephen A. Smith’s report that he’s unhappy and wants out of Cleveland. Now first of all, of course he’s not going to confirm it. And it’s also worth mentioning that the smoke around the “Kyrie wants out of Cleveland” fire has been billowing since his second year in the NBA. Of course, this team looks much different as presently constructed as those teams did, but the smoke has been there nonetheless.
9. “There’s nothing to really address,” Irving said. “Obviously there’s going to be some misunderstandings, it’s part of being on a team. For me, as a maturing young player in this league, I know what we have and the opportunity we have in order to be something special. My communication is open with all of my teammates, just knowing what’s going on and how I feel about things. For me, all that other stuff, what everyone is going to say, they’re going to pick one player, it’s going to change every single week. When they think that we’re down and out, they’re going to choose one player, so, for me it has no effect on my life or what’s going on. It’s all about winning and winning a championship for Cleveland.”
10. I don’t want to get too far down this rabbit hole. In all honesty, I haven’t heard the “Irving wants out” talk lately – certainly not as much as a few years ago. Irving can deny it as much as he wants or think the media is picking on him, but early in his career those close to him were talking about getting him out of here. That’s fact. Whether or not it’s still happening, I can’t say for certain.
11. It hasn’t been a good few days in the Cavs’ locker room. It wasn’t a good road trip and some of the players were irritated with each other. That’s not entirely uncommon after losses and could be part of the “misunderstandings” to which Irving was referring. “Things get a little tough, our backs are against the wall, but it’s really not even adversity yet,” Irving said. “We haven’t even hit anything that’s going to be a test for us yet.”
12. I spoke to James last month about his process to get Irving to learn to share with others. James openly called him “hard-headed at times” so it seems fairly likely the two have probably clashed more times during their two years together than anyone on the outside really knows. That doesn’t necessarily mean he wants out, however.
13. Being James’ teammate can be difficult. For as easy as he can make the game on the court, he can make it difficult, too. Some days he loves you and some days, well, he doesn’t. Just ask Timofey Mozgov. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan were famous for being hard on teammates, too.
14. The Cavs are shutting Mo Williams down for the next two weeks. One source with knowledge of the reasoning said Williams recently received another injection in his ailing left knee from Dr. James Andrews, this time a Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection and they need to give the knee time to heal.
15. Williams hasn’t played well since he was pulled from the starting lineup, but Lue explained to him the importance he get the knee straightened out prior to the playoffs. That’s why the Cavs would rather shut him down now in the hopes of having him right by April.
16. Channing Frye received his first DNP-CD since joining this team. Lue told me he was tinkering with different lineups and used James a lot at power forward when the Cavs went small. Lue doesn’t seem comfortable using Frye at center in some lineups when James is at the 4.
17. Frye, incidentally, is an avid comic book collector. He told me he has thousands of comic books on his iPad. He used to have the actual comic books, but they kept getting ripped up in all of his moves. Now he’s digital. And he is a huge, huge fan. He prefers Marvel to DC and he really gets into the storylines that develop. Since I’ve never been to a Comic Con and have no interest in going, it was hard keeping up with it all. But Frye seriously loves the stuff.
18. Big performance by Tristan Thompson tonight with 14 points and 11 rebounds, including the big basket and block in the final minute. Thompson was a defensive substitution in place of Love for the final minute, yet James dumped the ball off to him after driving the lane for a jump hook.
19. Thompson then had the big block on George Hill to preserve the win – all on the same day he lost his starting job. This wasn’t a temporary switch to deal with the size of the Pacers’ frontcourt, this move with Mozgov back into the starting role is long term.
20. Lue originally thought Thompson played better when he started, but after watching it for a while, Lue believes grinding against the league’s bigger centers every night might be wearing him down. Past Cavs coaches had similar concerns with Thompson wearing down late in the season. By March in previous seasons, coaches have noticed how long it took Thompson to recover to his man after a hard show in pick-and-roll schemes.
21. “Teams are hitting him with two or three bodies to keep him off the offensive glass. It’s been tough on him,” Lue said of Thompson. “I just thought at times having to guard those big centers to start the game just kind of wears him down a little bit throughout the course of the game. It’s kind of tough on him because he’s truly a 4.”
22. Lue also likes the energy Thompson brings off the bench and doesn’t know where else he can find that energy guy – particularly now that Anderson Varejao is with the Warriors.
23. Iman Shumpert missed all six of his shots Monday and is 5 of 20 since returning to the lineup following his sprained left shoulder. Shumpert had a miserable February, shooting 29 percent overall (17 of 58) and a dreadful 19 percent from 3-point range (5 of 26).
24. Here is your odd stat of the day: Shumpert has attempted just 26 free throws this season in more than 822 minutes. James Jones, the noted 3-point specialist who has played about 15 minutes since Lue became the head coach, has even shot 21 free throws in 345 minutes.
25. James spoke to the media for nine minutes after the game and was terrific covering a variety of issues. I’ll write more about it in the coming days. The Cavs have the rare luxury of not practicing the next two days. Tuesday is a complete off day, while players will come in Wednesday to get treatment and get some shots up, but it won’t be a full practice. They’ll practice Thursday before hosting the Washington Wizards on Friday. Talk to you then from the Q.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1719another slump and lack of consistent motivation doesn't mean we need to change coaches, again, do we?
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1720Lol, no because Griffin hasn't finished his spying in the locker room research yet.
Pretty sure if the team STILL doesn't respond, Griffin should be next.
That all said, I think this team is so loaded talent-wise, that they do have trouble getting up for the lesser teams, which is
most the league.
In the NBA, so many teams make the playoffs, it cheapens the regular season. They will breeze in.
Afraid we won't see what we REALLY have until the playoffs. They have the best record in the East, so it's kinda hard to crack on them for slacking. Why kill themselves when their ticket is punched to the dance already?
In other words, regular season = preseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Pretty sure if the team STILL doesn't respond, Griffin should be next.
That all said, I think this team is so loaded talent-wise, that they do have trouble getting up for the lesser teams, which is
most the league.
In the NBA, so many teams make the playoffs, it cheapens the regular season. They will breeze in.
Afraid we won't see what we REALLY have until the playoffs. They have the best record in the East, so it's kinda hard to crack on them for slacking. Why kill themselves when their ticket is punched to the dance already?
In other words, regular season = preseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1721some stats I read a week ago about opposing point guards performance was pretty damning on Irving's defense. Over 50% shooting plus lots of assists. I don't know a darned thing about basketball so I don't know if this is all his failings or some other defensive issue, but it looks like an area that needs addressing.
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1723Miracle still reverberates 40 years after last cheer
Every month or so, I find myself driving down Ohio 303. ¶ Once
upon a time, sellout crowds of 20,273 screamed for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 1976 NBA playoffs. They made so much noise, the walls really did shake.
¶ Ask anyone who was there for those playoff games. ¶ Now all you hear are a few birds, an occasional car horn from nearby Interstate 271. ¶ The Richfield Coliseum. ¶ Some out-of-town writers called it ''The Big House on the Prairie.'' Next door to the Coliseum, a man had a farm with a pasture where sheep grazed. ¶ My wife and I recently took our close friend Amanda Rabinowitz to see where the Coliseum once stood. She also is the morning anchor on WKSU FM/89.7. ¶ ''Here?'' she asked, shaking her head. ¶ ''Right here,'' we said. ¶ ''But there's
nothing here,'' she said.
Dick Snyder hits the series-winning shot over Washington's Phil Chenier in Game 7 during the Miracle of Richfield in 1976. The Cavaliers will honor the team tonight at The Q. PAUL TEPLEY | SPECIAL TO THE PLAIN DEALER | PLAIN DEALER HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION
That's pretty much true.
Now it's a meadow, part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Amanda is 35. She didn't move to Northeast Ohio until she was 15. The Big House on the Prairie was empty by then. The Cavs played in Richfield from 1974-1994.
I thought about this when hearing the Cavs were honoring the 1975-76 team during their game tonight at The Q in downtown Cleveland. That team was responsible for ''The Miracle of Richfield,'' and good basketball seemed to rise out of nowhere at what was then a showcase arena.
''I loved that building,'' said Joe Tait, the team's broadcaster from 1970 to 2011. ''Now, when I drive by there, I feel sort of sad. I miss it.''
How it began
The Cavs came into existence in 1970, and played their first four seasons at the old Cleveland Arena on Euclid Avenue. Here are the records and home attendance averages:
■ 1970-71: They were 15-67, averaging 3,518.
■ 1971-72: They were 23-59, averaging 5,109.
■ 1972-73: They were 32-50, averaging 4,474.
■ 1973-74: They were 29-53, averaging 3,988.
There were times in those early seasons when Tait wondered whether the Cavs would even be in existence for another year. It seemed no one was paying much attention to the Cavs.
Owner Nick Mileti wanted to build a new arena in downtown Cleveland, but couldn't cut a deal with the city. Then he decided on Richfield, between Cleveland and Akron. He expected the suburbs would grow, and that one day there would be hotels and a huge shopping mall built by his new arena.
That never happened.
But basketball bloomed.
In 1974-75, the Cavs were 40-42 in their first season in Richfield. They missed the playoffs, but did average 8,161 fans.
Miracle of Richfield
The Cavs went 6-11 to start the 1975-76 season. That's when coach Bill Fitch traded Steve Patterson and Eric Fernsten to Chicago for Nate Thurmond and Rowland Garrett.
''That trade changed everything,'' said Tait. ''Nate brought a sense of professionalism to the team.''
He was Fitch's leader in the clubhouse, and a defensive stopper as a backup center. An Akron native, Thurmond was an instant fan favorite. At the age of 34, he still had moments in games where he would play like a future Hall of Famer.
Suddenly, the Cavs began to win and win and win. They were 43-22 after acquiring Thurmond.
For Cavs fans, it felt like a miracle. A winning team in a beautiful building ready to make the first playoff appearance in franchise history.
The fans made it special
''They were so loud,'' said Campy Russell, a forward on that team. ''When fans talk to me about that year, they start with saying how it was so loud at those games.''
This was before cheerleaders, before scoreboards making noise, before a guy with a microphone during timeouts screaming to liven up the crowd.
It was fans clapping and stomping and bellowing: LET'S GO CAVS!
LET'S GO CAVS!
It took a while for the crowds to come, because the 6-11 start offered little hope. But once Thurmond arrived, once Fitch developed a rotation of nine very good players — there was plenty to scream about.
''It wasn't a miracle because we could play,'' said Russell. ''Think about who came off the bench: Foots [Walker], Nate [Thurmond], Austin [Carr] and myself.''
The Cavs had seven players averaging at least 10 points. The leading scorer was Jim Chones (15.8), the starting center. Russell was next (15.0) as instant offense off the bench.
The starters were Jim Cleamons, Bingo Smith, Dick Snyder, Jim Brewer and Chones.
''Don't forget John Lambert,'' said Tait. ''It's because of John that I met my wife, Jean.''
Lambert was a backup center. He took Tait to Whitey's, a legendary hamburger restaurant on Brecksville Road not far from Coliseum. Jean was a waitress. She met Joe. They got married. All thanks to Lambert.
Tait mentioned another member of that team, Luke Witte. The former Ohio State star was another backup. He is now a pastor in Charlotte, North Carolina.
''We used to ride to the airport together,'' said Tait. ''Luke had some big old car. Part of the time, the thing would break down.''
Tait laughed.
''It was a simpler time,'' he said.
The bad break
This also is a classic Cleveland sports story, one ending with a very bad break after so many wonderful, hopeful months of basketball.
The Cavs knocked off Washington in seven games in the first round. Three of the wins were by a combined total of five points. It was during the playoffs that fans discovered Tait on the radio, as he often was screaming right along with the crowd at the end of the dramatic games.
As my wife, Roberta, said, ''That was my introduction to Joe Tait, hearing him yell on the radio!''
Snyder scored the game-winning hoop with four seconds left in Game 7 to eliminate Washington.
Just when there was so much to celebrate, Chones broke his foot in a practice right before the Cavs were to open the Eastern Conference finals.
''I have no doubt we would have won the title that year if Chones had been healthy,'' said Tait. ''That team just kept getting better and better.''
The 6-10 Chones averaged 15.8 points and 9.0 rebounds that season.
So the miracle season ended with an ''If only Chones had been healthy ...''
Boston still needed six games to beat the Cavs, then the Celtics won the title by defeating Phoenix in six games.
That was 40 years ago. The players are all in their 60s or 70s.
The Coliseum is long gone. The memory has faded a bit. Fans often saying as I did to Amanda on that visit to Richfield, ''Well, you really had to be there.''
If you were there, you know. Drive out to Richfield. Look at the meadow. Close your eyes, think back and soon you will hear it: LET'S GO CAVS!
Fans celebrated in a big way after the Cavaliers beat Washington, 87-85, to win Game 7 of their first-round playoff series in 1976. PAUL TEPLEY | SPECIAL TO THE PLAIN DEALER | PLAIN DEALER HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION
Every month or so, I find myself driving down Ohio 303. ¶ Once
upon a time, sellout crowds of 20,273 screamed for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 1976 NBA playoffs. They made so much noise, the walls really did shake.
¶ Ask anyone who was there for those playoff games. ¶ Now all you hear are a few birds, an occasional car horn from nearby Interstate 271. ¶ The Richfield Coliseum. ¶ Some out-of-town writers called it ''The Big House on the Prairie.'' Next door to the Coliseum, a man had a farm with a pasture where sheep grazed. ¶ My wife and I recently took our close friend Amanda Rabinowitz to see where the Coliseum once stood. She also is the morning anchor on WKSU FM/89.7. ¶ ''Here?'' she asked, shaking her head. ¶ ''Right here,'' we said. ¶ ''But there's
nothing here,'' she said.
That's pretty much true.
Now it's a meadow, part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Amanda is 35. She didn't move to Northeast Ohio until she was 15. The Big House on the Prairie was empty by then. The Cavs played in Richfield from 1974-1994.
I thought about this when hearing the Cavs were honoring the 1975-76 team during their game tonight at The Q in downtown Cleveland. That team was responsible for ''The Miracle of Richfield,'' and good basketball seemed to rise out of nowhere at what was then a showcase arena.
''I loved that building,'' said Joe Tait, the team's broadcaster from 1970 to 2011. ''Now, when I drive by there, I feel sort of sad. I miss it.''
How it began
The Cavs came into existence in 1970, and played their first four seasons at the old Cleveland Arena on Euclid Avenue. Here are the records and home attendance averages:
■ 1970-71: They were 15-67, averaging 3,518.
■ 1971-72: They were 23-59, averaging 5,109.
■ 1972-73: They were 32-50, averaging 4,474.
■ 1973-74: They were 29-53, averaging 3,988.
There were times in those early seasons when Tait wondered whether the Cavs would even be in existence for another year. It seemed no one was paying much attention to the Cavs.
Owner Nick Mileti wanted to build a new arena in downtown Cleveland, but couldn't cut a deal with the city. Then he decided on Richfield, between Cleveland and Akron. He expected the suburbs would grow, and that one day there would be hotels and a huge shopping mall built by his new arena.
That never happened.
But basketball bloomed.
In 1974-75, the Cavs were 40-42 in their first season in Richfield. They missed the playoffs, but did average 8,161 fans.
Miracle of Richfield
The Cavs went 6-11 to start the 1975-76 season. That's when coach Bill Fitch traded Steve Patterson and Eric Fernsten to Chicago for Nate Thurmond and Rowland Garrett.
''That trade changed everything,'' said Tait. ''Nate brought a sense of professionalism to the team.''
He was Fitch's leader in the clubhouse, and a defensive stopper as a backup center. An Akron native, Thurmond was an instant fan favorite. At the age of 34, he still had moments in games where he would play like a future Hall of Famer.
Suddenly, the Cavs began to win and win and win. They were 43-22 after acquiring Thurmond.
For Cavs fans, it felt like a miracle. A winning team in a beautiful building ready to make the first playoff appearance in franchise history.
The fans made it special
''They were so loud,'' said Campy Russell, a forward on that team. ''When fans talk to me about that year, they start with saying how it was so loud at those games.''
This was before cheerleaders, before scoreboards making noise, before a guy with a microphone during timeouts screaming to liven up the crowd.
It was fans clapping and stomping and bellowing: LET'S GO CAVS!
LET'S GO CAVS!
It took a while for the crowds to come, because the 6-11 start offered little hope. But once Thurmond arrived, once Fitch developed a rotation of nine very good players — there was plenty to scream about.
''It wasn't a miracle because we could play,'' said Russell. ''Think about who came off the bench: Foots [Walker], Nate [Thurmond], Austin [Carr] and myself.''
The Cavs had seven players averaging at least 10 points. The leading scorer was Jim Chones (15.8), the starting center. Russell was next (15.0) as instant offense off the bench.
The starters were Jim Cleamons, Bingo Smith, Dick Snyder, Jim Brewer and Chones.
''Don't forget John Lambert,'' said Tait. ''It's because of John that I met my wife, Jean.''
Lambert was a backup center. He took Tait to Whitey's, a legendary hamburger restaurant on Brecksville Road not far from Coliseum. Jean was a waitress. She met Joe. They got married. All thanks to Lambert.
Tait mentioned another member of that team, Luke Witte. The former Ohio State star was another backup. He is now a pastor in Charlotte, North Carolina.
''We used to ride to the airport together,'' said Tait. ''Luke had some big old car. Part of the time, the thing would break down.''
Tait laughed.
''It was a simpler time,'' he said.
The bad break
This also is a classic Cleveland sports story, one ending with a very bad break after so many wonderful, hopeful months of basketball.
The Cavs knocked off Washington in seven games in the first round. Three of the wins were by a combined total of five points. It was during the playoffs that fans discovered Tait on the radio, as he often was screaming right along with the crowd at the end of the dramatic games.
As my wife, Roberta, said, ''That was my introduction to Joe Tait, hearing him yell on the radio!''
Snyder scored the game-winning hoop with four seconds left in Game 7 to eliminate Washington.
Just when there was so much to celebrate, Chones broke his foot in a practice right before the Cavs were to open the Eastern Conference finals.
''I have no doubt we would have won the title that year if Chones had been healthy,'' said Tait. ''That team just kept getting better and better.''
The 6-10 Chones averaged 15.8 points and 9.0 rebounds that season.
So the miracle season ended with an ''If only Chones had been healthy ...''
Boston still needed six games to beat the Cavs, then the Celtics won the title by defeating Phoenix in six games.
That was 40 years ago. The players are all in their 60s or 70s.
The Coliseum is long gone. The memory has faded a bit. Fans often saying as I did to Amanda on that visit to Richfield, ''Well, you really had to be there.''
If you were there, you know. Drive out to Richfield. Look at the meadow. Close your eyes, think back and soon you will hear it: LET'S GO CAVS!
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1724struggled to hear the games through the static in my dorm room while I was supposed to be studying for final exams. Last second shot by Bingo, drive by Snyder; did Cleamons have a last second basket too?
Re: Cleveland Cavaliers
1725So the Cavs come back from 3-1 in the Finals (never been done), to be the all time winningest team (73 wins) and bring home the first title in 52 years?
Thanks Lebron for teaching us all. Never, ever let yourself be a victim. You/we CAN persevere and do the seeming impossible!
Congrats to all!
Thanks Lebron for teaching us all. Never, ever let yourself be a victim. You/we CAN persevere and do the seeming impossible!
Congrats to all!
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain