Recap: Cavs 105, Grizzlies 89 (Or, I Could Get Used To This)
2010-02-02
Overview: The Cavaliers got yet another easy victory on Tuesday, beating the Memphis Grizzlies by a final score of 105-89. LeBron James tied his career high with 15 assists, and the Cavaliers outscored the Grizzlies 64-34 in the paint.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
-I’m running out of superlatives for LeBron James’ passing over this stretch of games. Since Mo’s injury, LeBron is averaging 10.7 assists per game. He’s been the only true playmaker on the floor for the Cavs, and he’s been making it work.
Once again, the most impressive thing about LeBron’s passing isn’t the assist totals themselves, but the fact that he’s barely getting any cheap assists. Eight of LeBron’s 15 assists led to layups or dunks, and four more led to shots from inside of 10 feet. (All four of the latter shots were taken by Shaq, Z, or Hickson, and Hickson’s shot was from 1 foot away.) That’s 12 shots from inside of 10 feet set up by LeBron James. To provide some contrast, the entire Memphis team made 15 shots from inside of 10 feet on Tuesday.
Here’s a full breakdown of LeBron’s assists:
-1 Shaquille O’Neal dunk
-1 Shaquille O’Neal shot from <10 feet
-1 J.J. Hickson dunk
-2 J.J. Hickson layups
-1 Daniel Gibson 3-pointer
-2 Anthony Parker layups
-1 Zydrunas Ilgauskas layup
-2 Zydrunas Ilgauskas shots from <10 feet
-1 Zydrunas Ilgauskas shot from 19 feet
-2 Anderson Varejao layups
-1 Jawad Williams three
Look at that. Again, no cheap assists. Of LeBron’s three assists that didn’t lead to baskets from inside of 10 feet, two set up three-point shooters with a look from deep, and the other one set up Z with his bread-and-butter shot.
-LeBron also got it done on the defensive end. Rudy Gay scored all of two points in the second half, and Memphis’ starting backcourt combined to shoot 5-21 from the floor. As for that chase-down block on O.J. Mayo, all I can say is wow. After pausing the replay many times, it looks like Mayo is taking off for his layup as LeBron’s foot is on the dotted line. That’s ridiculous.
-LeBron did also score, accounting for a game-high 22 points on 65% True Shooting. LeBron looked like he was getting ready to run away with the MVP trophy before Mo went down, and he’s taken his play to another level since that time.
-The other big story of the night is how well the Cavs did at defending the paint against the Grizzlies. Memphis came into the game as the league’s top-scoring team in the painted area, but they were outscored 34-64 against the Cavs. The Grizzlies only made 13 of their 27 shots at the rim, and 42% on all shots inside of 10 feet.
Zach Randolph was completely shut down inside. Randolph shot 3-14 from the field, went 1-5 on shots at the rim, and only managed to grab one offensive rebound. He had more turnovers than field goals. NBA’s best interior offense, meet the NBA’s best interior defense.
-JJ Hickson: 5-6 on shots at the rim, 1-3 from <10 feet, 0-3 from 16-23 feet. Dunks and layups, JJ. Cedric Ceballos.
-Big Z went 6-10 from the field, and only one of his baskets came from outside of the paint. Good to see the big man playing big.
-Shaq keeps on keepin’ on. 13 points and 13 rebounds in only 21 minutes, and four blocks to help keep that paint shut down.
-Reader Lucas sends in this interesting fact: the Cavs outscored the Grizzlies 27-21 in the second half, despite the fact they only took four shots outside the paint and made none of them. That’s some aggressive offense.
-Only real downside of the night was Moon and Jawad combining to shoot 2-11 from the field. In other news, it’s time to give that tandem a nickname.
-Alright, that’s all for tonight. Straightforward game, straightforward recap. The winning streak is now at nine. Until tomorrow, campers.
You could also switch Jamario for parker in that trade, but i put parker in it because i like Danny Green alot and just dont think parker is very good
Philly would probably love that since it saves them a lot of money…. but I think what’s holding up Ferry in regards to that deal is they don’t get a PF back. There’s no guarantee that Leon Powe can come back and be effective, and while JJ isn’t the greatest player, he is still better than Darnell Jackson.
If Leon Powe can come back and be effective, I would take that deal in a heartbeat…. although the Cavs would lose the two best three point shooters in the league…
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yzvgv35
Im play on trade machine way too much…
Z, J.J., Booby, and Parker and im assuming the rights to Eyenga or a future pick for Iggy and Dalembert
Phili would save 15 million next year get some young talent and the Cavs would have Iguodala for 3-4 years after this one and dalembert isn’t worthless although he is overpaid for a guy averaging 7.5/9.4/2.2 blocks
How could the Cavs even swing a deal with both Iggy and Dalembert? They’d have to give up Z and Shaq. I really dont see anyway they could get both and make the money work out.
Bring Iggy to cleveland, Imagine this defensive lineup
Delonte
Iguodala
Lebron
Andy
Shaq
Only problem the critics have with the Iguodala trade is bringing Samual Dalembert’s contract with him, which after this season isnt so bad since he would most likely start at Center and be a decent option there, so i dont care if we have to give up picks of J.J. or whatever
Having all of these players right now and in the future during their primes would be incredible, and would force LeBron to stay here and win
Colin, I think the reason Hughes didn’t work out is because his style didn’t fit his body. He was a “slasher” or whatever but by the time he came to Cleveland he had dead legs. He could barely dunk by the time we got him and he was 6’5″ and 180 lbs soaking wet. He simply could not beat his man off the dribble or create any penetration. Quite simply, he was a slasher that couldn’t slash! To call Igudala a hughes clone is to deny his athleticism and ability to get to the rack. He is easily one of… Read more »
I think we’ve stopped talking about Amare because it was never very likely, so why worry about it.
I think we’ve all stopped talking about Amare, and I think that he would be an incredible fit – A lot of people bring up these negatives when talking about him: Lack of effort defensively Shaq experiment failed in Phoenix so it’ll fail in Cleveland I don’t think those things are as bad as they’re made out to be. Mike Brown’s system can transform bad defenders into good defenders, and with his athleticism, I see no reason why that doesn’t happen with Amare. Furthermore, the Shaq experiment failed in a different system, and the Cavs are already starting a poor-man’s… Read more »
Andre Igoudala = LeBron’s Pippen
Whether LeBron can play off him like MJ, or is a Pippen/MJ combo, would be left to be seen.
And as far as Iggy or Jamison is concerned…. I think I’d have to go Iggy (if the Cavs were able to get one). Earlier I was in favor of Jamison, because getting Iggy had too much of a, “oh crap, he’s a Hughes clone!” look to him. BUT, and this is something I just realized… part of the reason Hughes didn’t work out is because he wasn’t a three point threat (among many, many other reasons). However, that was back when LeBron was not a reliable shooter. Nowadays, you have to guard LeBron out past the three point line… Read more »
Great article by Kevin Pelton posted on TrueHoop on Lebron’s foul rate:
http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=899
There’s no question LeBron would be the best PG in the East. He is arguably one of the best PnR facilitators in the history of the game (top-2 in the league currently, with Nash). I actually said that previous statement in another one of John’s posts. I think the question then becomes…. at which position does LeBron provide the most matchup problems? Everyone wants LeBron to be the stretch 4, but what if they moved him to the point? What is the other team going to do defensively? There’s no stopping LeBron as the point guard (which is what makes… Read more »
If Mo didn’t exist then this team wouldn’t be very great. But, LeBron is better than he ever has been and if they had to play him 42 minutes a game and he was the primary ball handler for a season..he would average like 12 assists a game. I said this on DDL, but if the cavs were to start LeBron at point instead of the 3, he would that very night become the best PG in the East and probably the league…think about that.
Cavs extended hot streak:
Last loss of >3 points: Dallas, Dec. 20 (If not for 3 one possession losses, Cavs would have a 22 game win streak)
Last loss of >10 points: Washington, Nov. 18 (Wow, I can’t even remember that far back!)
Margin since Dec. 20: +10 per game (on the dot)
9-1 in 10 home, 10-2 in 12 away during streak
10-3 in 13 games against .500+ teams, 9-0 against sub-.500 teams
James: 30 pgg, 8.5 apg, 7.5 rpg, 1.77 stl, 1.27 blk, 50% shooting. Whoa.
JAWARIO!
I LOVE IT!
I’m posting comments like they’re going out of style; whatever. I think this LeBron needs shooters thing is a little overblown . If you can shoot very well, LeBron will find you and get you great looks, and he can make somebody who’s pretty bad/mediocre thrive in a spot-up role (ala Gibson and Parker). But LeBron should only play with shot-up shooters for the rest of his career? If you’re Larry Hughes and can’t shoot, then you can’t play with LeBron. If you’re Gibson and suck, then you can play, because you knock down open 3’s. If you’re Iguodala, you’re… Read more »
Here’s the thing with Iggy: He’s not a great fit.
LeBron thrives with shooters around him, and Iggy would never be described as one. It would be a talent>fit decision, and it COULD work, but its certainly not a sure thing.
What about Jawillio MoonWad? @scott, you have to think past this year, too. Jamison could be a corpse next year at 34 and the Cavs have no cap space, can’t make a deal, and playing a washed-up power forward making 13 million a year. If you get Iggy, he’s 26, so LeBron, Mo, Andy, and Iggy all get to do young people things for the next 6-7 years, probably as the favorites to win it all every year. About the lineup, I would just start Powe and play him like J.J., and let Andy be the crunch time 4. Powe… Read more »
If we went for Iggy couldn’t MoonWad play the 3 with Bron at the 4 until Z came back?
I heard that Jawad had been having some back spasms in the last couple days. That would definately have an impact on his shooting if he can’t loosen that up. But I think it should be JaMoonio
“It’s the truth,” James tells The News-Herald. “I see things happen before even my teammates see it. That’s why I get some turnovers some times. It’s a God-given ability I have. I try to use it to my advantage. … I try to put my teammates in the best position. I see it before it happens.”
Apparently this is why Lebron has so many turnovers. Good stuff.
I vote for MoonWad.
Couple things: – My vote is for the tandem to simply be called “MoonWad.” A one-word combo name fits the celebrity-couple mold that I think is missing from the Cavs. – Say we make a trade for Iguodala and we have to give up Z, at least for a month, and Hickson. So our starting PF is now Andy (if we keep him there, with Jackson or Powe (neither of whom has played this year) as the backup. Is D-Block also playing backup center to Shaq? If we got Jamison, then you can play him at PF, and keep Andy… Read more »
Because I am a self-made man, I researched the Iggy trade. On Waitingfornextyear. The trade for Iggy appears to be the most logical of the Ig/Jamison/Murphy talks. The problem with Jamison is he’s 33, the problem with Murphy is he sucks and the problem with Iggy is that he ISN’T IN A CAVS UNIFORM YET. He’s 26 and awesome. He has a fair contract because, again, he’s awesome. I like to think of him as the 6’6″ All-Star version of Delonte, without bi-polar and pending legal problems. I’ve always said that Iggy would be the best Pippen in the league… Read more »
Why are we all so concerned with this team matching the record from last years team? Does that mean something I’m not aware of? Are people in Cleveland still trying to convince this team is as good as last years? if we win 62 as opposed to 66, will it mean we can’t win a title? I just don’t get it. You see what you see. You see they are better against the top competition this year and shouldn’t that be enough? Frankly, I’m ready for the playoffs to start today and the rest of the regular season is pretty… Read more »
Is there any actual Andre Ig rumors to Cleveland or is it all just fan speculation?
How entirely awesome was Lebron’s ‘anything MJ can do, I can do too’ moment?
Love Jawario Willmoon – I have a laundry list of incredible observations. But ill keep it short. Lebron would be the best player in the NBA if he scored ten points a game. Boobie Gibson is going to win a playoff game or 4 with a clutch 3. if the Cavs can trade Z for iggy they should. When was the last time we weren’t the best team on the court? We beat ourselves against Dallas and Utah had the stars alligned. We seriously have been in every game for well over a month. The pundits will never admit they… Read more »
Mat, an argument against would be that if you throw out the Orlando series, this team has not had a single 4-4 stretch in the past 2 seasons. And in that stretch of 140 or however many games is not one single 3 game losing streak and only 4 two game losing streaks. For all those people that think that the Cavs are built as a “regular season” team, this may be their best argument.
That being said, it’s entirely possible that we get another stretch of 4-4 or 5-5 between now and the end of the season. They have a couple more tough road stretches to go (the one following this homestand, @Bobcats, Magic, Celts, and Raps with the Hornets coming to town in between, looks a little bit worse than 7 April games against 6 winning teams), and the season is long. That being said, it’s very tough to see them getting run off the floor by anybody really before the playoffs get here. (On another note, it seems exceedingly odd that we… Read more »
I hope that all this momentum isn’t ruined on Thursday by D Wade recklessly throwing his body at 100mph into a Cav defender– he has definitely mastered the art of getting the foul call, but something about his game seems so cheap. I mean, it is almost certain that the dude wouldn’t finish 95% of those shots if the defender just vanished into thin air, but he still gets away with kamikaze drives at angles not conducive to scoring. He better stay the hell away from Andy and Bron’s knees is all I’m saying.
I was just about to say the Cavs are now on the same pace as last year, before Dr. Z beat me to it.
39-9 since starting 0-2. Just 6 combined points keeping them from winning 22 games in a row (seriously, this team could be 44-6 when you look at the games against Chicago and Memphis as well). They just have to keep it up.
Which reminds me, anyone else remember earlier in the year when we were all wondering why the Cavs seemed to play so inconsistently and down to their competition?
Jawario Moonwad is perfect. Anyone else notice that for the first time this season the CAVS have caught up to last year’s record at the same number of games played? Since being 1-2 anyways. It is pretty awesome to FINALLY be watching Shaq get easy buckets while Lebron sits… I still remember watching and PRAYING that the non-Lebron lineups could muster 2-3 baskets during his bench stints. If this play keeps up and the right people come back at the right time, the CAVS could be looking at confirming home court with 4-5 games to play, which will be huge.… Read more »
I think a lot of people forget, including myself, that Shaq plays himself into shape. In fact, he’s NOTORIOUS for that. So it only makes sense that he is beginning to pick up his play (though I don’t think its a coincidence that it’s happening at the same time as Mo’s absence. Shaq is clearly thriving as the second option).
Jawario Moonwad. It doesn’t make perfect sense like the others, but I think it’s funnier.
Anyways, I had the general impression of Rudy Gay being a good, clean player. Was that shove on Varejao just some frustration, AC making a big deal out of nothing, or something indicative of Rudy? I honestly don’t know which.
And boy it sure is nice to have all these blowouts after a bunch of nailbiters. Even Danny Green got to play! (I’m glad he wasn’t seriously injured. That spill was nasty.)
I would just like to point out that, after the Cavs lost in Dallas to drop to 20-8, the Cavs had 26 games before the All-Star break. I figured they would need to go 20-6 in those last 26 games to have a legit shot to get the #1 seed. Well, with just 4 games left before the All-Star break, the team needs only one more win to reach that 40-win mark. I guess what Im getting at is, any win they should get if they reach 40 before the break is gravy. If they can win these next four… Read more »
Ive been trying to think of a nickname for that duo for about a week now, and I almost posted on Twitter they should be “Jawario,” but I couldn’t think of a logical way to combine their last names. Moolliams? Willoon? The last name just doesn’t sound right.
However, both Jawario and Jamad work to perfection.
How about we take Ja- from Jawad. And Mario with Jamario. Then do a hyphinated last name. Jamario Williams-Moon. And to nickname that nickname we can call them JWM46, combining Moon’s #15 and Williams’ #31. Let’s try it.
JWM46 combined to go 2-11 from the field, but you gotta love JWM46’s effort.
@Philip –> absolutely love it… Jawario.
Shaq is straight rolling. 13 points and 13 boards in 21 minutes. The dude is still really reall productive. When will the national media admit they were wrong about the Shaq deal?
How about Moon-wad?
Jawario?
They’re no replacement for Donkey King at the SF…
Shaq recorded double-figures in scoring in only 13 of his first 24 games (first 30 for Cavs as they were 22-8). In his first 24 games this season, per 40 mins, he averaged 17.81 pts and 12.14 boards on 61.7 TS%.
Since SAC on 12/23, Shaq has recorded double-figures in scoring in 19/20 opportunities as Cavs have gone 17-3. In past 20 games, per 40 mins, he is averaging 22.9 pts and 11.71 boards on 61.9 TS%.
Cavs are now 15-2 when Shaq scores at least 13pts, and 24-2 when he has TS% of greater than .542.