Preseason(!) Recap: Cavs 99, Bucks 87
2013-10-08
Whoa baby! It’s October! And you know what that means…Basketball!!!! Sure, it’s preseason, and sure, a bunch of roster fill played nearly the entire fourth quarter. But we’ve been without basketball for months, so I’ll take it.
And boy oh boy, the Cavaliers did not disappoint. The Cavalier starting 5 outscored Milwaukee’s 50-27 and the team showed clear improvement on the defensive end, holding Milwaukee to 37% shooting (largely augmented by the fourth quarter bench-fest). While there was (unsurprisingly) no Bynum appearance, the game did mark the return of a healthy Anderson Varejao, the unveiling of a right-handed TT, the first taste of NBA for three Cavalier rookies, including number one overall pick Anthony Bennett, and a slew of free agent intros, all of which came across as mostly positive.
The Good
Tristan Thompson’s Right Hand: No one could’ve expected THIS kind of improvement, right? 7-10, strong finishes, a certain confidence that had been lacking in the past, and even a fantastic ally-oop finish thanks to a great Kyrie pass (a realization of all our dreams?) Simply put, Tristan looked great on offense. If this is what we can come to expect, I’m beyond thrilled. Now lets get cracking on his post D!
Kyrie’s D: Yes, it’s still got lots and lots and lots of holes, there was a certain effort on the defensive end that had, shall I say, been lacking in the past. On one specific instance Kyrie got beat from the top of the key by Brandon Knight but, instead of giving up and allowing an easy score, stayed with his man, chasing him down for the steal. It’s this kind of effort that, when applied consistently, will lead to huge improvement on the Cavs
The Cavalier D in General: Seriously though, beyond good man D from Kyrie, the entire team showed vast improvement, rotating off of men properly, defending their assignment through the shot, and putting in FAR more effort than Cavalier fans are accustomed to. I figured Mike Brown would leave his mark on this team, just not this quickly. And how impressive was Dion? Awesome.
Anderson Varejao’s Everything: Sure, he didn’t shoot particularly well, but gosh darned I missed Andy! In just 21 minutes Andy managed 10(!) rebounds, including four on O. In addition, he was his usual disruptive self on D and smart, court-conscious self on the other side of the ball.
Karasev’s Passing: It’s the little things in life that make life worthwhile, and one little thing that stood out to me was Karasev’s court vision and passing-smarts, especially on a brilliant ally-oop to his fellow rookie Bennett. Maybe my expectations were a little too low, but Karasev looked far more polished on offense than I imagined he would
Jarrett Jack’s Presence: It’s already pretty clear that Jack was the kind of vet leadership the Cavs needed. The guy is a consummate pro; the kind of player who will shake off a bad shot and immediately make an impact on the next play. Glad he’s around.
CJ Miles On O: We pretty much know what to expect here, right? Sometimes he’ll look like this and we’ll all smile, and other times he’ll lay a giant egg and we’ll all pull our hair out.
Kenny Kadji: Uh, who? The highlight of the fourth quarter, Kadji showed incredible athleticism, good shot selection, and heads-up court vision. Kenny even appears to be a decent defender, closing out on his man and playing with toughness. One or two more games like this and I think we’ve found our 13th man. Or at least a nice D-League option.
The Bad
Anthony Bennett: Sure, we knew he couldn’t defend Nate’s daughter after a hardcore coaching session, but I figured he’d be a little more precise on offense. Bennett, who went 2-12 from the field and 3-8 from the line, showed definite athleticism and explosiveness, but his shot selection and touch were both lacking. He’s definitely a supremely talented player, but he remains very, very raw.
Dion’s Shot Selection: I’m going to keep this short – 4-11 isn’t good, especially given Dion’s supposed time spent this off-season improving his game. I still flinch when he shoots the ill-advised step-back jumper.
Dion and Kyrie’s Lack Of Off-Ball Movement: One thing I watched for and was disappointed in was the lack of off-ball movement by Kyrie and Dion. We’ve all acknowledge how important that facet of the game will be to the growth of Cavaliers, since both players are currently better with the ball in their hands. Lets hope we see more and more of it as the preseason goes on.
The Rest
Earl Clark: He was…um…fun? Or Cool? This was definitely a very Earl Clarkian game. I can live with it.
Carrick Felix: Against the bench bunch, Felix looked like a definite pro. He’s a decent defender and didn’t take any abysmal shots. He’ll probably spend a lot of the season in the D-League, but there could be some Danny Green-type potential here.
DeSagana Diop: Welcome back! Now get out.
Dion Waiter’s Dunk: I couldn’t find the video, but Thanks to commenter Jake for finding the video! http://www.sportsoverdose.com/video/dion-waiters-orders-up-a-slam-2.html WOW. Every time Dion does something like that, I remember why I love his potential so much.
Basketball is back, folks. And I couldn’t be happier.
The other thing about Bennett: He has Zach Randolph type hands. Have no doubts that he’s going to be able to catch/grab everything that comes his way.
I keep telling myself that it was just a preseason game. They put forth more defensive effort in a preseason game this year than they did all of last season. Kyrie and Dion both looked noticeably more engaged on D.
I’m really feeling good about the team this season. They might not make the playoffs, but they’ll at the very least be playing meaningful games in April for the first time in four years.
Loved the hard hedging and the relentless closeouts, MB staples, but the aggressive traps are new. Very Heat-like. Dion still takes too many contested, fading jumpers…period. When Bennett gets comfortable, he’s gonna be nasty and you can already see it. Forget the shooting, I liked the “Brick Wall” picks and his blazing quicks for an overweight bruiser. Drew alot of fouls because his matchup was consistently playing catch up. Good form and good IQ. I like how MB kept calling TO’s to straighten out the little things like boxing out or transition D. I see a beast in the making.… Read more »
I got to sit in the 4th row center court last night thanks to a pretty lady from the marketing department. She gave us an upgrade from our “free from Drug Mart” tickets (technically they cost me 2 six-packs of 12oz Dr. Pepper bottles). I agree about Kyrie and Dion needing to learn to play together. Althoughhhh I think a couple of plays were overlooked. There was a play in the 3rd quarter where Kyrie was bringing the ball up, Dion made quick eye contact with him and seemed to call a play. Kyrie passed it to Dion, quickly cut… Read more »
Yeah, I think Korver would be his absolute ceiling for this year though
Didn’t see that Bennett was a defensive liability at all from a talent perspective. Maybe he was confused about rotations a few times, but he defended well. That was a big concern when we drafted him.
If nothing else, I’m hoping Karasev can be a Novak/Korver type shooter in his rookie year.
I’d like to see Dion and Kyrie try to develop a two man game together picking off each others defenders, I really think that could be deadly given the right approach and spacing.
David – Agreed. It may take some time for Bennett to fully develop an NBA. I can tell you right now, his signature play is going to be facing up about 10 feet out on the baseline. If the defender steps fully out, Bennett will go right by him. If the defender respects the drive Bennett will hit the short jumper all day. You can also see that he’ll eventually become the “king of pick and pop.” Finally, I’ve been hoping that the Cavs would pick up a bruiser for such a long time. I hope he can be that.… Read more »
I agree with most in that it was a very encouraging game. TT looked awesome and I really thought Dion did too. It was great to see Andy back out there as well along with Kyrie. It will be interesting to see how the minutes at the 3 break down with Clark/Miles/Gee/Karasev. I really like Sergey, if they can get his defense up to passable he will be a huge peice for the team, his three was sick, so quick and perfect. Bennett could have looked better but I liked what I saw, especially him running over the Bucks’ PG… Read more »
I thought Dion played fine. On a team with Tristan and Andy, drives to the basket are to be encouraged because there just aren’t going to be frontcourts that get more offensive boards. The Kobe assist thing is real with him. And even if you disagree, it is much better than him taking 20 footers which is all too often the alternative. Tristan was fantastic. I don’t really know what you mean about him needing to improve his post defense. Can he get better? yea, his defensive upside is basically limitless. very excited to see how he continues to get… Read more »
Underdog- Bennett can shoot, but I doubt he will have NBA 3pt range right away. Hopefully he can develop it.
Not trying to overkill this subject, but going back through Dion’s shot selection and the outcome of the play, I thought he was great. Even though he did get blocked twice, it led to baskets, which I prefer over the step back 20 footer. He is so good at getting by his man and causing the big man to switch onto him that it leaves Tristan or whoever is playing free. Dion driving is a good play almost all of the time. Also Waiters does need to improve on his movement without the basketball. It was non-existent last year, but… Read more »
NOBODY has ever questioned Bennett’s ability to shoot. Hence, Brown said nothing when he air balled a 3 early on the shot clock (a couple of times), but immediately called a timeout when he missed a defensive assignment. They want him to shoot. He was nervous as all get out. I was amazed at how active he was for being overweight. Did anybody notice how much he came out and received the first pass at the top of the key? It was designed. It was quasi-guard like. Did you see how many picks he set, then either rolled or got… Read more »
Bennett “showed definite athleticism and explosiveness”?…. He was blocked by guys shorter than him twice (maybe 3 times), and is completely out of shape. Mike Brown will work the sh*t out of him, but he needs to get into shape. I think you over looked just how poorly he played. Two airballs, nearly another airball at the line, missed putbacks, etc. Hopefully it was just nerves. I understand he was hurt in the offseason, but we thought he was going to play some small forward? I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
Bullshite, Nate. Sanders made a pretty impressive block on Dion’s break-out. And as Austin Carr rightly points out, driving to the hoop and getting a good look even if it’s blocked frequently leads to easy put backs due to the fact that 90% of the time the shot blocker is coming off of his man to block the shot. Those were GOOD shots by Dion. He took one bad shot. Period. Oh and no one else on this roster could have made that drive and dunk that Dion did. Great ball handling, an even better read of the defense and… Read more »
Oh, and as for Dion, driving into the best shot-blocker in the league and getting blocked is not “good shot selection,” even if it did lead to a couple Kobe assists. I counted three bad shots, not one. It’s not like Sanders made amazing blocks. He made easy ones. But, I still liked Waiters overall game, especially on defense. He does need to learn to cut without the ball, though. I did like the play where Kyrie faded to the corner and got a 3 off a ball swing. That was good movement. Kenny Kadji might be playing Dellavedova out… Read more »
THIS. THIS SO MUCH http://deadspin.com/jarrett-jack-with-a-beautiful-behind-the-back-assist-1442932295
I MISSED YOU ANDERSON VAREJAO! That was such a fun game. Impressions: Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to be a player. He was very raw at times, but man did he fill up the box score, and I loved his aggressiveness getting to the line 10 times. Add 4 boards, 2 dimes, 2 steals, 3 blocks, 5 turnovers, and 5 fouls, and it’s obvious he isn’t a wilting violet. He’s not passive. He’s a match-up nightmare on both ends of the court, and for as low level as his Greek League was, to be able to come in and make an… Read more »
Tom- I totally agree that was one of my biggest takes from the game… Varejao, Thompson, Clark should, all caps moment, DOMINATE, on the boards, as they did last night
Our worst rebounding plausible frontcourt Zeller, Bennett, Miles. Should hold their own most of the time
Another one of my favorite moments… Alonzo Gee where he should be, Buried on the back of the bench
There’s a whole regular season for criticism. I’m just glad basketball is back and there’s so much cause for optimism with this team. Great start with clear improvement over last season’s squad. Very exciting stuff! Fingers crossed for a Bynum sighting before Thanksgiving.
Really fun to watch the Cavs back at it last night. I was also pleasantly surprised by Karasev’s passing, I somehow didn’t notice it when I watched his FIBA games.
Off topic, but I’m looking to fill a couple spots for a fantasy hoops money league for Cavs fans. More details here:
http://www.fearthesword.com/2013/9/25/4771160/fantasy-hoops-money-league
Loved Kadji while he was at Miami, he was a huge part of our ACC Championship run. I was thrilled when we brought him in for summer league. Hopefully we can import some Kadji Beer to serve at the Q.
One thing that has hardly been mentioned all offseason is that this could be the best rebounding team in the league by a good margin. Andy and Bennett had 10 rebounds each last night in 21 and 23 mins and if Bynum is healthy these are our BENCH guys, when Clark is at SF with either unit that is a tough trio to rip down boards against. With our front court being acceptable in this realm we are looking good.
Mallory – I always felt you were a little harsh on Dion last year, given that he was a rookie and given that he steadily improved over the course of the year. However, this year I think it is totally legit to critique his FG%. It did not improve in summer league and was bad last night. I know a lot of people here are making excuses for why that is, and arguing that his shot selection was better, but the bottom line is that Dion needs to shoot around 45% this year. Especially with Jack, Miles, and Karaysev on… Read more »
DeSagana Diop: Welcome back! Now get out.
Laughed loudly at this one. Co-workers asking me what was so funny. They’re not Cavs fans (probably won’t find a lot of them in North Carolina) so they weren’t nearly as amused.
“Against better teams and better defenders he’s going to have a harder time penetrating without real strength”
I didn’t get to watch the game (I had other priorities), but how much was he on the court when Larry Sanders was on the court? Because he’s one of the better shot blockers in the league…and that may have affected him some.
Dion took one bad shot. One. That’s it. 4-11 isn’t good, but that really has nothing to do with whether or not the shot selection was good, it’s just a POSSIBLE by-product of poor shot selection.
And Thompson shot like 80% from the line in the FIBA America games over the stretch of like 6 games. The change is the real deal, and I fully expect his FT shooting to continue to be well into the 70s.
Go to The Blog for the trademark cynicism, go to Fear the Sword for the snarky optimism.
Jake – totally agree about Dion’s D, as I noted in my “good.” It was great. I figured he’d be improved on that side of the ball this season, with the addition of Brown and a full year under his belt. He has the right body type to be a good, fast, physical defender. Love it. Can’t wait to see the new D unit working together. Sean – unfortunately I was streaming on my computer, so I didn’t get a very clear look at the shot mechanics. The game on Friday is nationally televised on the NBA Network so I’ll… Read more »
I have to disagree on Bennett. Thought he looked polished, just a little jittery early on. His drives to the rim will be tough to stop.
Haha not piling on ya here Mallory, but I was actually overjoyed by Dion tonight. Agreed that his selection and situational shooting still showed some naïveté, but his actual mechanics are SO SO SO much better. Dare I say it: pretty.
http://www.sportsoverdose.com/video/dion-waiters-orders-up-a-slam-2.html
Dion dunk video.
I also agree that Dion’s shot selection wasn’t as bad as it looked. His first drive was a nice move, but Larry Sanders is one of the best shot blockers in the league. He had another 10 foot fall away, but he had some nice off ball movement, which led to a shot he should have made. He also had a nice drive where he couldn’t finish with the left hand. Along with a 35 footer to end the half, I thought he maybe took 1 or 2 bad shots. His defense looked great though. He contested well and almost… Read more »
New season, same crap…
Listen, how about we look at the 4-11 Dion shot, shall we? Well, one was a 35-footer to end the half. 2 shots were blocked but were grabbed and laid in and dunked, respectively by TT. So, in the rest he was 4-8. And 3 nothing-but-net-FT’s.