Recaps: Cavs 117, Nuggets 109 (or, CLE is the greatest team in the world!!)
2014-01-17
Remember that five wins in six games stretch in late November and early December? The Cavs beat the Nuggets by double-digits then, in one of the best games of Cleveland’s season. Those two weeks were fun, and included a win over the Clippers, too. Everything else this season? Not much fun, including zero wins against teams with records better than five-hundred. While maybe over dramatic, tonight’s game defines the difference between this West Coast trip being a success, or a bit of a disaster. With a victory, the Wine & Gold emerge from their longest road trip of the season with three wins and two losses, a very nice result on any West Coast trip. Fans can revel in the exciting addition of Luol Deng, and what it means for the season’s second half. With a loss though, the trip features a double-digit, negative per game point differential, and another frustrating move towards 30 or fewer wins. With the season reaching the halfway point Monday against Dallas, there will be relatively little to be optimistic about. It is pretty stark how different the “narrative” of this road trip and season could be, depending on win or lose tonight.
So, what happened?
The first quarter started well enough. Tristan scored nine points in the first six minutes, as the score stayed tight early: 14 to 13 with five minutes to go in the first. Unfortunately, Randy Foye just wouldn’t miss. Making 54% of his threes over the previous seven games, Foye canned three more in the first quarter, good towards 11 points, staking Denver to a 21 to 15 lead at the max. The second unit fought valiantly though, and the quarter ended with the Cavs trailing 29 to 26. Tristan finished with 9 points, and Andy with 6 rebounds.
The second quarter began with the Cavs blazing. At one point, Jarrett Jack scored seven points as part of a nine to nothing Cleveland run. The Wine & Gold lead 35 to 31 with eight minutes left. All three of Jack’s buckets were in the paint, which is a very nice development that hopefully continue. As soon as I began basking in that glory though, Nate Robinson spurred a seven to nothing Nuggets run. But then, things got crazy. Cleveland scored 33 points in the final 7.5 minutes of the quarter. Dion scored six straight, including one ferocious slam. Then, Kyrie scored ten in a minute and a half, featuring one abracadabra drive for a lay-in. With three minutes left in the quarter, the Cavs lead 58 to 46. Tristan made a couple of buckets, then Dion and CJ each hit threes, and voila, 10 more points in a little over a minutes! 68 to 57 at the half. That was some of the most breakneck, ridiculous seven minutes of basketball I have seen the Cavs, or any other team play. For those seven minutes, they scored 211 points per 48. The Wine & Gold finished the half shooting 57 / 46 / 79, as Tristan, Kyrie and CJ scored 13 each, with Dion and Jack pitching in nine a piece. Combining the torrid shooting with three turnovers, it was one hell of a half.
The third quarter started slightly saner, maybe even a bit of a hangover after the drunken exuberance of the third quarter, but the Cavs maintained a solid lead. The margin was double digits most of the quarter, until Denver pulled within seven towards the end. Cleveland lead 87 to 80 going into the fourth. Luol Deng scored ten and Tristan six for the quarter.
The fourth quarter continued slowly, like the third, an extended withdrawal from the madness of the late portions of the first half. Cleveland scored 11 points in the first six-plus minutes of the final frame, but fortunately Denver only matched. The Cavs’ offense stagnated, as Denver drew within four at 101 to 97…
I start to sweat, before Varejao finds a cutting Deng for a layup, grabs an offensive board, and then hits Tristan on a nice pass, getting Thompson to the line. Thank goodness for you, Andy. Next, of course, Nate Robinson promptly hits a three, before Varejao throws a lazy inbounds pass for a Nate Rob gimme. I vomit a little. 105 to 102 Cavs. 3:25 left.
Andy redeems himself with another sweet dime to Kyrie. That’s three extremely crucial passes in crunch time from Varejao. 109 to 102 Cavs. The stupid Nuggets won’t go away though. Wilson Chandler cans two from deep, while the Cavs start shooting long two-pointers…but on one, the ball is loose on the floor…Luol Deng slams it home. 113 to 108 Cleveland!! 44 seconds to go!! From there, the rest is easy. Cleveland wins 117 to 109! The season is saved!! Three wins on the longest West coast trip of the season!!!
Ok, it may not be that easy, but coming out of this swing with three wins is a really nice outcome. Here’s to wishing a Luol Deng infused second half leads to many more victories and the type of season that most envisioned. Just like the other stretch of winning basketball from this season, hope appears to be on the horizon. Fingers crossed…
A few bullets…
- That stretch in the second quarter was crazy. I couldn’t keep up. Everyone was scoring from everywhere all the time. I do not know the NBA’s 25th ranked offense had that capability.
- Tristan made his first eight shots. Short jumpers, driving hooks, catch and finishes, it was an offensive explosion from TT. He finished with 20 points on 8-9 shooting, with 10 rebounds and two blocks. Seeing Thompson swat a few shots may have been as exciting as anything.
- Andy finished with seven points, 16 boards, seven assists, three steals and a block while leading the team in plus/minus. It was exactly the type of game you would expect from that stat line. A perfect Andy game, if you will. How many other guys in the NBA can but up those numbers? Send that man to the All-Star game. The Eastern Conference stinks anyways, right?
- Kyrie scored 23 points, to go with six assists, four rebounds and one turnover. It was a fairly understated 23 points. Tristan and Andy were the “stars” tonight.
- C.J. Miles scored 14 on 6-12 shooting, and like Andy, finished +14. He has really been a plus/minus all-star for the team this year.
- Luol Deng scored 18 points on 6-17 shooting. It wasn’t his greatest game. He scored a lot in the third though, when the offense otherwise bogged down, and put in a pivotal bucket off an Andy dime late.
- Rough first eight minutes for Dion. Got destroyed by Kenneth Faried on a fast break, and also bobbled a different fast break opportunity. He threw a couple of bad passes and generally looked unengaged early. Then, that turned around and he scored nine points with two steals over the next nine minutes. But of course next, the second half sucked. 0-4 with no free throws. He didn’t get to finish the game on the court, and shot 3-14 for the game, for nine points. I want to feel better about Dion than I do.
- Tyler Zeller grabbed seven boards in 17 minutes. He wasn’t generally capable of doing that last year.
@KJ – I can appreciate that you and most CtB posters are super optimistic about the Cavs. Yes the Cavs are 11-13 (including the Nov 30th win against the Bulls. They are also 4-10 over the last month (since a December 21st loss to those same Bulls). The fact is that the Cavs will likely finish with a winning percentage at or below .420. Even if the Cavs play .500 basketball for the rest of the year (which is highly unlikely), they’ll finish with 36 wins. Better than last year, but hardly something to hang your hat on considering we… Read more »
Iggy is the greatest 9ppg 58FT% superstar in the league.
@Tom I don’t think he would of fit as well here. Playing with Steph and Klay is perfect for him
Rodney, I dunno a lot of national guys picked Det to be a playoff team. 8th seed but still…
A pairing of Irving and Love depends on if they are better scorers than they are bad defenders. That pairing needs a rim protecting center in the middle of which we currently don’t have and would not be able to get if we got Love this season. If you want Kevin Love you need a dream scenario where we get Kevin Love and Omer Asik at the same time. That means giving up Dion, Thompson, Bennett, Andy as many picks as we are allowed some other throw in guys and guarantee that they sign extensions. It’s a pipe dream, Love… Read more »
On the topic of us going .500 the rest of the way, well, there are two ways to look at it. There are only 4 teams over 500 in the East and 2 of those are only 1 game over 500 so it could be completely unrealistic to think the Cavs are going to be one of 3-5 teams in the East go to 500 or better. But wait dair’s more! It could also then be argued that the East is a bunch of ball suckers and it is completely possible to get on a run and beat the other… Read more »
I just want the Cavs to trade a combo of Dion/TT/Bennett and a couple 1sts for K Love. It’s my dream. Then extend Deng and roll with a core of Kyrie Deng Love … Wow
Underdog I think almost everyone predicted Detroit would struggle. Some people thought that Detroit would trade monroe for a shooter and would start winning but everyone knew that team would stink as currently constructed.
I was agreeing with your optimism. I’m not one of the numbers guys on here.
@Scott, I wonder if you read my post where I said the Cavs are 11-13 since Nov 30th? So, thinking a team that have won 3 of 5 on the road this past week might play .500 ball the rest of the way seems absolutely conservative to me.
@Underdog a classic example of making a fantasy team that doesn’t work in the real world. Something I think many, many bloggers and commenters of NBA are guilty of doing. Numbers in a vacuum, etc….
For those interested – some of the Golden State faithful are beginning to question the Harrison Barnes pick: http://network.yardbarker.com/nba/article_external/the_fall_of_the_falcon_harrison_barnes_has_a_dubious_future_with_the_golden_state_warriors/15561974?linksrc=story_team_golden_state_warriors_auto_module_head_15561974 While the article speaks highly of Barnes’ physical gifts and his performance in last year’s playoffs it includes these types of statements: “The question remains, where does Harrison Barnes fit into the Warriors plans? With Andre Iguodala playing like a superstar, there is just no way that Barnes can crack the starting lineup over the next couple of seasons.” “One would expect Barnes to have taken initiative on offense this season, but he has continued to disappear throughout the game. According… Read more »
Wow, Andre Iguodala is playing like a superstar? Who would have predicted that?
A worst case scenario of Andy starting at center for two more years and then deferring to Zeller, who should weigh 20 more pounds and have a real veteran’s feel for the game by then – is not such a bad scenario.
Of course, over that time we’ll be trying to improve there, but that’s not so bad.
BTW: Why can’t Detroit win with Drummond, Monroe, and Josh Smith?
Not sure if most people are eager to trade Andy as much as it’s just a possibility in the summer. If they need to create cap room next year, his non-guaranteed contract is probably the easiest on the team to deal. It’s also a compliment to the player he is that other teams are interested in him.
As I said 3 out of 5 ain’t bad for a young team. Next few games are winnable , they should take care of home court. One thing that puzzles me is that everybody want to trade Andy, may be that is why Ctown teams don’t win much, there is no loyalty + love at all.Go Cavs
@Scott. I agree with most of the positive comments on here by other people to be honest. I think we’ve played very well offensively since Bynum left and I agree that Andy is one of the most underrated players in the league. I think Dion, Kyrie and Tristan will continue improving defensively and that Zeller can be part of a decent big man rotation. Also the Deng effect – not just the fact that we have gone from a D-League calibre SF to an All Star calibre one but also the fact that he brings leadership to a very young… Read more »
@James – Why do you think the Cavs will play .500 ball the rest of the way? Is this the Deng effect? Improving play from Kyrie? Or, something else? Just curious. For my part, I thought the Cavs would struggle to get 30 wins before the Deng trade. Now, I’m hoping for more consistent play from Kyrie and Dion. If they play much better, I think the Cavs can win 35-36 games and sneak into the playoffs. If not, we’re back in the lottery – probably with a 10-12 pick. Also, thus far the Cavs have only beaten two teams… Read more »
Haha yeah. But I think it’s a sign that we are probably better than a lot of the teams around us as we are able to compete better with the better western conference foes. We should be able to play .500 ball the rest of the way as a minimum in my opinion.
Yeah but James you have to beat the conference foes to be able to beat the teams out west.
Another interesting fact about our record, and more reason for optimism, is that compared to our playoff “rivals” our out-of-conference record is much better:
Cavs: 6-7
NY: 3-11
Cha: 3-11
Bro: 6-8
Det: 2-12
Chi: 3-8
Was: 3-9
Obviously this means our intra-conference record is awful but it shows we are matching up far better overall with the better teams in this league compared to our rivals.
Kyrie seemed a more willing and effective passer in this game than I’ve sen in a while. Even when Deng shoots poorly, he does so many things right that you have to think he’ll help this team greatly. I hope the young players take note. Dion played nice defense even though his offense was a mess. That’s good to see. A lot of guys don’t play good defense when they struggle at the other end. I hope he gets it together, soon. So many Cavs fans think he’s an all-star talent. I’d love to see it. Realistically, I doubt the… Read more »
“Optimism warranted.” Ok. So then everybody needs to take a deep breath and count to 10 whenever we lose by 20+ points.
More food for thought: Cavs are 11-13 since Nov. 30.
So, as someone said in Twitter, that 4-12 start was the problem. We’ve been playing roughly .500 ball since then. Optimism warranted…
It is crazy that Bennett is not in the D-League. If he isn’t going to get NBA minutes, which he shouldn’t since the Deng trade suggests we are trying to win games, then he needs to be playing somewhere. There must be something going on behind the scenes since I can’t see any possible benefit in having him sit on the bench.
Bennett needs to start getting Clark’s minutes or get sent to Canton. One or the other
The Cavs as a team this year have been outscored by 213 its. When Jaret Jack has been on the floor about 50% of the time. The team is -197. When he’s not on the floor the team is -14. This is is seemingly impossible because he didn’t play that much with Bynum (less than 20% of the time) but its true. If Brown had just given all his minutes to Miles and Delladova we’d be .500 right now. He may be become more effective if he stays as a 12-15 minute a night guy who strictly plays the back… Read more »
Exactly, Rodney! Good eyes…
I doubt they would do that trade as they don’t really need a PG, Jack has a long contract and and we can’t really trade our pick this year due to the Deng deal. I think any trade we make to a tanking team looking to offload players (like Philly) would have to include Bennett / Karasev as they are both young, could develop into NBA calibre players and won’t help them win games this year but can be given decent playing time to improve. The only teams likely to give us something for Jack straight up would be a… Read more »
Dion also does something that most young players don’t do. He usually picks the best shooter to close out on and not neccessarily the guy with the ball. I saw this 3 times last night and 2x the night before. Last night in one case he Tylawson had the ball wide open after drive and kick. Foye was in the high corner and Lawson had the ball on the wing. Dion made the perfect defensive play by denying penetration to Lawson and staying close to Foye. Yes Lawson canned the 3 but of the 3 possible shots Dion took away… Read more »
Sorry for doubling, but ET wouldn’t be Deng for us. He would be the bench SF. Maybe a bad role for him, but think about him and Dion on the 2nd unit. And it would allow Deng to play a little bit of 4 late in games if there’s a stretch 4 that Tristan can’t close out on.
@Gordon You want Zeller to put on another 30? That would put him in Al Jefferson-Glen Davis-Nikola Pekovic Range. I only like it if he hits the latter. Also I think Andy is the best passing center and if he could only hit the corner 3s Z used to… Lordy… I think with the way he plays and the way Brown plays him, he has 3 more solid seasons, 2 of which are improvements still, and the one is only a slight dropoff in athleticism and rebounding- IQ is still one of the tops for a center. And I think… Read more »
Look, I agree Zeller has improved but he also gave up a double-double to Mozgov and was pushed around by him a lot.
Dion closed out countless times last night and guys missed their long shots. Go watch the game. He does that well.
@ Underdog
Agree on most of that. I was completely done with Zeller after watching him his rookie season. I just didn’t think he’d be able to put on any weight – he could still use another 30 lbs but just the “bulk” he has added will allow him to be a solid backup in this league for a long time. He’s one of “those guys” that you love to have backing up the 5 in the playoffs. He’s skilled and understands the nuances of the game that so many players will never understand.
To clarify; I’m referring to FTS commenters not the writers
@KJ You might want to read FTS today. Very positive on ALL the players. There are some other interesting perspectives on Dion you will NEVER see here. TT has a monster game and yet people complain about him. on here. WTH? Cavs have a GREAT win but some people are so OCD in complaining they must find fault somewhere and Dion is a favorite target. I swear if you gave a envelope with a million dollars in it to some of these people; they would complain the envelope should have been a neon pink one. Players giving and producing results… Read more »
@underdog-
I was one if the ones demanding a veteran. I don’t remember if I specifically advocated for Deng, but I’m seeing the impact I was hoping for.
Also- I noted two fouls from Kyrie that he picked up chasing a ball carrier that blew by him. Those are good fouls. He’s really making an effort on D (most nights)
* “What did I write here?”
What came first – the Chicken McNuggett or the Egg McMuffin? Or, from a basketball sense – did the players get better and then wins came, or are the wins causing them to get better? Andy – most underrated player in the league. So fun to watch. Not trading Andy (while EVERYBODY has been calling for it) has been the best move our front office has made over the last 3 years. Tristan – Turning into a double-double machine. Turning into a consummate garbage man. Doesn’t need the ball . . . contributes while allowing the stars be stars. I… Read more »
Kyrie, according to Synergy, is one of our best close out defenders.
If TT struggled closing out Chandler shooting 3s then he’s going to have a tough time with Dirk on Monday.
Very happy Brown gave CJ more burn tonight, especially considering Dion was having a pretty bad game. I would like to see CJ at 30 minutes a game switching between both wing spots. Jack drives me crazy. For whatever offensive prowess he displayed, he gave it back on the defensive end. He can’t stay in front of anyone anymore. Denver’s guards are particularly quick, but Jack is generally only able to guard 2s and small 3s now using his strength. I would rather have Delly get his minutes and have Dion take even more of the PG duties in the… Read more »
If the team continues to mature as they recently have – just think what we’d have if Bennett had come in and brought instant “inside/outside/match up problem” offense and physicality off the bench when Tristan sat?
Alas . . . time to send him to D League and have him gain confidence and grow up . . . and turn our focus to being over .500 the rest of the way instead of getting the rookie floor time.
Maybe a “second half prediction” blog is in order.
Winning is a lot more fun than losing. Getting beat in the first round of the playoffs is better than tanking (especially if you are somebody that watches games). Winning becomes contagious. Everybody synergistically gets better. Losing leads to deterioration of competitive drive and skill level. Tanking is a process that may lead to getting one good player, while at the same time magically turns your existing players into useless commodities. That’s why, for every OKC story there are numerous failures. It’s akin to a law of math or physics.
A couple of weeks ago one of you made an impassioned rant about the team needing leadership more than anything else. You listed a few players that would fit the bill. I don’t know if Deng was one of them . . . but nice call.
Yeah Dion is not the best at closing out. To be honest none of our “core 3” are good at it because although they have seemingly improved at iso-defence (particularly Kyrie) their off ball defence is appalling (particularly Kyrie). Fortunately most young players improve this aspect of their game last so hopefully we continue seeing improvement as the season goes on. The way our offence is playing I fancy us to win whenever we hold the opposition under 100. Very happy with what I’m seeing from Zeller so far. He was definitely not ready to start a season of games… Read more »
Random comments: – I can’t believe I’m saying this….but kudos to Mike Brown. Last night’s leader in minutes played was none other than CJ Miles, and Jack’s minutes were reduced to 15. If this was a normal night, and you swap their minutes- as well as their +/- (CJ +14; JJ -1)- then the Cavs lose. Is Brown finally learning who gives him the best chance to win? We’ll see. – There was a moment in the second quarter that almost brought me to tears. Dion posts up, and bulls his way for an easy two on a nice move… Read more »
Great point on the Zeller rebounding Kevin.
KJ – Dion is not the best guy we have closing out. He is the worst. It isn’t close. He found a way to help the team last night without playing particularly well though, and that’s good.
@KJ Zeller defending another 7footer and having two good minutes is two more minutes than he would have had last season.
What the hell was up with the rotation tonight, looked like a damn playoff box score. Unfortunately I was driving down to Marietta while the game was going on so I didn’t get to see the win. I’m really kind of pissed about that. But unlike last season I don’t have to worry if it will be the only W for a like 15 games so I guess I can’t be too upset.
@kj Barnes had a super mario tonight!
Okay This was a good road trip. Time for a podcast from you guys. What do you think???
Deng has kept preaching to these guys over and over that it isn’t going to be your night always but it will be for someone else on the team. You have to support each other and not pout about it. You can’t let your slump of shots not falling affect your defense. He’s just what the doctor ordered for this very young team. Did you get to hear his interview on Varejao and Noah? He said Andy was a lot smarter than he thought ? LoL Very funny stuff. He said Noah wouldn’t like him comparing. You could hear Andy… Read more »
Btw, Kevin, here’s something to make you feel better about Dion:
Harrison Barnes’ line tonight: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 2 turnovers, and 5 fouls in 14 minutes.
Oh and Jonas had 4 points.
the difference in offensive play with deng on the team reveals just how bad gee and clark are at basketball. i mean, we haven’t seen a legit NBA small forward since 23 left. deng is a revelation. he is the odd combination of a “glue guy” wtih elite offensive skills. new level of appreciation for him.
Kevin, this was perhaps Dion’s worst game in quite a while. Also, you should stop saying you didn’t feel good about him esp since your own numbers tell you he is doing well…besides his D was pretty damn good and his without a doubt, the best close-out guy we have on 3-point shooters… Then, despite what your numbers say, you rate Zeller. Huh? He was impressive for about 2 total minutes tonight. Nice dunk. Couple of decent O boards. The rest of time he was eaten alive by Timmy Mozgov. Gave up position every possession. Made me almost as frustrated… Read more »
Zeller has been finding the holes in the defense really well of late. His pace and timing on pick and rolls has improved drastically. In the event that Andy is no longer on the team next season, it’s crucial that Zeller can be a 20 minute or more a night player at a minimum. The team is 4-2 since the Deng trade and they won more games on the road this trip than they have all season. It’s amazing how much better the off the ball movement is team wide since his addition. Andy and Deng’s ability to play off… Read more »
The steady improvement of Zeller is great to see. He’s becoming more physical and aggressive on the floor. I hope to see him continue to get better during this five game home stand.
Meh. Aaron. It’s Denver. Too easy to get guys gassed in that altitude. Outside of throwing away three straight possessions at the end of the third because of exhaustion, I thought Mike Brown managed the minutes pretty well. This game wouldn’t have been in doubt for as long as it was if Tristan Thompson could close out shooters. They’ve really got to work with TT on guarding stretch 4s behind the line in late game situations, because this isn’t the first time teams have burned TT. The threes he gave up to Chandler were game losing plays. Thank goodness they… Read more »
Kyrie goes out with about 4 minutes left in the half. Which should be a nice rest but Mike Brown keeps him out until the game ot tight and enough of the 4th has expired that he’s going to be ice cold when he cones back in. Hate that coaching decision.
I’m happy to report Rag-Doll-Physics-Engine Tyler Zeller seems to have retired. This new Tizzle that throws his weight around and bangs into people is a welcome addition.