Preseason Recap: Dallas 108, Cleveland 102 (or, how do you beat a Zone again?)

No longer!

LeBron James versus the Dallas Mavericks. Some Cavs fans had to remind themselves to cheer against Dirk Nowitzki and the Cuban-ators now that ‘Bron has made his celebrated return home. It’s been more than three years since Rick Carlisle’s genius and Dirk’s brilliance took down the Heatles’ first iteration for the title. The Mavs 2011 championship squad will forever have a slightly confused place in Clevelander’s hearts.

Easing the transition from residual warm feelings to mild disgust was new Maverick and Cavalier nemesis Jameer Nelson(really anyone from that dreaded 2009 Magic squad would do the trick).

After trading Jose Calderon in part of the deal to bring back Tyson Chandler, the Mavs are hoping Nelson can provide some quality minutes in a backcourt led by Monta Ellis. Leading the Mavs to a 108-102 victory with 19 points on deep jumpers and layups, Nelson gives the Mavs reason to be optimistic. On the Cavs side, David Blatt welcomed Kyrie Irving back into the starting lineup while resting Kevin Love. Shawn Marion also sat this one out, postponing his first appearance against his former team.

This game wasn’t nearly as contested as its final score implies. It wasn’t a blowout in the traditional sense, but the Mavs outscored the Cavaliers by a combined 20 points in the first and third quarters. Effort wasn’t at an all time high, but the Cavalier’s main problem in this game was strategic.

Strategy:

Rick Carlisle’s Mavs have featured more zone than any other NBA team basically ever, but I don’t remember seeing Carlisle zoning exclusively on every set possession. Somehow it took Austin Carr almost an entire quarter to mention that the Mavs’ zone defense was confusing the Cavalier offense. What?!? How does a team coached by a Euroball mastermind have trouble with a basic zone? Easy. The team has spent all of its time working on beating traditional man D. The beautiful side-to-side ball action that leads to a Cavalier bigman crossing the face of the defender at incredibly good post depth simply doesn’t exist when playing the Mavs’ 2-3 Zone. Playaction that expertly carves up a scrambling man D stalls miserably against their scheme.

What was most perplexing was Anderson Varejao’s insistence on setting a high pick in spite of the Maverick defensive look. Side Pick and Roll game can be an effective way to get some action going toward the middle of the defense, but high PnR game doesn’t accomplish much. Watching Andy play mentally inefficient basketball is jarring to me. One could look at the scoreboard and be content with dropping 102 points. With the offensive talent on this squad, 102 points should be a relatively frequent output for three quarters. If not for some late hot shooting by the preseason bench crew, the score would have been more frightening.

There were moments of coherency. David Blatt knows exactly how to beat a zone. It’s not as though he doesn’t have a solution. On the rare occasion that Blatt took a timeout, the Cavs came out of the huddle running less on ball screen action. Having LeBron obviously helps kill any defensive system. Midway through the third quarter, LeBron made a point to flash to the foul line (zone beating 101), but for whatever reason got a case of butterfingers. In a two minute stretch, ‘Bron had three TOs and looked generally out of whack. Still, at least the strategy allotted better opportunities even if the execution left something to be desired.

Kevin Love’s absence also played a large role. The Cavaliers seemed sluggish on possible break opportunities. Love’s famous outlet passes stretch a defense, excite teammates and demand early offense opportunities. Without him, the Cavs walked the ball up more than previous games. Yes, I’m always looking at you, Kyrie.

Defensive strategy was also, umm.., less than ideal. Blatt had clearly asked the Cavalier bigmen to show very hard on side PnR while forcing all action away from the middle of the floor. That is all well and good unless the opposing guard simply rejects the pick and takes a direct path to the cup. If that is going to be the bigman strategy, the guards must do a better job at forcing the ball handler toward the mini-trap. If not, the man guarding the corner must stop ball penetration leaving wide open shots. See :46 of Parson’s highlights. Both Tristan and Dion completely blow this coverage. Tristan jumps on the high side of Tyson Chandler in an effort to jump out on a screen that hasn’t happened yet. Dion actually forces Ellis away from the pick toward an easy rim dive. From there, LeBron must choose between giving up an easy layup, or an easy three. Either way, this is a train wreck.

It’s always difficult to critique strategy when the execution of said strategy is so poor. It is quite possible that the Cavs best plan on side PnR action is to trap and recover. That was clearly Blatt’s intent(for everyone except Kirk). But, the guards and bigs must communicate more efficiently if any strategy is going to have a chance. The Mavs and Spurs live on ball swings that flow seamlessly into side PnR action. It must be stopped if championship dreams are to be realized.

LeBron James: I’m in no way worried about LeBron, especially after the last game. Still, the ball seems a bit heavy on his shot release. He made some sweet feeds and some incredibly lazy turnovers in this one. He is clearly coasting at this point. Coast away, King James. See you in about two weeks.

Kyrie Irving: Welcome back, Uncle Drew. Kyrie’s shot had good lift from the start and he didn’t seem limited in his mobility. He has the size to shoot straight over the top of Jameer Nelson(yes, Nelson had a big game. I don’t want to talk about him more. It brings back too many painful memories.) Irving’s handle was on point. Defensively, he had a nice poke away during a decent late second quarter run. However, he was a main culprit in the side PnR defensive problem. Nelson beat him for a layup off an inbound pass as well. Not good.

Tristan Thompson: There must be a force field at about 20 feet away from the basket. Whatever it is, TT clearly hasn’t solved his defensive problems against shooting bigmen. At least Love is his teammate now. I started laughing when I saw that he was matched up on Dirk. A simple baseline screen and Dirk jumper later, I was less amused. After about six blown Pick and Pop assignments, I was downright annoyed. Coach Blatt, do us all a favor and just have Tristan guard non-shooters or sit him on the bench if the other team is running two shooting bigmen. Offensively, he did a good job putting himself in position for dump-offs and other TT things. Question: Why can’t he just use his set shot for his baseline jumper? It’s not like anyone is guarding him. He still can’t get his feet in proper right-handed alignment.

Anderson Varejao: Weird game for Andy. In this case, the box score actually paints an accurate picture. He was as good as his four steals and four turnovers indicate.

Dion Waiters: A zone begs you to take long jumpers. Dion obliged. At least his four made shots were all behind the arc.

Alex Kirk: Another very solid outing by Kirk. He altered shots at the rim, drilled a 20-footer and looked highly competent. He has a tendency to stay with his help assignment for one extra beat. It often leads to open threes. But for the projected fourth bigman spot, he has the edge.

Mathew Dellavedova: Even Delly didn’t seem particularly amped for this game. Maybe we should just call it one of those days.