Recap: Cavs 105, Raptors 91 (or, visions of Aught 9)

The Cavaliers methodically defeated the second best team in the NBA in a hostile environment on the second night of a back-to-back after a restless night despite giving away a double-digit lead.  It’s only early December, but the Cavs’ growth is palpable.  This game (much like the revenge exacted upon the Wizards) perfectly contrasted the defeat in the first meeting.

1st Quarter: The Cavs reliably involve Anderson Varejao in opening quarters, and so far this season he has delivered.  He’s averaging 80% from the field and the team is +17/48min with him on the court in the first.  With each subsequent quarter, his usage, efficiency, and the Cavs effectiveness with him on the court declines.  At first I was puzzled by this, as I’ve always seen Andy as a clutch 4th quarter player (how many possessions he steals!) but at this point, he’s a big part of the reason the Cavs are jumping out to big leads in almost every game.  (+52 in 1st quarters over the last 6 games combined).  Points in the 1st quarter are just as valuable as those in the 4th, so, whatever works!  LeBron fed Andy three times in the first five minutes and the Raptors called a rage timeout after the last one.  The Cavs first eight baskets were assisted, and they finished the quarter with a 30-21 lead.  Over at gotbuckets (our sister site?) we’ve long lauded the underratedness of Amir Johnson – an APM All-Star.  Johnson’s “problem”, if you want to call it that, is he has traditionally been limited in playing time due to his penchant for fouling.  In the first quarter he scored 12 of the Raptors 21 points.  And he wasn’t done.

2nd Quarter:  Right off the bat Sweet Lou Williams drained a three and I thought about tearing off my arms and throwing them at the TV.  Williams was a major spark plug in Philly and I thought Danny Ferry landed a coup when he signed Williams as a free agent.  Ferry, no stranger to players setting career lows as soon as he signs them (shakes fist at Larry Hughes signing), got a lemon.  And, of course, as soon as he was traded to Toronto he looks like a runaway 6th man of the year winner.  I braced for the worst, but thankfully, Williams wasn’t so sweet tonight.

https://twitter.com/tompestak/status/541039148602507264

Wouldn’t you know it James Jones came in and drained two treys and then some.  Eight points in eight minutes?!  Yes, please!

<=== pumped for grantland's James Jones piece

— Ben Cox (@CoxSportsOhio) December 6, 2014

The Cavs struggled over the next seven minutes, managing just four points.  The difference between this game and many others this season is that the Cavs stagnation, turnovers, and inability to get out of their own way didn’t translate to a huge run by the other team.  With the exception of the Jones triples and one play where Dion drove under the hoop and fed LeBron for an UNLEASHING OF THE KRAKKEN dunk, the Cavs offense was super smelly, and yet they only lost the quarter by two points: 23-21.  Amir Johnson added five more puntos, giving him 17 at the half.

Halftime: The Raptors broadcast had an interview with T-Mac, who remains one of the most dominant players I ever saw in person.  Also in attendance were Magic Johnson, Dikembe Mutombo, and Charles Barkley, on account of a tribute to Nelson Mandela.

Probably no two people on earth having more fun than Austin Carr and Magic right now pic.twitter.com/zINYj35cKS

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) December 6, 2014

3rd Quarter: The Cavs (mainly LeBron) started off the 3rd quarter in a funk.  Two misses and three turnovers in the first six possessions.  The Raptors responded by hitting two contested long-2s and then, after 20 seconds of superb defense, Amir Johnson measured and splashed a deep, straight-on three to conclude a broken play.  As soon as he found himself with the ball (about 3 feet behind the line) I thought to myself, “he’s gonna shoot that, and watch him bank it in or something”.  As soon as it left his hand my only question was whether it would graze the rim or spank the bottom of the net.  It was just perfect, the launch angle, follow through, rotation.  Of course it went in.  It brought the Raptors within one point at 53-52.

Moments later Kyle Lowry buried a crowd-willed three and Toronto claimed its first lead of the night.  But Kyrie Irving is a freaking layup sorcerer and responded with one of his many feathery finishes.  It was the last time the Cavs trailed.  Much like the previous night, Kyrie really took over the moment.  He followed up the momentum stopping layup with another layup (similar to the game-sealer in NYC) and then a dish to KLove for a layup.  The Cavs went from turnover machine to easy-bucket generator in the blink of an eye.  They followed up the layup line with back to back triples from Kyrie and LeBron.  Give half credit for Kyrie’s trey to Tristan Thompson who fought for an offensive rebound and kicked it out to a wide-open Irving, who was lost in the chaos of the O-board.  Kyrie also dove (full extension) to save a ball from rolling out of bounds which led to a nifty behind the back pass from LeBron to Tristan for a transition flush.  The Cavs finished the quarter on a 19-6 run and took a commanding 14-point lead into the final quarter.

4th Quarter: Near the end of the 4th quarter I had a flashback.  For the first time this season the 2014-2015 Cavaliers reminded me of my favorite sports team of all time: the 2008-2009 Cavaliers, a team that stays with me like a friendly ghost.  The Cavaliers of aught 9 willed themselves to victory on innumerable occasions.  They could go through periods of offensive stagnation.  They could run into a hot hand (uncharacteristic of not).  But when their offense slowed, their defense tightened.  When the other team captured a lead thanks in large part to a few lucky breaks, the aught 9 Cavs almost always had an answer.  It was extremely difficult to beat that team.  I recognize the Raptors were without DeMar DeRozan tonight, but I firmly believed that the Cavs just had to be close at halftime. They were just going to win this game no matter the circumstances.

The final period didn’t start well for the wine and gold.  They missed their first five shots while James Johnson scored five quick points, crushing any dreams of blowout rest for Irving, Love, or LeBron.  Patrick Patterson splashed a corner 3, and the Cavs were in the thick of a dogfight, their blown 18-point lead from just two weeks prior fresh in everyone’s mind.  Between a couple more head-shaking layups by Kyrie the wunderkind, a “WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS”(followed by an eye-rolling concession upon the pyrrhic victory) Dion step-back two, and a “I’m serious now” mid-range J by LeBron, the Cavs had an answer for everything the Raptors could muster.  Then, after 20 seconds of stout defense the Cavs got aggressive and seemed to force a loose ball.  They created a broken play and the Raptors lucked out big time, with the chaotic scramble leaving Terrence Ross alone in the corner.  It was a deflating 3.  The Cavs had been up 12 and a steal+bucket would have more or less put the game out of reach.  Perhaps out of frustration or lack of patience, Kyrie walked up and tried to answer right back with a three of his own.  He missed, and Kyle Lowry literally said “my turn.” He walked up and canned almost the same shot Irving had just attempted: a six (maybe eight or nine) point swing in less than 48 seconds.

The Cavs called timeout, TT checked into the game, and then the good guys willed themselves to a methodical dismantling of the Raptors, who suddenly looked like a disorganized, albeit spirited, young team.  First, LeBron drove right and tossed in a soft runner off the glass to stop the bleeding.  After that, it was the Tristan Thompson homecoming game.  TT grabbed four key rebounds in the final five minutes, battled for an assortment of garbage man free throws (which he canned), and threw the hammer dagger down on his countrymen.

https://twitter.com/Cavsanada/status/541063722106515456

The Improvements I’ve Witnessed:

-As someone with much less patience for “the process” than I’d have self-reported, I’ve been treated to some markedly obvious improvements.  The Cavs defense has turned a corner.  As I said on my weekly segment with Mark Neal, they’ve quietly emerged from the depths of the NBA’s worst defensive teams to becoming league average.  Tonight?

Toronto had a 112.4 offensive rating coming into tonight. Cavs held em to 91 points. on a Back to Back.That'll do.

— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) December 6, 2014

-It was way back during the Meteor Shower game against the Hawks that I first noticed the Cavs paying special attention to Kyle Korver (aka taking the scouting report to heart).  They’ve been playing smarter defense as a team.  Blatt has mixed in some soft zones and the defensive rotations have gotten tighter.  I’ve been wondering why their rebounding often seems underwhelming, and tonight I noticed that the big men are making more of a conscious effort to contest dribble drives while still contesting stretch bigs.  Last year’s Cavaliers made a concerted effort to pack the paint at the expense of nightly 3-point barrages (last in the NBA in opponent 3PFA made).  This year’s squad is a finesse defensive team if there is such a thing.  They don’t put opposing teams on the free throw line, they switch a lot, and they’re league average at allowing 3s.  Recently Kyrie Irving has showcased a completely different level of effort in fighting through screens and making life somewhat difficult for ball-handlers that had been shredding the Cavs with dribble penetration.  Additionally, the bigs have been more willing to slide out of position to contest the dribbling forays that threatened the immediate basket area.  The result has been many more offensive rebounds for the opponents than many of us expected.  But on the flip side, the Cavs suddenly find themselves above average in defensive efficiency – a feat that seemed far-fetched just two weeks ago.

-Kyrie Irving has adapted to playing off the ball better than I imagined (and I expected him to thrive with his new superstar teammates).  He is playing the best basketball of his career.  He is striking the perfect balance between taking over games, setting up teammates, and playing effective basketball within the flow of the game.

Things We Liked:

1.) “JAMES FREAKING JONES knocking down threes like they were NOTHING in the first half” – EvilGenius

2.) “It seemed like everyone hit the floor tonight, even KLove, defensive energy was infectious! Canadian Dynamite’s domination on the offensive glass, LeBron finding his stroke in the second half, Kyrie’s sick finishing at the rim…” – Steve

3.) “Kyrie setting defensive tone” – Matt Gordon

4.) “He is Dennis Rodman with manners.” -Scotch gushing about TT

5.) Everything – Cols

Things We Didn’t Like:

1.) “I didn’t like that Lebon still doesn’t know how to dribble and keeps throwing stupid passes.” -RodneyMac

2.) “Dion’s inability to finish.” – Jon

3.) Too many minutes for Big 3 – Matt Gordon

https://twitter.com/tompestak/status/541056983164792833

5.) Where is Ray Ray? Jesus (Shuttlesworth) Saves – Cols

Final Thoughts:

The Cavs have so much room for improvement and are sitting comfortably at 11-7.  I believe tonight was their first signature win of the season.  I’ve been extremely frustrated with them at times, and they still do a lot of boneheaded/puzzling things.

-I predicted they would be one of the best transition teams in the history of the NBA and instead it’s like the Benny Hill music should be playing on half of their fast breaks.  LeBron has never been this ineffective in fast break situations in his entire life.  Part of it is certainly a lack of chemistry, but part of it is LeBron’s insistence on being the ball-handler in every fast break situation instead of being a runner darting towards the basket.  He’s neither faster than the frantic defenders that are scrambling back nor is he able to elevate over/around/through them anymore.  His decision making doesn’t fit with his current abilities.  I’m holding out hope that he’s dealing with a nagging back injury or something that will eventually subside.  But if this is the new LeBron, he needs to make an adjustment on some of these fast breaks.  The awkward jump-passes are just leading to turnovers.

-A direct quote from Mike Miller in the Grantland piece is: “What I liked about him [LeBron in HS] even then is he impacted the game without scoring”.  PREACH, BROTHER!  The ability to impact a game without scoring, or when the shots aren’t falling is what separates players with similar talent levels.  I’m losing hope that Dion Waiters can ever impact a game when his shot isn’t falling.  And since Dion seems like a confidence player, his psyche can cripple his game.  He’s in a huge slump right now and I just wish he could take his athleticism, frame, and frustration and channel it into a Tony Allen-like “Grindfather” approach where he decides no one is going to score on him.  He has legit offensive talent but he can’t seem to get find a groove.  He had a nice pass to LeBron tonight but continues to shoot a miserable percentage from the field and has not looked very effective on defense (at least to me).  It’s for this reason I long for Delly’s return.  There is a guy that impacts the game in every way imaginable that isn’t scoring.

-There are few players I dislike more than Kyle Lowry.  And if he was on the Cavs I think he’d be my favorite player.  Anyone else get visceral reactions from this guy?

-I’m not sure what round of the Jonas v TT debate we are in.  TT’s saved at least 2 games by himself this season.  He completely dominated the matchup tonight.  (I advise you to ignore what Harrison Barnes is doing right now).

-Speaking of Cavalier big men decision making – there was some “we should have found a way to keep Tyler Zeller” talk around here despite the drunken euphoria of the off-season. Nate feel free to write a long “told you so” comment below. TZ is having a hell of a third season. He scored a career-high 24 tonight.

-TT is finishing at the rim and at the line this season. This is a new development, and wow, is it exciting!

-I’ve been dogging LeBron like crazy this season.  (Because of a million reasons).  I still believe he’s the best player in the NBA.  I also think he’s playing at about 75% of his optimal.  He had 13 dimes tonight and some of them were sweet.

I expected the Cavs to have their lunch money stolen tonight.  Instead, they delivered an impressive win against a solid (and hungry) team.  This is a huge win.  I know Toronto is a better team than they showed tonight. (Losing DeRozan has put Kyle Lowry into a high-usage situation that, and he’s not as effective in it. Grievous Vasquez had been playing very well since DeMar’s groin rip, but he was very meh tonight.) Cleveland didn’t play their best game either – they can and should continue to get better and better. If they can be a league average defensive team and a top-three offensive team, they can go places.