Flashback Friday: When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Go Bowling…

The week of January 11th, 2015, was a strange one. It began with a blow-out loss to the lowly Kings, after which David Blatt called Kevin Love out (depending on your translation) as “not a max player yet,” and a LeBron return (after nine games off) complete with a shove for his coach at the end of a loss to the Suns. Yet, it ended with a Staples Center sweep, that featured Love taking an infamous charge against the Lakers (despite his badly ailing back), and an offensive explosion to take down a rolling Clippers squad on the second night of an L.A. back-to-back. A sweep that would kick off a season-high 11 game win streak.

At the epicenter of this week of four games out west was Blatt’s sneaky, team-building brain-child hijacking of his team’s Wednesday “practice” in favor of an excellently-timed bowling trip. Knowing that his guys needed a break more than Walter Sobchak and The Dude did after botching a ransom drop to fake kidnappers on motorcycles (and since he’s probably Shomer Shabbos himself), Coach Blatt picked a perfect, non-Sabbath, mid-week day to say…

“(Expletive) it! Let’s go bowling!

Unchecked Aggression…

In Sacramento, the Cavs continued their steady decline without LBJ, letting yet another sub .500 team run roughshod over them.

As if sent by Jackie Treehorn himself, Boogie Cousins repeatedly jammed the Cavs headfirst into the toilet, scoring 26 points with 13 rebounds as the Kings handed Cleveland their seventh loss in eight games, 103-84 (flash back to David’s recap here).

“They came out and punched us in the mouth. The first time we got into a double-digit deficit we just hung our heads,” said Kevin Love, who still managed 25 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Rudy Gay (23 points) and Darren Collison (16 points) helped Cousins micturate all over the Cavs’ rug in the second quarter, sharing the ball and forcing the Cavaliers to take perimeter shots, as the Kings closed out the half with seven straight points to take a 15-point lead and leave the Cavs to wallow in confused despair as their record fell to a urine-soaked 19-19.

“We’re going through a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of changes,” said Coach David Blatt. “We’re making adjustments on the fly. Tonight was definitely not a step forward. It wasn’t a good performance, you can’t sugar coat it.”

Blatt also got defensive when a reporter pointed out the Cavs’ struggles despite still having two “max” players in the lineup in Love and Irving.

“Well, Kev’s not a max player yet, is he?” Blatt responded.

Even though the Cavs were mostly out of their element, at least they had their own version of a White Russian to console them, as Timofey Mozgov, acquired the week before, had his best game yet with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The Big LeBronski…

The Dudes in wine and gold were introduced to the “real LeBron” at their next stop in Phoenix, having only really seen “chill mode LeBron” prior to the King’s sabbatical. LBJ looked like the “Achiever of the Year” scoring 33 points with an array of dunks, drives and triples in his return from a two-week layoff.

“I couldn’t make those moves two weeks ago,” said LeBron. “For me to come back and feel like myself again is pretty cool.”

But even a rejuvenated LeBron couldn’t prevent the Cavs from going down to their sixth straight loss, 107-100 to the Suns (flash back to David’s recap here). Markieff Morris poured in a career-high 35 points on 15-of-21 shooting for Phoenix, who outscored the Cavs 11-3 over the last 3:31. Morris then pouted like a German nihilist afterwards, refusing to talk to reporters and walking away from them in the locker room (at least he didn’t threaten to cut their Johnson’s off…).

The Cavs did rally from a 19-point, third-quarter deficit to go ahead in the fourth using their “ringer” J.R. Smith, who had his uzi firing away, scoring 29 (8 of 14 on 3-pointers). LeBron also made 5-7 shots in the fourth quarter and almost pulled off the win for the Cavs.

“I thought he was terrific,” David Blatt said. “It is not new for anybody. I just thought he laid it out there. That wasn’t an easy thing because he hasn’t played a competitive game in eight games.”

Of course, Coach Blatt also had to downplay the shove he got from his star player…

https://vine.co/v/ODjKdzzDMnO

From all accounts, LeBron had good intentions when he shoved his coach toward the bench to keep him from getting a technical foul. But the mechanics of the action — LBJ literally pushing Blatt aside so he could handle things himself — made it an easy metaphor for media to articulate the perceived power struggle between the two.

To make things worse, Kevin Love, who was on the bench throughout the Cavs’ big rally and didn’t play in the fourth quarter, reportedly had an animated discussion with GM David Griffin in the Suns’ practice gym immediately following the game.

With the loss causing the Cavs to fall below .500 at 19-20, Coach Blatt knew of only one way for he and his guys to blow off some steam…

“You’ve got a date Wednesday, baby!”

Even though a day of rest might not make sense to Jesus Quintana, David Blatt could think of no better way to get away from basketball for a bit to loosen his players up and give them an opportunity to bond as a team. The last three weeks had been tough for the team, and especially for Blatt. That’s why the players agreed that a few hours out on the lanes was a great call by the rookie coach.

“I think it was a surprise for most guys,” Kevin Love said. “It just helped so much. We all needed a break from it all.”

“One thing that’s never seen on camera and I consistently say it, this is the closest team that I’ve been on,” said Kyrie Irving. “We always have fun whether we’re getting ready for a game or a practice or we go bowling, it’s a team activity that we just personally enjoy.”

In hindsight, the bowling trip turned out to be just what the team needed. And just like Smokey, the rest of the NBA was about to enter a world of pain…

Tumbling Tumbleweeds…

In likely one of their final opportunities to share a moment in the “City of Angels” like The Stranger and The Dude (albeit with probably a little less profanity), Kobe and LeBron James traded hugs, big shots and verbal jabs all night on Thursday at the Staples Center with warmth and humor. In the waning minutes, they went head to head in an entertaining duel between two of the NBA’s all-time greatest talents.

James scored 36 points and the Cavs finally snapped their six-game losing streak with a 109-102 victory (flash back to Nate’s recap here) over the Lakers, despite Bryant’s 19 points and career-high 17 assists.

“It’s always fun, a pleasure,” James said. “It’s two of the best competitors this game has probably ever seen, and to be on the same floor with him, somebody I looked up to when I was a child growing up, seeing him go straight from high school to the NBA, it’s fun, it’s great. I hated him being out of the NBA last year because of injury, and it’s fun having him back.”

Bryant hit a 3-pointer with 1:54 left and two free throws with 43 seconds to play, cutting Cleveland’s lead to 103-99. But James drove past Bryant for an acrobatic layup with 20.9 seconds left, and Bryant missed a jumper that essentially ended it. Bryant and James embraced again afterward, and even Kobe allowed himself to take in the moment.

“If we were contending for a championship, I’d be my same moody self,” Bryant said. “But right now, I tend to have a little more perspective, knowing I really won’t get a chance to play against him for much longer. So you want to enjoy it.”

It was a little less enjoyable for Kevin Love, who’s back appeared to be bothering him throughout the game. But his grittiness was showcased in the best defensive stop of the year (at that point) when he took a painful charge from Jeremy Lin in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. KLove fell down harder than Donny in the parking lot after his heart attack, and it took four teammates to finally pull him back up off of the floor. But he hung tough and finished with 17 points and seven boards in 37 inspirational minutes.

Donny vs. Kevin

The Dude Abides…

Despite losing Kevin Love to his bad back the night before, LeBron and the Cavs closed out their eventful road trip with an impressively explosive 126-121 victory over the Clippers on Friday night (flash back to Ben’s recap here). Kyrie Irving scored 37 points, LeBron added 32, and Tristan Thompson had a season-high 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds starting in place of the ailing Love. LBJ also had 11 rebounds, all on the defensive glass.

“Last night Kevin playing the way what he played through, and then tonight Double-T stepping up in his absence, you need those moments in an NBA season,” James said.

The Cavs shot 55 percent and were 10-of-23 from 3-point range, with Irving hitting five to offset their 19 turnovers, including nine by LeBron.

“It’s been a while since we shot it well from 3,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. “That gave us some breathing room and took a little bit of pressure off a lot of the other things that we have to do to score.”

Blake Griffin had 34 points and 19 rebounds to lead six players in double figures for the Clippers, who had won six of their previous eight. DeAndre Jordan had 19 points and 12 rebounds, Matt Barnes added 17 points and Chris Paul had 15 points and 14 assists.

“It’s hard to run when you’re taking the ball out of bounds and we took the ball out of bounds the entire game,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We couldn’t get a stop. Everybody was making shots for them. They made you pay for everything.”

After Jamal Crawford’s three-point play gave the Clippers their last lead of the game, 100-97, James and Irving teamed to power the Cavs on a 20-7 run that put them back in front, 117-107. James had nine points and Irving seven as they bookended the spurt with 3-pointers, and LBJ slapped his chest after hitting his.

“Communication between us and the coaches is getting a lot better,” Irving said. “Just being out there and the coaches calling plays and me and LeBron seeing something out there and calling plays, and then we just got to go execute.”

Aside from the win, LBJ also set a new record. At 30 years, 17 days he became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 24,000 points, passing Kobe Bryant (31 years, 75 days).

“It means I’ve been healthy for the most part throughout my career and that I’ve had some great teammates around me,” said LeBron.

More than anything, though, the L.A. sweep kicked off a season-high 11 game win streak, and proved that LeBron is, in fact, the proverbial rug that pulls the room (and this team) together (along with a timely bowling trip).

“The Dude abides. I don’t know about you but I take comfort in that. It’s good knowin’ he’s out there. The Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh. I sure hope he makes the Finals.” — The Stranger