Recap: Pelicans 114, Cavaliers 108(Or, Those Guys Are The Best)

Present and Future met last night in New Orleans. Perhaps it was really Past and Present. There is no debating whether Anthony Davis is one of the top three players in the NBA. What is certainly up for debate is which position he currently holds. Heading into the season, many assumed Anthony Davis would take the final step to claim the “best player alive” title. But with Steph Curry going crazy out west and Davis playing too far away from the basket, things have gotten interesting. And of course, there’s old King James to think about. Regardless of arbitrary title, the two superstars put on a show. Let’s get to it.

1st Quarter:

JR Swish made a triumphant return in the opening period. Smith canned the first of his five bombs off of a LeBron cross-court pellet. It’s interesting to note that the LeBron/Alonzo Gee match-up had a very different feel only a couple of years ago. On the next possession, JR knocked down a right corner tre as a result of a James drive and kick. Anthony Davis had mix results with his unblockable mid-range J as Love did an admirable job of contesting The Brow.

JR continued his onslaught from the right wing extended. The Cavs were moving bodies more than they have to start in recent games. Mozzy took a bit of his frustration out on the rim as he crushed and Oop from Delly’s Ally. Timofey probably welcomed the starting lineup change more than anybody. Mathew’s ability to feed bigmen at the rim may finally get the big Russian going. With the Cavalier lead at 13-4 only three minutes into the game, the Pels stopped play to reboot.

After the timeout, the Pelicans went on a little 8-0 run of their own led by Davis’s floor game. Blatt hit up his bench for the first time subbing Tristan and JJ into the contest with the Cavs up three. Both teams slowed down a bit after JR drilled his fourth long ball to go up 20-14. The Cavs were generously switching on all off-ball screens. On many occasions, JR wound up on Ryan Anderson. Other than one Anderson offensive putback, it didn’t prove fatal.

When Mo checked in, the game was still knotted at 20-14. Off the bench or as a starter, Mo plays like he plays. He drilled a mid-range jumper off the bounce and he got absolutely devoured on a sandwich PnR that lead to a wide open Gordon three. Oh, did I forget that JR hit another deep ball? Swish was in the house. After one 27-21 Cavs.

2nd Quarter:

Mo, RJ, Bron, Champ, and Tristan started the second. It lasted all of a minute and a half. With the Pelicans going with two point guards in Norris Cole and Jrue Holiday, Jefferson was tasked with checking Holiday. It didn’t go well. After a quick five points from the oft-injured guard, Blatt went to the bullpen and Delly and Love joined the action. Once Kevin returned to the floor, it was clear that that Cavs were going to make a better effort to post the UCLA product. Love got great seal position on three straight possessions for the Cavs’ first six points of the quarter. It wasn’t all lovely for Kevin. On one multiple chance possession, Love missed all four shots. Still, it is always good to see the big fella establish presence down low.

Danté Cunningham showed some nice energy and floor game for New Orleans. After driving past a slow-footed Love closeout, Cunningham dished to Davis for the finish. On the subsequent trip, he ran a two man game with Davis that again left LeBron visibly frustrated with Mozgov’s play. He was also very disruptive on the defensive when with active hands and good positional awareness.

Despite getting into the bonus at the 7:14 mark, the Cavs were a little too content to play on the perimeter. LeBron had a 35 foot bomb to keep the Cavs ahead, but the team lost some offensive cohesion and the Pelicans drastically picked up their energy.

Basketball fans had a short scare when Anthony Davis turned his ankle, but the Brow didn’t stay out for long. In his absence, Ryan Anderson took more of the offensive load and got into it with LeBron ever so slightly.

Delly fed LeBron for a post dunk and Kevin Love hooked in his 11th an 12th points of the quarter before Mo watched multiple Pelicans run by him in transition. Though the Pelicans had a 9-2 run during the quarter, the Cavs still led 53-52 going into the break.

3rd Quarter:

With all the starters on the floor to begin the second half action, Delly floated in a deep runner off the PnR. Davis answered quickly with a left corner three. Love did his best to chase Davis around multiple screens, but that is a tough assignment for anyone. JR Swish hit a ridiculous behind the back, stepback three from the left wing to keep pace.

The Cavs punished the Pelicans on the offensive glass with another four shot trip. Finally, the Cavs made good on the opportunity as Mozgov tipped in LeBron’s miss for a 62-56 lead.

New Orleans answered with a sweet Euro-step from Evans, a tough fall-away jumper, and a transition three from Gordon. Combined with some missed open looks from Cleveland, the Pels took a 66-63 lead with 6:33 remaining.

Out of the timeout, LeBron sunk a few free throws, but the Pelican pressure continued. Davis flashed his array for skills drilling a perfectly contested 20 footer in Tristan’s face and finishing another runner in the lane. Ryan Anderson’s left wing three gave the Pelicans their first double digit lead of the evening.

The Cavs were swarmed by Pelican double-teams and New Orleans knocked down their open shots. A couple jumpers from Mo and a three from James Jones kept the game manageable. 84-77 Pelicans.

4th Quarter: David Blatt trotted Mo, RJ, LeBron, JJ, and Tristan out again to start a period. This time Jefferson guarded Ryan Anderson and did the job. There was great energy from both teams, but with different results. LeBron went into primary ball-handler mode. The open shots he did create were mostly missed. James hunted for a few too many cross-court passes. Still, those work against most people not named Anthony Davis.

The Pelicans mostly cashed in on their opportunities and the lead swelled to 13 before LeBron hit a tough second chance layup. The King liked that feeling, so he hit a few more driving layups before finding Delly for a transition three. Gentry called a timeout with 4:02 remaining up 96-92.

The timeout didn’t stop ‘Bron. James hit another crazy finish falling to his left. After a rugby scrum, LeBron came up with the ball to finish a strong man And-1 to cut the Pels’ lead to one. The Pelicans were forced to call another timeout after LeBron owned Omer Osik on two straight possessions. That switch strategy didn’t quite work out for Gentry’s team.

What did work for Gentry was Anthony Davis. His steal and dunk pulled the Pelicans closer. In an entertaining duel, LeBron went right at Davis for a sweet upfake and left-handed finish. The King knocked in two freebies to push the lead to three. It looked bleak for New Orleans, but Jrue Holiday drilled a leaning three from the right wing to tie it at 105. James couldn’t make it 25 points in the period as he missed the last shot.

Overtime:

Delly, JR, Bron, Kevin and Tristan saw the Pelicans score six of the first seven points of the period. Davis sandwiched a couple nifty finishes around a Holiday waltz to the rim. LeBron continued to LeIso, but his shot didn’t fall leading Blatt to stop action with three minutes to go.

David drew up a play to get Kevin the ball in the post. Love took his time on the right block against Ryan Anderson and drilled a turnaround baseline jumper to cut the lead to three. The Pellie lead grew to 113-108 when Davis hit another elbow jumper. The Cavs missed their remaining shots and the Pelicans sealed the deal 114-108.

Thoughts:

Mo Williams simply must do a better job in transition defense. Before the defense is set, opponents are killing Mo off the dribble. What’s worse is that Mo is also giving up early opportunity three balls. Almost every transition three that the Pelicans had was against a weak Mo closeout.

JR Smith had a great first quarter scoring 15 points. Kevin Love had a great second quarter dropping 12 points. LeBron had a fantastic classic fourth quarter with 23. That is all well and good, but do the Cavs really need to take turns? Defenses should be afraid of all those guys at all times. Yes, it’s hard to get multiple guys going at the same time. Of course we should expect a hot hand. But, the Cavs are good when the take turns. They are unbeatable when they play together.

Smith doesn’t get any respect from the referees on the defensive end. Since joining the Cavaliers, JR has done a good job defensively. He could be down right great if given a little more respect.

Regardless of what Doug Collins said directly after, LeBron needs to change his attitude with Moz. It isn’t enough to go over to him after and give him a pound or pat on the chest if your initial reaction is always disgust. Everyone is frustrated with Mozgov’s play at the moment including Timofey. He has played his way semi-healthy and into shape. It is important not to pile on before he gets completely back. That being said, Mozzy looked more spry in this contest than I have seen this season. That isn’t saying much, but still.

Danté Cunningham is underrated.

It must be a little strange for the guys to have Kyrie and Shump back for full contact practice without having them in the lineup. Strange or not, I’m thrilled. Until next time.