Recap: Cavs 95, Spurs 99 (or, Too Many Turnovers)
2016-01-15
During the 2013 NBA playoffs, Spurs Coach Greg Popovich gave his infamous two word “turnovers” halftime interview with Doris Burke that nearly reduced the reporter to tears. It would have been hard to blame David Blatt if he just decided to take a page out of Coach Pop’s script and repeat that refrain for the primary culprit in last night’s Cavs’ loss to the Spurs. Sure, there were other contributing factors that turned a piping hot tray of sweet confection into a burnt and gooey mess, but it’s pretty difficult to look past the disparity of points the wine & gold gave away on their mistakes… while failing to really capitalize on the few committed by San Antonio. It was already a tall order to go into the AT&T Center, where the Spurs had won their first 22 games in a row (and 32 dating back to the last time this Cavs team beat them in March), and even though the Cavs filled the first half with some inspired play, things ultimately fell apart in the end under the intense heat of the Spurs’ defense.
Now We’re Cooking
The Cavs came out firing and played one of their best first quarters of the season so far against the second best team in the West. J.R. Smith and Kevin Love each hit shots inside and outside, while Kyrie and LeBron pushed the pace on the elderly Spurs. J.R. scorched the twine for 10 first quarter points on 4-5 shooting to lead the Cavs, and the ball movement was crisper than so much apple filled filo dough. Cleveland sprinted out to a 12-2 advantage, then after a Coach Pop rage timeout helped the Spurs cut into the lead, the Cavs built their largest margin of the game (15) on the back of some terrific Delly/TT two-man action.
Not to mention, the defensive effort was also fully baked into the Cavs’ approach early on, as guys hustled to their spots, harassed the Spurs’ bigs into missing all of their shots, got their fingers and hands into passing lanes, and generally closed out well on the perimeter. The only Spur who seemed to jingle-jangle was Tony Parker, who got loose for six first quarter points. Still, the Cavs shared the ball well (six assists on 13 made baskets) in the period and scored the most first quarter points of any opponent on their home court this season. Cavs led 32-20.
Turnovers & Croissants
After a beautiful assist from Kyrie netted an Iman Shumpert trey to push the lead back to 15, the Cavs got a bit sloppy with the ball. A rash of turnovers (the Cavs had six in this quarter alone), including a slew of offensive fouls (some legit, others questionable), plagued the wine & gold. Much of this was due to an increase of heat and pressure from the Spurs’ league-leading defense that began to dictate the pace, and take the Cavs out of their comfort zone on offense. However, San Antonio’s bench also put their full depth on display, outplaying the Cavs’ reserves (along with Kyrie and KLove), and cutting the lead to six behind the efforts of Manu Ginobili and David West. LeBron returned halfway through the quarter to restore order, scoring nine of his team-high 22 in the frame, and pushed the lead back to 12 with a transition triple before checking out with a minute remaining for a breather.
Unfortunately, the Frenchman wasn’t done cooking just yet. Parker got to the rim with his quick feet, light touch, and more twisting finishing moves than a Parisian baker, to keep the Spurs in striking distance. He even capped off his eight point quarter with a tough fall-away shot over Love to pull San Antonio back to within six. Cavs led 50-44 at the half.
Kawhi Oh Why?
The balance well and truly started to shift on the Cavs after the break, as the shots they’d been hitting in the first half stopped falling, and the shots the Spurs had been missing began to fall. Despite J.R. again getting loose for a quick five points, including one of only three assisted buckets in the quarter, the Spurs mounted an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the ballgame. This jag was powered predominantly by some superior two-way play by Kawhi Leonard, who bodied up on LeBron, got to the line several times on drawn contact, and knocked down the three that put the Spurs in front. In all, Leonard went off for 12 of his 20 points in the quarter, and was the disruptive ingredient that helped the Spurs shut down passing lanes and force the Cavs into playing a lot more ISO ball. The Cavs stayed active on the boards, however, getting a dozen in the quarter, and Tristan Thompson got a couple of easy points on put-backs and kept several possessions alive. The action was marred by a couple of tough calls that didn’t go the Cavs’ way (one out of bounds call clearly went off David West and should have been Cavs’ ball), along with some generally physical play. And of course, another half dozen turnovers for the Cavs. It looked as if they’d be trailing heading into the fourth… until Kyrie made a magical move, driving and kicking to an open Delly on the wing… who splashed a trey at the buzzer. Cavs led 73-72.
Sticky & Burned
A quick Kyrie layup had the thread percolating with talk of the return of MFQ… but that would be the only bucket the Cavs would get for the next six minutes of play. The ball got completely stuck on offense, as the wine & gold went on a steady diet of ISO ball, and the shots stopped falling completely. The Spurs continued to put the defensive clamps down on the Cavs, and used a 13-0 run to turn a three point deficit into a 10 point lead. At least the Cavs were able to tack 1:08 onto the amount of time that San Antonio has trailed and opponent in the fourth quarter at home this year (they had previously only trailed for 54 seconds of 264 minutes played during the fourth quarter at home). Half of the damage was done by Spurs’ bench players West and Patty Mills, and the rest by Parker and Leonard. The Cavs and Spurs traded buckets for a few minutes, and were even able to close the gap to six with 3:23 to play on a rare Kevin Love triple. However, several defensive breakdowns (at least two involving Love), allowed the Spurs to keep the Cavs from getting much closer. A three by Kyrie with 17 seconds left got the margin to four, and there was a glimmer of hope when Parker missed both free throws on the ensuing intentional foul. Unfortunately, the Cavs failed to box out LaMarcus Aldridge on the second miss, and they were forced to foul again. Aldridge hit both of his freebies, and LBJ tapped in a meaningless bucket to close out the scoring. Cavs lose 99-95.
A Baker’s Dozen Observations
1. I’ve mentioned the turnovers a lot without giving them the proper statistical context. For the game, 
the Cavs committed 18 turnovers that the Spurs were able to convert into 19 points. Conversely, the Spurs turned the ball over 12 times, yet they yielded only six points off of them to the Cavs. Having a 13 point disparity to San Antonio on their home court (where they’ve been unbeaten for 10 months) is quite simply a recipe for disaster.
2. After a stellar first quarter, both in strategy and execution, the Cavs’ teamwork on both ends of the floor began to erode with each passing period. Early on, they were the aggressor. They attacked in the paint, they shared the ball with urgency, they didn’t overload on threes but hit the open ones they did take, and they ran their sets. On defense, they closed out, got superior position, hustled and contested shots. In the second, turnovers and the Spurs’ defensive pressure started to get to them. By the third, the calls they weren’t getting seemingly got in their heads, and they also stopped moving and sharing the ball. And in the end, the Spurs were able to run right by them.
3. Tony Parker completely outplayed Kyrie… on both ends of the floor. The Cavs don’t need 57 points from KI to beat the Spurs on their home court (although it certainly does help), but they do need a better, more consistent floor game from him. Kyrie was pretty miserable shooting the ball for the most part (6-17), and aside from a few flashes near the end of the third and start of the fourth, he had trouble getting separation from Parker. Some of this was due to TP’s frequent harassment (including healthy doses of jersey grabbing), but Kyrie often seemed a bit tentative driving into the teeth of the Spurs’ defense. Only four assists against three turnovers is not going to get it done either. And, since Kyrie didn’t really make Parker break a sweat with his offense, Parker took full advantage of his energy, blowing by KI consistently, and scoring a game-high 24 points (on 11-18 shooting).
4. Kawhi played LeBron to a draw. LBJ still led the Cavs with 22 points on 9-17 shooting, and pulled down seven boards with five assists, but he had a much quieter second half (only eight points). Kawhi, as he’s done consistently in the past, played tough defense on Bron, and also made him work on the other end. He went off in the third quarter for 12 of his 20 points, and wound up with 10 boards and five assists. More importantly… he effectively cancelled out LeBron’s production, which is about all you can ask for if you’re the Spurs.
5. The San Antonio bench dominated the Cavs’ bench. In fact, David West (13 points) outscored the entire Cavs’ reserves (12 points) all by himself. All told, the Spurs had a 35-12 advantage off the pine. With their collective struggles, it sure seems like there could have been some opportunity for either Andy or James Jones in this one. Hard to know if Mo would have gotten some run if available.
6. The Cavs’ frontline outplayed the Spurs’ big men (early on at least). TT and KLove both got off to great starts, and played with energy. They attacked on offense and hit the glass hard, stymie-ing both Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge. Duncan scored the only point between the two of them (on a free throw) in the first half, as they went a combined 0-7. Meanwhile, TT had one of his better games as a starter with 18 points (on 7-11 shooting) and 14 rebounds. Kev also had a double double, with 12 boards but only 10 points on 10 shots.
7. And speaking of Kevin Love, as good as his defense was in the first half, he wound up getting targeted and exposed by the Spurs in the second half (particularly in the fourth quarter). Rather than get into all of the gory details, Ben Golliver of SI summed it up here pretty thoroughly.
8. J.R.’s offense is keeping Shump’s defense off the court. It’s kind of hard to blame David Blatt for wanting to keep J.R. on the floor with as hot as he’s been shooting the ball of late, but it seemed odd that J.R. saw 33 minutes of play (despite being in some foul trouble), while Iman only got 19. Granted, J.R. was +4 (with 17 points) and Shump was -13, but much of that was due to J.R. being on the court during the first quarter blitz, and Iman being out there during the fourth quarter ISO-rama. Just doesn’t stand to reason to have your best defender not see the floor a bit more… especially against a team like the Spurs.
9. Delly had an off-night. Aside from his set of Loaded Wombats to TT in the first quarter and his buzzer beating trey to end the third, Delly struggled a bit on offense and defense. He had a tough time with the swarming Spurs guards and turned the ball over a couple of times against just three assists. He also didn’t fare much better than Kyrie in getting in front of Parker.
10. R.J. and Moz came up small. Timo didn’t take a shot in his 15 minutes, and R.J. didn’t make a shot in his 11. Neither reserve brought much to the table in this one, on a night where the Cavs could have used a spark from either or both. Jefferson in particular missed a couple of open look threes, and couldn’t hang with the Spurs on defense.
11. Pop has a system for his guys to run… Blatt is still figuring his out. This was about as close to playoff basketball as you can get in the regular season, with the intensity and the physicality that both teams displayed. And, while it’s a bit unfair to compare the established genius of Pop with the sophomore coach Blatt, this very well might be the man he will have to out-coach in a best of seven Finals. When the defense tightens up and the calls don’t go your way, you have to have more than just ISO-ball to fall back on for points. The Cavs are progressing, but are still a ways off from having a fully reliable system down.
12. I don’t subscribe to blaming losses on officiating… period. That said, this was not a well officiated game in my opinion. Obviously, there is always going to be a certain amount of “home” calls that occur, and with this game being televised nationally on TNT, and considering the teams involved, there is a larger scrutiny on some of them. However, there certainly seemed to be disparity, not just in the amount of fouls called, but in the allowable physicality of play. Also, apparently, jersey-grabbing is now a permissable aspect of the modern NBA game… Anyway, not the deciding factor in the outcome of the game, but certainly something that stood out.
13. Another close loss to an elite team. The good news is that the Cavs didn’t get blown out or shown up in this game or their Christmas Day game. The wine & gold stood toe to toe with both the Spurs and the Warriors on their respective home turfs and didn’t flinch. In both instances, they took respectable losses to two teams that are both unbeaten at home. As long as the Cavs endeavor to return the favors at the Q in the next couple of weeks… it’s all good. Not sure what they’ll have in the tank for tonight against the Rockets as they finish up their six game road trip, but apparently everyone is playing and available (sans Mo who is still away from the team following the passing of his uncle). Let’s hope they take out some frustration on Houston… instead of a repeat of the debacle in Portland.
Until next time… GO CAVS!
Listening to Billups talk Cavs during half time of the TWolves-OKC. His two concerns with the Cavs is that they run too much ISO, with LeBron and Kyrie, and that Kevin Love defense in the fourth quarter is a concern.
David Blatt said he won’t hold out any of the Cavs players tonight on the second night of a b2b to end their 6-game trip. Everybody playing – Dave McMenamin
Windhorst had some smart hings to say about Love on his Hey Windy! Radio thing. Similar to things he has said earlier this year, that the Cavs should be using these January/ February games to find sets where they can punish opponents with Love on the offensive end. If they can’t, or refuse to, then they’ll have to sit Love in crunch time against the top teams because he can be attacked defensively. It’s pretty frustrating watching him be a rebounding bot only in 4th quarters. A steady diet of Lebron isos against the Iggys and Leonards of the world… Read more »
Yeah. I think this is LBJ’s biggest struggle – finding the places to go somewhere else at the end of games. He’s not the same player he was when he was able to go 1 on 5 against Detroit in the ECF. I don’t mind him setting up the offense, handling the ball, even going ISO now and then if the matchup is right. But the days of clear out so LBJ can drive or do a step back two with one foot on the line should be long gone by now. Especially when he has so many better options… Read more »
Just another close loss to a good team, nothing that should make the Cavs change their whole gameplan. Well, better ball movement would help maybe. The Cavs run the 4th most isolation plays in the league. However they are only score 0.83 points per isolation possession, which is 19th in the league, so yea, contrary to popular opinion, they’re not very good at it. By contrast, the Spurs run the 3rd fewest iso plays in the league, again contrary to opinion. They do however run that Parker two man game over and over and over. Something KI should take notice… Read more »
Good post, mike. It should not be surprising that the Spurs are one of the lowest in the league on iso plays…that’s pretty obvious from just watching them play. I didn’t know that the Cavs were so ineffecient on isolations, but, again, not super surprising to me – just from watching pretty much every game, their iso stuff hasn’t looked super efficient to me.
Nice thoughts, mike. I’d be interested to see how often we’re getting points off offensive rebounds due to iso breaking down he defense. Kyrie’s missed layups on iso often result in put backs. It’s the whole Kobe assist argument. Regardless, ball movement is only as good as the shooter who ends up taking the shot. We missed some wide open ones or we win the game and don’t think too hard about nitpicking. If we could get mozzy up to a level close to last year, he’d be a lot more intimidating for Tony Parker to drive into than Love/TT.… Read more »
Good write up, EG. I’m really interested to see how Kyrie does on his first back to back. We’ll know a lot about his conditioning and health tonight. He is clearly not back to 100% from long range and on defense, two things that rely heavily on lower body strength. They’ll be the last things back. I’ve been holding judgment until the first 30 days, which puts us at this weekend as the time I hope to see a fully deployed KI. This game really drives home the continuity/familiarity aspects of basketball. The Cavs shot out to a lead early… Read more »
Let’s see how Parkers health is by season end. It’s always a factor come playoffs.
That will be the question with him, as with us, actually. Kyrie, Shump, and Love have all faced legit injury troubles the past couple of years.
Age is a complete factor. He can’t run as long as the young bloods.
Great points JoeyB! Also really interested to see how KI responds to his first b2b…
David West would still be a starter for most NBA teams… he’s sort of the SA equivalent of Iggy on that team, in that he’s a glue vet that still has a lot to offer and could start for most teams…
Great comparison. Those two guys are just monsters to have on your bench.
Iggy is a starter for all intents though. He plays 27 minutes per game the last 2 years, 5th most on the team. But West is a solid pickup. I looked at his per 36 numbers, and they are as strong as they were 5 years ago. Not much slippage at all in most categories, if any.
It’ll be fascinating to watch the Spurs play the Warriors. I think the Spurs might have the ideal team composition to really bully the Warriors.
Good points Joey. They used West at what he is good at, something other than Jones I think we struggle with on how to use our bench players strengths and not just subs to give rest. Parker is definitely still a great player and we struggled to defend. Playoffs tho I like Delly and KI prevailing due to age etc. Parker will have a hard road to finals and then to be that elite in another 7 game series seems almost too much. But he is good and Pop is great at finding windows to rest his guys. Also don’t… Read more »
Oh yeah, Monday. I feel more confident we beat the Warriors on Monday than I do that we win at Houston tonight, actually.
I think the Cavs have close to a zero chance of beating the Rockets tonight. I don’t expect a Blazers following the Warriors type beatdown, but I expect guys are tired and not too motivated. I wish they’d rest people and toss the Rocket game in the trash bin, personally.
I’m okay either way. The Rockets are playing really well, finally. Its a good test for the guys still coming back from injury, but if there is any question involving long term health, I wouldn’t risk it. I feel like Blatt and the Cavs brass are pretty conservative with not overplaying guys, so I trust them.
A win would make the trip feel much better than ended it with two losses and having to win against the Warriors to prevent a three game losing streak.
Really agree that West was a great pickup for them. He looked pretty freaking tough in his minutes last night. Just another guy who can be a load to handle on the block. Agree also about Parker…he’s ridiculous when he’s healthy and playing well. Just effortlessly dices up a defense.
Great recap Genius, thanks. Great game tough loss. When it is that close you can look at so many mistakes and misses and think that is why. Overall my take away was positive and it is nice to see most are there too. Nothing scared me to think we cant beat them or warriors in 7. Home court would help but that most likely is not happening. TOs being a key part that is where the officiating came up for me because there were at least 2 bad offensive fouls called on us. Not sure if spurs scored on those… Read more »
Need to sleep guys, see ya all later.
Beat Houston. Beat down Golden State.
Let’s go Cavs!!!
Are you overseas?????????
Let’s just say I’m from Asia :) time zone problems haha
That’s what I figured. I lived in Asia for a year.
It would be nice if Love could take over a game when it’s obvious that Irving doesn’t have it.
Yes, and they need to do a better job getting him more involved. Broken record at this point.
At this point that’s on Love.
I think it’s on the team. I’d actually give Blatt more blame too.
I’m with Cols on this one as well as its on Love to play smarter defense.
He’s not really a ball-handler though… when’s the last time you saw a KLove-ISO?
I did like his movement in first half when he drove and made more moves to hoops. The foul he got on Aldridge was one that stood out, like to see more of that for sure.
It’s called consistently forcing the ball to him in the right spots, eg the post, instead of having our point guard and small forward dribble away the shot clock on the perimeter trying to attack a defense that is nearly impossible to break down going one on five or force switches on a defense that refuses to switch. Analysis.
Trade targets: How can the Cavs set up a title run?
http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/14569435/cleveland-cavaliers-top-trade-targets-assets-nba
ESPN is panicking. I don’t even need to read that link to say it’s bs.
They do this for every team in the league, so I don’t see it as panicking.
I guess I should’ve typed /s after my first sentence
Lol… you got me…..
Yeah man… you always gotta remember the /s
Although, I’d probably have to put /s after almost everything I post… /s
They put Mo Williams as the most likely to get traded. And the 3 trade targets for the Cavs as PJ Tucker, Trevor Ariza, and Jared Dudley.
I think we would be too hesitant to get rid of Mo. If Kyrie or Delly were to get hurt, we are down to one PG. Again. I doubt they let that happen.
I’d prefer to keep Mo, but at the same time, if they are not going to play him, what is his value to this team. Same with AV, Kaun…
I think we would’ve seen Mo last night if he wasn’t out for a funeral or injury or personal reasons or whatever. In the 4th quarter when we couldn’t hit a shot to save our lives Mo would’ve come in and knocked some down.
I agree………………
Hey Arch,
How could you post this short of a message and be allowed to get through.? Lol just wondering.
That’s why I added all those periods.
Blatt treats mo, AV, and Kaun like an insurance policy. I do disagree with how he’s maintaining that policy though.
Well Kaun will never even be allowed to play, as he is inactive most every game.
Why the heck would Houston get rid of Ariza? He’s like the only guy who tries on that team…
I think if they are out of the playoffs. And I still see it as unlikely.
After a horrendous start, they are the seven seed and only a game out of fifth… Don’t see who passes them from behind…
I agree! And I’m sure Houston would want more than what the Cavs could offer up.
I had a far more derogatory comment typed out. In retrospect, I will edit it down to just ESPN’s inability to produce anything worthwhile.
Dudley would be a great get for us, but don’t see it happening.
Masterfully written Evil Genius! Couldn’t agree more on all points. My original expectations of this game before the game is I thought it would be a 2 pt difference game with Spurs winning.(Boo on me) The reason I thought this was I thought Aldridge would be a tough matchup & I thought Kyrie would continue to struggle. I was WRONG on the factors of the game and encouraged on a couple of fronts. Aldridge was NOT a factor and TT was! He was impressive last night 18 pts and 14 rebounds against the Spurs! It was a reason Pops had… Read more »
Thanks TV! I was inspired by the apple turnover I had for dessert following the game… ;)
We may need a bench for the regular season, but not for the playoffs. Tight 8 man rotations are what you need come playoff time. Thats when you use your best and only your best. Look at what RJ offered on a playoff type game last night. True that was about as bad as he could do, but why play worse players over your better players when the games really matter. Especially when there’s at least one day off between every game.
Oh I don’t know how you can depend on no injuries in the playoffs with this crew That’s why I’d like Blatt to commit to finding an effective bench rotations . be ready for Anything.
Agreed, AND having Andy, Mo and RJ would have come in handy vs GS. But think about backup QB’s in the NFL. They get no run in games, and that’s the most important position in the game come playoff time. Prolly because they figure if Brady/Rodgers etc go down they’re screwed anyway. I know there’s more to it than that, but I think Blatt’s gameplan is to play his best unless they can’t go (injuries, suspension etc), and cross that bridge when he comes to it.
NBA PG’s on how they are played is completely different than NFL. QB’s are not constantly running throughout the game. You have defense going in there while QB gets a rest. NBA PG’s are constantly in motion, they have to get a break thus backup PG is used.
Just want a better bench than we had last year. Responsibility is on Blatt
Per Windy: The Cavs need to figure out how to better utilize Kevin Love, or they need to take him out at the end of the game, due to his defensive inabilities.
May I laugh at the “per Windy” He’s little late on that observation.
Sounds like Windy read the Ben Golliver piece too…
Love has had some bad luck playing poorly on nationally televised games. For those of us who watch him every night, I think we better appreciate how much better his D has gotten, and all of the little things he does to help the team. But if your a “national media guy” and you only watch a few Cavs games, you end up spewing out a bunch of “hot takes” like “Love is bad at D,” “the Cavs never use Love,” etc. I feel like I could write an alogorithm that would auto-generate ESPN/SI articles about the Cavs based on… Read more »
He’s definitely gotten better, but they definitely went after him in the fourth last night…
This iso thing is getting ridiculous on this blog. Of course, they run a lot of iso plays, but given you have 2 of the best iso players in the game wouldnt you do it as a coach? It is called playing to your strengths. Spurs, if you noticed, ran their fair share of iso sets as well, for all 4 of their stars,TP, KL, TD and LMA. The Warriors let Curry go iso all the time, plus a good amount of Klay. On top of that, the other team plays as well, meaning they have scouted you and great… Read more »
Thank-you GCF, that really needed to be said.
ISO plays is one of our strengths. You know the other one? Yep, great ball movement. I’m not mad at ISO. I’m mad at resorting to ISO even when it’s not going in. I’m mad at going ISO when ball movement was doing great. I’m mad when they can’t elevate the offense to greater heights when they’re being clamped down. Are you gonna say it’s because we faced the best defense in the league? Well guess what. You just completely conceded that we can’t win the title. Why not the other way around? Why can’t we beat a great defense… Read more »
Look at it the other way around: we ran our “ball movement offense” the whole second and third quarter with not very good results. Why arent you mad at sticking with that when it clearly wasnt working and it produced a lot of turnovers on top of it? What I mean is, you can look at it any way it suits you, but make no mistake, iso is gonna be what makes or breaks this team offensively. Also, a lot of the great ball movement we see is a result of an iso possession gone very good.
Yup sure. We’ve seen our team failed so many times by resorting to isolation plays. But we’ve RARELY seen us breakdown an elite defense by moving the ball around. You can’t lie on this. Why am I not mad when ball movement didn’t pan out? Because everyone is accountable in ball movement. Everyone is involved and when they are, better things are bound to happen. And there is always a higher possibility to win with it than going ISO. And I think you didn’t saw in my post that I’m mad (or frustrated) when we can’t elevate our offense when… Read more »
Just to be clear, an isolation play can also be going 1-on-1 and get to the hole. In that case I’m not mad because it can break down a defense and open alleys for greater looks. Which I think the thing you mean on your last sentence.
The “ISO” that I mean is that stopping ball movement 1-on-1 and launching Saint Weirdo type of shots.
Yeah that doesnt happen very much. It did lastgame, but you have to account for the fact it came in the end of a long roadtrip and their legs may not follow as much. Still, I like ball movement as well, dont get me wrong,but it is unsustainable for 48 minutes, mainly due to the fact that tere are very few good passers on the team, LBJ, Love, Delly, KI and thats about it if Im not forgetting someone.
I blame officiating for the loss. There I said it. Yes, our PG play wasn’t great, and TP killed us. But the Spurs got away with a lot of crap, and if the refs didn’t call half of those stupid offensive fouls against the Cavs, we win IMO. Ultimately, the loss really means little to the Cavs, and the win means little to the Spurs. It was a two possession game in January, so I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it. The Cavs need to start employing these illegal defensive schemes other teams use against them, like jersey pulling… Read more »
Spurs got away with a ton of hand checking and grabbing. I don’t get the people who, after every loss, especially losses to great teams like the Spurs, in their house!, want to trade people or think that the Cavs can’t run an offense and all of this nonsense. It was a two possession game. Things happen. It doesn’t mean the Cavs can’t compete, just the opposite. It shows there are three elite teams this year, the Cavs, the Warriors and the Spurs. Cavs are guaranteed to make the Finals and will have a good chance of winning the Finals.… Read more »
No, I don’t think they need to trade any of their players.
Yeah, I know. I wasn’t blaming you.
No one is saying we can’t compete. We point out things and that doesn’t mean we’re “panicking” or being negative. Don’t paint us something of that color. You’re the one known for being extreme
It’s sports. It’s hard to win every game. It’s especially hard to win against really good teams who are well rested and in their building. The Cavs came close. I wish they would’ve have won, I wish Irving played better. I wish Delly didn’t get torched by Parker.
But I’m not going to pull my hair out over this loss. Those other guys are good, if we meet in the Finals it’s a great matchup of fairly even teams.
Dude you’re the one riding hard on the idea that the Cavs are unbeatable, or only OKC can give them a hard time, etc etc insane things.. Then you put all these as if you’ve been being rational all this time.
Lol.. Don’t change.
So true–Cols is writing today like he hasn’t consistently and dogmatically argued that Spurs were old and would never have a chance to beat the Cavs, Warriors will get swept by the Cavs, etc…
I like this Cols! 2 possession game with unbalanced calls.
If you go down that road… it’s hard to come back. There will always be poor officiating, either on certain calls, or sometimes for an entire game. It’s not what they call that matters, but how the team responds to those calls. Last night, the Cavs let the bad calls get in their heads…
I think that’s a fair point. I’m sure the Cavs have benefited from bad officiating… just not last night.
Should the Cavaliers trade for Markieff Morris? Cavs players are for it http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2016/01/cleveland_cavalier_players_wou.html#incart_m-rpt-1
“Influential figures within the Cavaliers’ locker room are open to the notion of trading for disgruntled Phoenix Suns power forward Markieff Morris, cleveland.com has learned”
Cedi Osman and the trade exemption for Morris. Who says no?
They do. Unless they think there is no way Morris can play for them why would they want to do that?
I don’t like giving up Osman. Cedi the Jedi could be a real big piece in a few years.
What if it means securing a championship? Would you give up Osman?
Does Morris secure us a championship? I know we are in “win now” mode. I’m just scared Arch!
I think it’s something to consider. I don’t see the Cavs making this trade. And I think ultimately it comes down to the taxes Gilbert would have to pay. I also question if Bllatt would actually play him. Blatt has his rotation and has difficulty expanding it beyond 9 guys.
If I were the Cavs FO, I would make this deal though. It’s a risk certainly, but I think it’s worth it.
It’s not about what we’re giving up. If we give them peanuts then go. It’s what are we gonna get from Morris. I’m talking about the attitude baggage he brings.. Potential team cancer imo..
I dont get this trade. Statistically, what is the appeal?
He’s a wing that can give Draymond Green problems, and has a reasonable contract, although with the taxes Gilbert would have to pay, not so reasonable.
So fixing a perceived problem. Rolling back through the last 3 Finals games. On his own TT matched or beat Green in rebounding in every game. He outscored him in 2 of the 3 games. With Love added in I just don’t see a need to dump assets or luxury money to get this headcase. Get a scoring PG if Mo is really hurt.
We sort of said the same thing about JR. I remember hating that deal last year. But it seemed to work out okay. If LeBrron maybe has a conversation with Morris, and Morris is All In, why not?
I don’t think the Draymond thing is a perceived problem, it’s an actual issue for most teams, and Morris has defended him well over his career.
I don’t buy it as a need. After the team booted Harris to save luxury I’m thinking they don’t swing a deal for anything other than a need.
Let’s take Leuer back! He actually looks better than Morris this season. He does. But still /s
Very good use of the /s DaveR…
Pass… Markieff is not the answer… unless you like guys who throw in the towel…
I’d take the risk EG. But as I stated above, I really doubt this happens.
I’m just not a fan of his game, or his attitude. JR had a bad rep, but at least he could shoot. All Markieff brings to the table on the plus side is that he kinda defends Donkey well… Way more negatives than positives in my book fwiw…
I actually would like to get PJ Tucker. But I don’t see us having the assets to pull it off.
Morris’s best season was 13-14, where he had an 18.48 PER. He’s been a below average 3-pt shooter his entire career at around 30%.
We have to be flawless for 48 mins if we play Golden State or San Antonio. The best teams can capitalize even on the smallest mistake from their opponents. The best teams can adjust and elevate their play in a small span of time. I’m not mad but still frustrated from the loss. What I can take away from this (& the Christmas game) is that we need continuity on our haymakers. The common thing on both losses is that we deviate to doing iso plays and continue iso plays even when it’s not working. We should elevate ball movement… Read more »
They didn’t lose because of iso. The Spurs went iso a fair amount as well. They lost because Irving and Delly were not good and Parker went nutso.
They deviate to ISO plays and didn’t work obviously. What do you think they should’ve done? Continue?
Irving played a fair amount of ISO. It didn’t work. And you said they lost because of Irving. So that means they lost because of ISO.
But Kyrie ISOs usually work. Parker ISOs worked, Kyrie ISOs didn’t. Boom that’s the entire ball game.
That was the last few minutes of the game.
Entire ball game? Lol I’ll just assume you didn’t watch the game. Your not worth responding about this..
Yep. The entire ball game can be boiled down to this: The Spurs got great PG play, the Cavs got terrible PG play. The rest is just noise.
Now I’m definitely convinced you didn’t watch the game Cols.
As usual from Evil, excellent analysis only to be out down with his classic metaphorical style. ( That’s good writing Elaine!). What stood out? Both teams made 38 shots. Cavs 5 better at 3pt. distance and Spurs 9 better at the line. Pretty even I say. As EG pointed out, the turnovers and points from turn overs were the difference. Lastly, if you haven’t clicked on the Love link, do so. http://www.si.com/nba/2016/01/15/spurs-cavaliers-finals-matchup-lebron-james-kevin-love-defense Imo, this is the Cavs biggest issue when we play the Spurs or the Warriors in the finals. Although, I have picked the Spurs from the beginning. Love… Read more »
He’s so awful on defense and if he’s not making an enormous impact on offense that’s what makes him unplayable on those situations.
Love did well against Duncan. You forget he’s one of, if not the best, power forward ever. He has scored at will on pretty much everyone who’s defended him for the past 15 years. Sometimes you do as much as you can do and he still scores.
The past 15-year Duncan is different from this 19th-year Duncan.
Love was great on Duncan and Aldridge in the post for most of this game. He got abused by Tony Parker and Manu late, as dide everyone on the Cavs
Have you clicked on the SI link yet Merkaderka? It’s enlightening…
Thanks Murphy! I’m not always accurate, but I do aim to entertain… ;)
Love’s struggles in the fourth were magnified given how well he actually played in the first half on D (I saw him with his arms up and waving several times, and he had good position down low early). I didn’t comprehend the full scope until I saw the Golliver SI article. This is probably why Kev didn’t play in fourth quarters last season. I also wonder if he just wears down by the end of games.
Look, there’s not much to take from this. Their PGs were better than our PGs last night. That’s the entire game. There’s no existential crisis, there’s no need to question Blatt, the Spurs are really good, they were home, and Irving and Delly were awful. No problems. We will get them next time.
Since PGs are primary in the turnover ratio factor, I’ll partially agree with you… Cavs could still have won with the subpar PG play though if they’d have taken care of the ball and also been more aggressive in making SA pay for their own mistakes…
Delly’s limitations were really on display last night. When we play great defensive teams, he gets nuetralized on O. Which makes sense.
I think Mo can help a bit in short spurts against the 2nd stringers on some of the top teams, as long as we can hide his terrible D.
“Pop has a system for his guys to run… Blatt is still figuring his out.” Uhm.. This is certainly true…. last year. He already had a system for the team to run THIS year. The thing is, Lebron and to some extent Kyrie, hijacks the play after the first quarter. Like someone said, that can pass against teams like Toronto, Washington and the likes, but not against San Antonio or golden state. I’m not in agreement in totally abandoning iso plays as we have two of the best to do it and every team does that at times. But we… Read more »
That’s not going to happen. After every game Lebron says all the right things about how they need to move the ball more and the offense needs to flow better. But then the next game it’s LeIso ball all over again. Imagine how good this team would be if they actually ran set plays for the majority of the game.
Part of having a system is putting guys in the right places and situations to execute it… Pop has had close to 20 years to figure this out and plugs guys in year after year… Blatt has only had roughly a season (since he didn’t have all the pieces for almost half of last year) to put his in place. That wasn’t so much a criticism of Blatt as it was just an acknowledgement that he still has work to do to close the gap between him and Pop (as do most coaches in the NBA).
Darn it EG, that picture at the top makes me hungry. BRING COLS SOME FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s hard to beat a good turnover… ;)
You know, I have been a Blatt supporter from day one, and still am. I have my concerns though. When we initially hired him, I immediately went out and watch as many clips of Blatt’s games and read as many interviews as I possibly could. From what I saw and read, he is supposed to be an offensive genius. These games for major chunks (after the first quarter as mentioned above) do not resemble his games in the various other stages of his career. I do know that, of course, the NBA is different than Euro league. However, we see… Read more »
That was a bit more long-winded than originally intended, sorry about that.
I think as Cavs fans we over-analyze. The Cavs lost by 4 to the Spurs in their house with a crazy long win streak on the line on a night in which multiple Cavs stunk. The Cavs led for 3 quarters and held the Spurs under 100 (like they did GSW). The Cavs have yet to play either team on their home turf. I think those are things we can feel good about. The Spurs have the best D in the NBA. They took away the Cavs gameplan late in the game and Kyrie/Lebron tried to improvise (which means more… Read more »
Kyrie, Smith, LeBron, Love, and TT.
They all claimed they were playing tonight after the game…
I think Blatt gave up trying to implement his offense because Lebron won’t run it. For all the hype of how much of a genuis Lebron is, he’s not very good at playing in an actual system. I don’t think it’s because of lack of Basketball IQ, I just think his ego won’t allow him to listen to anyone. Only reason it worked in Miami was because he was playing with his buddy D. Wade. We can’t even tell if Blatt’s a good coach as long as Lebron chooses not to run any of his offensive sets.
The Cavs worked the ball around and ran plays for most of 3 quarters with success. The Spurs D clamped down and the Cavs fell apart in the 4th. It happens when you face the best D in the league. Someone spam the panic button.
We could’ve tear apart that D if we played the movement we did the first half. That could also happen even when you face the best defense in the league.
Maybe. Part of what them being the best defense in the league is about is that when they’re on, they’re also guarding off the ball and making those actions harder for you to run. Given that Pop knows how to run motion offenses, one assumes that he also has thought a bit about how to defend motion offenses and make everything harder for players to run, especially if the execution isn’t perfect. The way I see it there were a few things that happened over the course of the game, 1) the Spurs D stepped up, 2) the intensity of… Read more »
High five fam. Very well balanced assessment. Point #2 could be true. I agree that consistency is key. But the main thing hampering it from happening is the lack of trust to the ball movement when it doesn’t produce good results. A regular season game might not be important, but you have there a chance to develop habits that could very well affect you down the road. I think everyone is buying on the idea of ball movement. Except our 2 best players. Again nothing bad about ISO except doing it for too much. And I’m not up against it… Read more »
Great post, Harlem!
Great post, and great perspective Harlem!
I agree with DaveR and Harlem. Also, I love Blatt.
Why does raising concerns automatically mean I’m panicking? Obviously I recognize that we are an incredibly good team. That doesn’t mean I can’t be critical.
My panic comment was to JCHRIS not JMay
Fair enough, my bad.
I agree with all of this. To add to it I think Miami played the best off Lebron strengths like closing out on defense and getting out on the break on offense.
These teams match up very well, and I saw this as an even contest. An over-simplification perhaps, but I felt this game can be summed up as: 1st half – we hit, they missed, 2nd half – the opposite. I agree with comments on Cavs losing focus as a result of adverse decisions. I applaud the “more time for Shump” calls – way to much RJ in this game. Hopefully it’s part of Coach’s grand master plan on this roadtrip.
Kyrie will get better.
I wish we ran an offense. After the first quarter (and this happens everygame) there are no more off-ball screens in the paint. Can we at least start crossing our wings or something on these ISO / PNR sets? That patty mills 3 was a lovely counterpoint – spurs run an offense, we pound up, toss a pass in to lebron with his back to the basket at th 3 point line and hope for the best. Another klove no-show game when we needed him. Kyrie had an off night – but man Parkers defense was so much better than… Read more »
They have an offense. Then Kyrie and LeBron hijack it in order to hunt for mismatches and subsequent pull-up jumpers. It’s up to Kyrie and LeBron to be more selective after their initial actions. Getting the mismatch is useless if it leads to pull-up contested Js. Kyrie was oddly afraid to attack the rim off of PnR action, often settling for forward leaning pull-ups when a clear path to the rim was afforded. Weird, and not the way to win. Someone must go toward the hoop in every action. It doesn’t matter if it is the ball-handler, roller, off-ball cutter,… Read more »
It’s weirdly less about the player who’s doing the ISO, and more about their teammates standing around watching them, and not doing optimal things to serve as safety valves in case the ISO breaks down or gets stuck with a mid-range J…
As to point 12 … I don’t like to blame the officials either, but I do think it was a deciding factor in the game. Not so much the calls themselves, but I think it really played a part in the Cavs becoming mentally unglued. That’s really on Blatt and the Cavs to play past that, but you could see it in their body language. They stopped playing the focused basketball you saw in the first, and played more of a, who-cares-I’m-going-to-get-whistled-for-this style the rest of the game. They have to stay mentally tough.
If the officials sucked, why not blame them? Sure, we don’t want to get lumped in with, say, the Warriors fans in Oracle who boo whenever the refs call a foul against their team. But I don’t see how the refs can be *that* bad last night in a marquee matchup.
True, but that’s an area where the Cavs need to get mentally tougher… There are always going to be poorly officiated plays, and even games like last night. Hard to control that… but possible to control how they choose to let it affect them…
I don’t think the Cavs let it affect how they played or became mentally unglued at all. Hell I don’t remember Lebron once arguing during play, causing him to not get back on D, something that happens in just about every game.
They looked pretty exasperated to me, especially on second viewing when I was looking for it…
I agree, I hate when that happens.
Spurs are really good. And Kyrie and Delly sucked. We needed better PG play and didn’t get it. It happens. We will get them next time.
Typically don’t agree with Cols but Kyrie did need to give us more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily blaming KI, it is only like his 11th game this season, right? By April I, like many of you, bet we see a much more effective Kyrie. No way he lets the aging TP beat him like that again.
it’s hard to beat great teams at their spot. Hell, between us and the two western giants, there’s only 1 home loss between the 3. and when you have offensive superstars, sometimes iso ball happens because they are expected to get by their man. but Spurs/GSW have a lot of good wings to prevent that. but if we return the favor when they step in to the Q. I won’t panic too much. until then, we are the underdogs, just like an Ohio team. Go Cavs!
lol @ Kyrie flopping in that gif. Definitely a foul on his wrist, and he tries to sell it hard by falling on his face. Not sure what the moral is here: sell it harder or sell it more as what it was, a foul on the wrist? Maybe he should have held his wrist in the air while falling backward?
I couldn’t find a good one of Parker grabbing his jersey, so that one had to suffice…