Recap: Cavs 99, Pelican’ts 84 (or, how do you say chase down block in Portuguese?)
2016-02-07
The Cavs looked to rebound after their last second loss last night to the Celtics in yet another back-to-back. A thigh bruise sidelined Kevin Love for the contest against the Pelicans, and he joined Matthew Dellavedova on the inactive list. The next man up mandate was answered as Anderson Varejao stepped to the plate and delivered his most meaningful performance in a year.
As much sleep as we’ve lost this season over the Cavs not being elite enough, the Pelicans are in the running for the biggest disappointment in the league. They inherited a once in a generation talent in Anthony Davis, and have failed to surround him with players who can accent his immense potential at every turn. Fortunately for the franchise they’ve got him locked up for five more years to find the right formula.
1st Quarter
While LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be the only members of this game reporting to All-Star weekend from this matchup. Both produced stellar opening quarters, but the difference on the scoreboard was provided by the Cavs supporting cast in the opening quarter.
Timofey Mozgov won the opening tip, and it was all downhill from there with a missed layup, missed jumper, fumbled pass, and surrendering a floater to Davis within the opening two minutes. After Timo drew an an offensive foul for bulldozing through Omer Asik, Tyronn Lue subbed in Anderson Varejao. We used to talk about how the Cavs wouldn’t be able to afford Timo next summer. We haven’t debated the topic of his value in months. Perhaps his slow start is a longterm blessing in disguise.
J.R. Smith let his play during the first quarter be his retort to the phantom foul from last night on Evan Turner, and his exclusion from the Three-Point Contest, as he drilled three of his four three-point attempts in the first. With his affinity for contested shots, I’m curious as to how he would fair without a defender in his face.
Anderson Varejao made an immediate impact on the game once he checked in, setting a screen for Irving at the top of the key, which led to a clean Kyrie jumper from the left elbow. On the following Cavs possession, Andy went to set another pick for Irving, and rolled to the hoop which led to a lovable Andy awkward hook. There’s a controlled clumsiness to Andy’s game that I’ve always found charming in a way. Varejao’s hustle nearly led to a pair of steals on an errant passes, but he lost his balance on the out of bounds line both times. It’s easy to forget that Andy is on the team sometimes with his sporadic court appearances, but it’s February and he’s still healthy. That works for me.
For the most part it was a stellar quarter for the boys in gold. The bench has struggled without Delly’s reliability and I feared that tonight could have been our third installment in the zoo crew meltdown chronicle, but Mo Williams, Iman Shumpert and Varejao provided a spark while the starters sat. On the Cavs final possession of the quarter LeBron blew past Alonzo Gee off of an Andy pick, which led to the vicious slam. Cavs 28-20
2nd Quarter
After playing he entire first quarter, LeBron James opened the second on the pine, and the Cavs fielded an offensively challenged lineup of Andy, TT, Shump, RJ, and Mo. Mozgov subbed in for Thompson, and hit a driving hook immediately. A few minutes later he rejected Gee at the rim. My favorite play of his was gathering a loose ball off of a Thompson misfire, and having the body control of a ballerina to throw the ball off of Omer Asik on the baseline. When he’s right, this team has a drastically higher ceiling. Mozzy being able to compartmentalize his struggles, and quickly move on could seriously make him tens of millions more in the offseason.
Kyrie mixes it up in #TheLand for 19 PTs as @Cavs hold a 54-43 lead over @PelicansNBA on #NBALeaguePass. #NOPatCLE pic.twitter.com/PmGtX2ssxy
— NBA (@NBA) February 7, 2016
The second quarter belonged to Kyrie Irving, and he showcased his full array of offensive skills that we’ve been in withdrawal for, for months. After being subbed in for Andy, Kyrie pump faked Jrue Holiday off the hardwood for a bank jumper. Irving abused the Pelicans backcourt for a pair of triples, and Cole and Holiday didn’t have an antidote for his ball-handling poison. In total Irving had 14 points in the quarter on just seven shots from the field.
Tristan Thompson went into beast mode on the boards totaling 11 in the first half. Highlighting his contributions in prose, is as challenging to gauging his value proved in the offseason. His bad games stick out so much, because he’s so consistent with the things that he excels at. His hustle for an offensive board, fighting through Davis and Asik for one more possession led to a Kyrie jumper. I’m on the fence about buying another Cavs jersey, not only because spending $100 on something I can only wear in public a few times a year is completely impractical, but also because it usually foreshadows the end of a Cavalier career for a player, but if I did get one, it would be the wine CavFanatic numero 13. He’s the safest option.
3rd Quarter
What has led to the Cavs slow starts to the second half of games over the past week. Is the Gatorade in the locker room tainted with Librium? Is Ben Carson delivering the halftime speech? Is there a British soccer podcast playing in the background? Whatever the culprit is, the team has failed miserably in the third, and it’s costed them the past two games. While the Cavs didn’t play well in the third frame tonight, they ran into a team just dysfunctional enough to not surrender the lead.
Norris Cole exposed the Cavs lazy perimeter defense to the tune of 12 points in the first three minutes of the quarter. The first three points of Cole’s barrage came on the Pelicans opening possession as Cole threw up an off-balance prayer that went in as the shot clock expired. On the following possession, Cole hit a jumper from the left wing, as Kyrie and Thompson both rolled with Anthony Davis after the pick. On the third Pelicans possession, they employed the if ain’t broke don’t fits it technique as Kyrie got stuck on an Asik pick, and Cole buried another long two. Cole’s jersey was retired at Cleveland State University before the game, and he gave his friends and family reason to be proud as he scored a professional career-high of 26 points.
J.R. Smith is definition of a bi-polar player. When he’s manic, he’s one of the most deadly scorers in the league. When he’s depressive, get him on the bench ASAP. After a first quarter in which he went 3-4 from downtown, he shot just 1-12 from deep in The Q the rest of the way. Personally, I love Smith. He’s as much of a showman as the league has to offer when he’s hot. Gauging when to ride him, and swap him out should be a priority for Lue.
That @TheRealJRSmith to @KingJames #FORMATION 😍#CavsPelicans pic.twitter.com/4Y72dtVHwX
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 7, 2016
There wasn’t much to rave about on the Cavs side of the court in the third. They didn’t fight through screens, and the ball movement screeched to a halt. The wine and gold highlight of the quarter came at the midway point as J.R. Smith stole an errant pass and connected with LeBron James for a touchdown pass on the other end. A runner-up would be LeBron backing down his defender and finding a cutting Mozgov for a layup. Other than those two plays, it was ugly. Cavs 74-70
4th Quarter
Not in @VAREJAOANDERSON's house! No way!
WILD THING REJECTION!!#CavsPelicans pic.twitter.com/7LTlc5ZeLi— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 7, 2016
After watching the Cavs double-digit halftime lead dwindle to four by the end of the third quarter, a shot of adrenaline to the heart awakened the roster in the form of Anderson Varejao delivering a chase down block on a Tony Douglas drive. Andy picked up another rejection two Pelican possessions later, this time going vertical and rejecting Ryan Anderson on the block. Andy’s value isn’t just what he provides by his own actions, but also the mojo he infuses in the roster when he’s on the floor.
The Cavs ball-movement improved as well, as Kyrie pulled the defense into the lane during a drive and kicked it to Jefferson for the wide-open three from the corner. After watching LeBron work on the block in Miami in sheer jealousy, he’ll occasionally bless us with his dominance down low, and he did so in backing down Dante Cunningham for a faraway from the left block. On the following possession, he found a cutting J.R. Smith from a driving layup. The Cavs offensive continued with Kyrie backing down Cole for a pair from the paint, and he followed that by breaking down Cunningham on a crossover for a long two from the left wing. The Cavs were up by just four when Andy swatted Dougalas’ shot into the stands, four minutes later the DIF swelled to 12 and forced Alvin Gentry to call a TO.
J.R. Smith recovers and hits from downtown! #CavsNation #Cavs #Pelicans #NBA https://t.co/OyxEBz8Ni5
— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) February 7, 2016
The Pelicans scored on back-to-back possessions after the TO, and Varejao once again rallied the troops, this time with an offensive rebound which led to an off-balance J.R. Smith three from the corner. The Cavs went on to hold the Pelicans scoreless over the final three minutes, and it was a wine and gold winner. Cavs 99-84
Boo
-The Cavs shot only seven free throws (they hit all seven). As Austin Carr reminded up fifteen times during the broadcast the primary reason was that they shot 40 three-pointers.
-J.R. had 20 points on 18 shots. I love the three ball as much as anyone, but misfires from the top of the key lead to fast break points the other way. Fortunately, the Pelicans weren’t equipped to capitalize on them. Amazingly, he posted the Cavs best plus/minus with +20.
-Kyrie looked like old Kyrie on defense. He was stuck on screens, and slow to rotate.
Yay
-Kyrie looked like old Kyrie on offense He’s coming back from the most significant injury of his career, and he’s still one of the most captivating players in the league to watch when he’s on.
-LeBron posted 27 points and eight dimes with only two turnovers. I’m probably the most critical of LeBron on this blog, and he really does spoil us with his talent to the point that nights like this seem so so.
"Andy was great for us tonight, he gave us a lot of energy…the way he played, I need to find minutes for him." – Coach Lue#CavsPelicans
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 7, 2016
-Andy’s 27 minutes were the most he’s posted this season and they needed every second of effort he gave them.
-Tristan Thompson gobbled up boards like we’ll be chowing down on chicken wings tomorrow. While he didn’t score, he went on to post a Rodman-esque 15 rebounds.
-Enjoy the Super Bowl tomorrow folks. It will be Peyton Manning’s last game, and it will be a reminder that some stories don’t have happy endings. Panthers 31-15
The Cavs need to get back to playing the defense they were playing in the NBA Finals (and prior) last season. We aren’t going to outgun the Warriors. I like the up-tempo idea, because hopefully it means more passing. But at the end of the day, the NBA Finals comes to be a half-court game, and we need to be dominant defensively. We have the half-court players to succeed. Let’s play some defense.
Drnvet !!!!!!!!! Unreal victories.
Congratulations Denver Broncos…
Get that man a Budweiser Now!! I had no problem him saying this. He should be allowed to crack one open one on the spot in my opinion
I didn’t even watch the Superbowl, and this is completely off topic, but I have to laugh. Billy Simmons was saying before the AFC championship game that America better hope the Patriots win that game, or the SB would be a laugher. (i.e., Carolina would win in a blowout) Guess Billy is wrong yet again. He is pretty freaking good at making a clown of himself.
RICHIE WE CAN WORRY OURSELVES SICK ABOUT POTENTIAL INJURIES ( DON’T DISAGREE WITH YOUR COMMENTS ON KY/ KEV ) BUT THE SAME COULD BE SAID ABOUT CURRY ( AND MANY OTHERS ) IT IS A PART OF ANY SPORTING EVENT —LET’S JUST HOPE THE ” BASKETBALL GOD’S ” HAVE A SOFT SPOT FOR ‘CLEVLAND /CAVS SPORTS ” AND DON’T STRIKE US DOWN WITH AN INJURY JUST THINKING —WITH THE KINGS IN TOWN AND ALL THE RUMORS ABOUT KARL GETTING FIRED MIGHT IT BE WISE TO DO A “LITTLE TALKING / FEELING OUT ” WITH KARL ON A ROLE WITH THE… Read more »
They can’t afford Rudy gay. He wouldn’t fit if they could.
Great recap, Cory! AV was deserving to be the focal point, and I loved seeing him back out on the floor contributing his energy, rebounding and defense…
Still seeing the “trade Kyrie” narrative here on the thread… it’s a shame people forget how good he can be, and the fact that he’s still just 23 years old… Yes, he needs to improve on both sides of the ball, but he’s shown he’s capable of that in the past…
KI’s not going anywhere…
Yeah it is crazy how quickly the narrative changes, last year when Kyire went down the narrative is we are done or we would of won if he was healthy. Why, because he was playing great All Star ball which he will do again. He played great against Warriors game one. He is exactly what we needed, a scorer.
I’m still in the camp that we will improve and be playing high caliber ball by March and cruise to Finals and lay it all out.
I hope you’re right Evil. But if Kyrie suffers another season ending injury, the Cavs could have a Derrick Rose situation – a superb talent whose health issues have perpetually held hostage his organization. Do the Cavs then seriously consider trading him? Not trying to troll, but to me Kyrie is an injury waiting to happen. He is breath taking to watch on offense but it seems he does not have the skills to consistently create easy shots, that he has to twist, turn and contort his body and spent so much energy just to launch a single shot. And… Read more »
Amen to that! If the Cavs’ is biggest problem is Kyrie not being fully Kyrie, that is a good problem to have and sure is a lot better than other team’s situations.
CAVS PLAYERS A MUST VIEW : THE SECRET TO FREE THROW SUCCESS / RICK BARRY
A win against an inferior team but a win all the same. Up 2 games in the east even stumbling a bit.
Let’s not beat Lue up too much over this stretch. At one point this year Blatt was 5-6. Without Kyrie either so the offense and denfense should have been golden. /s
YEAH I WAS THINKING THE SAME ON LEBRON—ANY OTHER PLAYER PUTS UP STATS ( NUMBERS ) LIKE THAT AND IT GETS EVERONE’S ATTENTION AND WE GO WOW !!—LEBRON WE GO HO HUM –TO BE EXPECTED —-SORRY KING FOR TAKING YOU FOR GRANTED !!
J.R. is a player that deserves the green light he has. Always. For his career he has shot about 10 threes per 100 possessions and has hit on about 38 percent. That is fine. He needs to have that clear conscience to fire. When a dude has a stretch of misses followed by a stretch of makes, the numbers balance. Defenses must account for him. Don’t try to take away his mojo. I guess if I have been so relaxed with Timo with as we tries to play his way back after injury, it should follow that I would be… Read more »
I think KI may be the worst defensive guard in the NBA this season. Least I can’t think of any worse. Oh wait, Mo. Worst starting guard, anyway.
Here’s some suggested reading about Lue and the lack of practice time affecting his vision for what he promised to execute. All the more reason to wait after a season ends before making a coaching change, IMO….
http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-cavaliers/post/_/id/2069/tyronn-lue-finds-schedule-to-start-his-coaching-tenure-unforgiving
This is quite a quote from Lue: “A lot of times when teams score, we kind of walk the ball up the court and then we don’t really flow into anything,” Lue said after the Pelicans game. “… I don’t think we’re in great shape. Also, we can’t really flow. I tried to call ‘Slice’ a few times tonight, we couldn’t run it right. Tried to call ‘Punch,’ we couldn’t run it right. What’s happening after makes is we’re just flowing into random. We’re just playing random basketball. We hold the ball, the ball sticks, because we’re in random because… Read more »
Yes. That’s why there are good teams and bad teams.
Great recap Cory! You are not wrong about timofey Mozgov and the potential for barely any money, or all the money we have. The line btw those two scenarios is razor thin. And if he does pull it together and begin playing defense and offense like he did last season, he gives the Cavs a fighting chance against whomever survives the likely bloodbath btw the Spurs and warriors out west. His defense alone could help us win 2 games against either one. But Can you imagine how much better our offense could be if he could pull a big Z… Read more »
Mozerati was hitting those 18 footers consistently last year. For whatever the reason, he’s just not seeing the ball as much this year. Partly because he’s been injured and out of rhythm… but they should just feed him the ball to get his confidence up.
Actually, last year he was terrible, and this year he is great. Last year on shots from 16ft through the 3 point line (22-23ft 9in) he was 16-50, 32%; This year, before tonight, he is 13-22, for a nifty 59%.
Not sure where you got 32% from that’s incorrect. 10-16 Mozgov was way better last year than this year. 16-3pt he’s better this year, but was also good last year.
10-16 – 43% last year, 33% this year
16-3pt – 45% last year, 59% this year
Well you had said 18 footers, so I naturally looked up 16-3pt shots. Our numbers differ on last years stats as I have him shooting
10-16 – 14-50 28% overall, 10-28 36% after trade
16-3pt – 32-86 37% overall, 16-50 32% after trade
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/mozgoti01/shooting/2015/
Our numbers are the same for this year’s stats.
So according to Bask-Ref stats, this year he’s shooting 3 percentage points worse from 10-16ft, but 27 percentage points better from 16-3pt.
So obviously Timo needs to shoot longer jump shots!
Using the same source, it still appears that your 14-15 numbers are still incorrect.
I am only using his CLE stats, that accounts for some discrepancy, but not all of it. Re-check if you wish, because from what I’m seeing your “after trade” numbers are still way off.
43% last year 10-16 (CLE only); 45% last year 16-3pt (CLE only)
Regardless, I’d agree… he should shoot from 16+… it’s probably due to size and strength that he’s better from a longer distance.
Andy should play at least 10 mins a night. That’s all.
Even though he’s probably lost all his rhythm, would’ve like to see JC get some minutes as the 10th man. Totally wasting his momentum from earlier in the season when he had a few decent moments…. if anything he provides energy when the regulars are loafing it around out there.
Kyrie was awesome offensively. I thought the Cavs did a decent job moving the ball, for the most part and taking what the defense gave them/wide open 3’s. Lebron flashed brilliance at times, making his moves early in the shot clock and finding open shooters or cutters. He also held the ball far too long on a few occasions and the end result was usually a bad shot late in the shot clock. I liked seeing his posts moves, loved the step backs going down on back to back possessions and was relieved to see his first 3 go in,… Read more »
You have to play so damn perfectly against them. They don’t miss and a lot of their bench players don’t miss either. OKC was smart to go for high% shots in the paint. They attacked and refs blew the whistle to get them to the free throw. Adams was good. He has some good footwork to angle himself for good baskets under the rim. They have longer bodies to match up against Warriors . You have to really get Green into foul trouble as earliest as possible . He is so key for them in crunch time. His quick passes… Read more »
What did Irving do tonight that he hasn’t done the last few weeks. I was at the last two games so I didn’t see replays. But it seemed he played the exact same game. Snaked sceens, over dribblng, dribbling into corners isolation jumpers he just made couple more tonight because we played one of the worst defenses in the NBA
By the same token, Kyrie doesn’t usually miss as many shots as he has lately, regardless of what kind of defense he’s up against. (Spurs anybody?)
Last year (when KI was filly healthy) he and Steph were only two players in the league with usage rates above 24%, TS rate of 58+, and asst/to ration better than 2:1.
You can bash KI all you want, but the team needs him to get reps and get back to 100%. He is one of the top 5 best offensive players in the league.
Even this year with KI shooting poorly, our offensive efficency (and LBJ’s efficiency) with and without KI on the floor are stark.
Agree with you 100% Hot Sauce.
Kyrie is our scorer. TT is our rebounder. Shumpert is our defensive player.
Why doesn’t anybody get on TT’s or Shumpert’s cases for not scoring?
Last year Kyrie showed he can play adequate defense when he is in shape. If you need a stellar defensive guard on the floor to guard someone, put Shumpert or Delly out there to guard the guy. An elementary school student can figure that out.
Irving hitting 3’s along with his outstanding handle makes the Cavs that much more potent. I think the emphasis on his defense and flaws are accentuated by the play of the Warriors. The question for any team considering a title run is can we defeat that team as currently constituted? Without their historic greatness the sense of urgency for the Cavs would be greatly reduced. When combined with lack of ball movement, bad defense and lost possessions the question is relevant. In any long series matchups will be key, If there are glaring liabilities such as Kevin Love being slow… Read more »
I differ from most here in that I think we can beat the W’s with our current roster playing at its peak potential. But I take your general point.
Interesting comments on NBATV from Aldridge on Ty Lue’s impact. He said “we will know his impact on player accountability when we visibly see Lue bench players. He questioned that no one was benched after the Celtics game. He has not publically called out Lebron on continued missed defensive assignments . And finally when we see other players call out Lebron comfortably; we will know Lue has succeeded in player accountability.” Rick Fox agreed. He thought it would take at least 6 weeks to see the difference. This would be a good thing for team growth. It has to happen… Read more »
Sounds like a bunch of garbage. (not your post, but what those guys are saying) WTF is 6 weeks supposed to mean when nothing was said of LBJ’s play yesterday when he stunk up the joint???
Oh they were critical of Lebron. They want Lue to address it. But I have no idea where they come up with a time frame.
No that’s my point… Lue didn’t address it. If he didn’t address it last night when it was clear LBJ sucked, then why will it be different in 6 weeks?
I know. I guess they think he needs warm ups in the mirror to actually do that. LoL
HAHAHA…. that’s pretty funny TV!
Larry David is the best SNL host!
Kevin Love’s favorite comedian. He is a brilliant writer
Bern Your Enthusiasm was one of the best skits I’ve seen in years by SNL.
Bern your enthusiuam was great in so many ways!
I loved when Cecily Strong’s character gets all pissed when “Bernie” repeats the whole 27 dollar donation thing! Freaking gold!
I liked the progress I seen in Kyrie tonight on offense. I especially liked his play with the other players without Lebron. It is much more free flowing. It was great to see him hit the 3’s. Yes he has regressed to old Kyrie on defense in the Bryon Scott days. I have faith that will return as he is still returning back into form from his injury. He made it known he did not like the team taking 40 3 point shots in his interview and made a snide remark on JR would probably take 10 more if he… Read more »
I think it very smart of Lue to keep in Andy. I remember the Rockets game how much Andy inspired the other players to play better. His hustle is infectious and it’s a good way to keep your bench players sharp.
What did Irving do different besides make shots tonight that he missed last night. Besides maybe play worse defense if that was possible. To me he played the exact same game. Ignored the screener on every pick, never swung the ball and dribbled into corners regularly.
As far as Andy I believe the plan was always to rest him until the All-star break and then work him into the rotation. Love’s injury moved the time table up a couple weeks.
Comment is on this game only. Looking at your comment , we actually say the same thing for the most part. Agree on better shots. Agree on bad defense, The only difference is there was better ball movement (ie. reduced ISO)
“It’s a make-or-miss league”
Kyrie needs to take more pride in his defense. He is allowing career backup point guards to have monster games against him. Last night, Norris Cole had his career high in points, mostly in Kyrie’s grill. Not too long ago, he made Jeremy Lin the best player in the game, especially late in the homestretch.
“It’s a make-or-miss league.” Indeed it is. Coles, who is a below average shooter, happened to be making them last night.
I’ve said this before, Kyrie’s defense WILL improve when his conditioning improves. Last year he was in great shape and he played good defense. Both the “eyeball” test and defensive statistics showed this.
He expends all his energy on offense. If he didn’t direct his energy towards what he excels at, he might as well not be on the floor. Again, his defense will improve when his conditioning improves.
Jeremy Lin torched him just two games ago. Obviously, he couldn’t guard Isiah Thomas who is even smaller than him. And maybe he wouldn’t expend so much energy on offense if he dribbles less and pass more.
Ty Lue’s ideal minutes for Bron is 36 minutes, whaaaaaattttt?
Lebron did NOT need to come back the last 2 mins in the 3rd quarter. Lue HAS to get his mins down. He can do it in games like this.
I thought Kyrie did nothing different than hit a few shots tonight. Still terrible using screens. Never passes to the roll man. Still terrible on defense let Norris Vole go off. Still dribbled into the corner. Still refused to swing the ball. Trade this guy for someone who helps the team.
It’s concerning that Kyrie is a huge liability if he is not making his shots. He is basically a shooting guard in a point guard’s body. Amazing handles but a rather poor passer and facilitator.
Except for the fact that if he didn’t score 29 points we would have lost the game.
Well maybe he didn’t need to score 29 points for the Cavs to win if he at least held Norris Cole to his career average of 7 points.