The Wood Shop: Quit Playing Defense Edition

During the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Cavs’ offense hit its stride. They passed the ball 279.5 times a game,which was average, and got 22.9 assists a night, which was second to only the Warriors, who got 25 a game. Their offense drained 25 3s in game two against Atlanta. That was the most threes in an NBA game. EVER. They averaged 14.4 long balls a night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWMkQEaKIgY

What was so astonishing about the Cavs though was that 8.2% of their rocket speed ball transfers resulted in baskets. That was third in the playoffs leading up to the Finals. Only 7.7 % of the Warriors passes resulted in baskets during that time.

Things have shifted in the Finals. 9.1% of the Warriors’ passes are turning into buckets (27.5 assists a game!). That percentage is higher than the leading team’s through the playoffs, the Thunder. The Cavs, meanwhile, are passing just 270.5 times a game and getting 16 assists. Just 5.9% (bottom five for the playoffs) of their passes result in points.

The Warriors’ offense is humming just as hard as it ever has. The Cavs’ defense did nothing to them. I repeat, nothing.

Golden State had 25 assists a game in the playoffs, pre-Finals. They had 110.9 points on 46.4% shooting, and hit 12.5 3s a game, pre-Finals. Through two games for the title, they have averaged 107 points on 51.8% shooting. And, 27.5 assists a game. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for just 20 points in game one and 35 points in game two. They averaged 52.9 ppg in the run up to the Finals. However, the Warriors’ bench showed up for game one and Draymond showed up in game two hitting five 3s. This team won 73 games for a reason.

The Warriors get their stats regardless of how their stars are playing. They will always put up right around 110 points. If the Cavs played less defense than they are now, how many more points would the Warriors really score. Seriously though? There are only so many possessions in a game. Could they score three hundred points in just 48 minutes?

So, if I’m Lue, I dial the defense back. I play it honest. No more switching. Trap but don’t kill yourself making the second, and if need be, third rotations.

Tyronn needs this guy and the rest of the team to try less on defense.

Take all of the energy saved on the defensive end and apply it to the offensive end. Whip the ball around. Pass it so much I get sick of seeing the ball leave Kyrie Irving‘s hands. And, while the Cavs are at it, they should cut. Every single guy needs to move. They need to act as if they’re in that Crank movie where they die if their heart rate dips below 100. If one guy takes the Crank advice too seriously and needs to fight someone to keep his heart racing, so be it. Draymond Green probably has it coming anyways. They need to be extremely fast. Every time the ball gets brought up the floor, made basket or miss, guys should be sprinting.

In the first two games, the Cavs hunted for mismatches when the Warriors switched. If LeBron or Kevin Love had a smaller defender on them, the Cavs acted like they had to get the ball. It would take forever, because the Warriors are long and play the passing lanes. It doesn’t help either that most guys in the modern NBA don’t know how to throw post entry passes. By the time the ball ended up to the guy with the mismatch, the Cavs were playing 6-on-5 ball. The extra man being the shot clock.

With seven seconds left on the shot clock, the Warriors just shaded an extra guy towards the mismatch, and the Cavs didn’t even have time to get the ball zipping around the perimeter. They would pass it out, if they were lucky, or try to score, and the Warriors would make one rotation to force a poor shot. There wasn’t even time for the Cavs to force a second rotation.

In the play below, LeBron uses a J.R. Smith screen to get Klay Thompson covering him. He gives up the ball and tries to post. He gets the ball back with 11 seconds on the shot clock. The Warriors know he’s going to try and fight his way to the rim. Andrew Bogut rotates over and helps out Klay by blocking the King.

Cleveland needs to focus on the offensive end. How did they make the most 3s ever in an NBA game? They moved the ball. They weren’t predictable. Guys cut to the weak side of the floor. They sure weren’t hunting for mismatches entire possessions.

The Cavs are passing the ball nine less times a night since getting out of the Eastern conference. Each one of those passes equals roughly .77 of an assist that the Cavs aren’t getting. That number just points to Cleveland’s style issues. They aren’t looking to hit open shooters;the slight dip in passing when contrasted with the sharp dip in assists shows just that. They aren’t magically not making the crucial assist toss. They throw the ball around six times in a possession and end up in an isolation play (Fun fact, Zach Lowe said that the Cavs had more isolation plays in game one than they have in any game all season on his podcast with Brian Windhorst from June 7th).

Think about the Warriors’ defense right now. They might make three defensive rotations on one possession, but what about four? What about five? If the Cavs ran to the point of exhaustion an entire game on offense and forced the Warriors to rotate six times every possession, maybe Adam Silver would give them some free points for effort and they’d hit some 3s.  I don’t know, but with the first two games playing out how they did, it’s worth it for the Cavs to find out. They aren’t going to defend the Warriors well enough to win with their current offensive output.

Hopefully, if they force Golden State to defend more than isolation plays and mismatches late in the shot clock, Golden State will tire out and not be able to score as easily. Sometimes your best defense is just your offense.