Live Thread: Cavs @ Spurs

The Cavs are in San Antonio to take on the Spurs. This game is pretty big for Cleveland considering they just had a team meeting filled with lots of drama and finger pointing at…….Kevin Love. Yea, the one that came to the Cavs, gave up shots, has played out of position, become a serviceable defender, averaged near a double-double, had his role jerked around whenever another teammate needed something to change, and actually seemed to give some effort most of the time during this horrendous season.

Tyronn Lue actually defended him. Lue’s comment was in response to the team attacking Love for playing just 3:08 during a loss to the Thunder, where the Cavs gave up 148 points without playing overtime:

“I mean, that’s crazy,” Lue said. “If Kevin was out there we might have given up 170. Who knows, man. We’ve got to be better, got to just stay together. We’re being tested right now. This is when your true character comes out and the character of who you are as a person and as a player. We’ve got to step up and play basketball (Joe Vardon, Cleveland.com).”

My take: Kevin was actually sick. Crazy, I know. What I wished happened though: Love told the team that he was important and they didn’t believe him, so he decided to fake sick, leave the stadium early, and watch the Cavs embarrass themselves. Or, Love had a rap feature he needed to do for an Iman Shumpert track and didn’t want it to be late. He was inspired and just had to rap, so he left the court. Those are absurd takes, but for this team they’re actually believable. This team has almost reached what some people call the Tyson Zone. That’s a zone where no matter how absurd the story is about a person or organization, it is pretty believable.

Now, let’s look at the Spurs. Gregg Popovich had a talk with Tony Parker recently about going to the bench. Tony Parker pretty much replied, “awesome, I’ll help the team and talk about wine with Manu, while I keep the bench warm for my protege, Dejounte Murray.” True story.

In fact, the Spurs have built such a strong culture that even when Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Kawhi Leonard is frustrated with the Spurs, most people think it’s a bogus story.

Some outlets have said this game actually means something for the Spurs since they’re 4-6 in their last ten, have changed starting guards, and had to shutdown their best player to rehab a hamstring that’s been bugging him since before the season. It doesn’t. Let’s look at some keys to the game and see why:

1. The Spurs still have the second best defense in the league. The Cavs have the 29th ranked defense by .4 points per 100 possessions. They are 3-7 in their last ten. Cleveland needs to defend if they want a win. In the last ten games, the Spurs have given up 100 points just twice, the Cavs have given up 100 points nine times.
2. The Spurs have had random players step up and fill voids. Players are playing above themselves and contributing. Guys with no names. The Cavs, on the other hand, do not. The Spurs aren’t supposed to be in third place considering their best player has only played nine games. No player of meaning has missed significant time for Cleveland.  Everyone on the Spurs can beat you, and Cleveland needs to play that way.
3. The Spurs work teams in the paint. LaMarcus Aldridge often gets the ball, attracts a double, then whips a pass before screening to help another teammate pop open. And, he gets his. He’s averaging 22.3 points to go with 8.9 boards a night. Kevin Love has a task tonight covering him, which he most likely will considering Pau Gasol is out for the Spurs tonight.
4. And, that leads to Cleveland’s defensive schemes. They need to play the Spurs straight up. They are too smart to switch and trap against without being precise. If any Cleveland player ends up in no-man’s land on switches the Spurs will seek the open man out and make the team pay.

I’m not sure the Cavs will pull a win out tonight or even if their meeting to air grievances will mean anything. The team has been complaining all season. This game may just be one more step in their downward spiral. I hope not, but I’m picking the Spurs 124-102.