Overview: The Cavaliers were able to pull out a win on the road against a young and athletic 76ers team, who repeatedly tested the Cavaliers’ transition defense. LeBron James had a game-high 36 points, including two momentum-changing three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
Another first-quarter explosion for the Cavaliers, with the Cavs scoring 32 out of the gate, but this time the offense looked random and discombobulated to start the game, rather than showing fabulous ball movement, spacing, and ability to get LeBron working off the ball early and then completely abandoning that more and more as the game went on.
Shaq had his second big first quarter in a row, getting deep position, making one of those running righty hooks across the lane that I hate, converting a dunk off some nice interior passing, and getting to the line and actually making his free throws.
But overall, the offense was not flowing quite right on sets that began off the dribble, even in the first half, and it was apparent. LeBron James should not be taking clock-saving one-footed threes when the Cavs are trying to establish their offense. (That statement was in no way meant to take away from the awesomeness of said one-footed three.)
A big reason for that ineffectiveness wasn’t anything the Cavs were doing wrong, but what Jrue Holliday was doing right. Holliday is big, has a huge wingspan, is athletic, and can flat-out play man defense. He absolutely gave Mo Williams the howling fantods all game long, and Mo had a lot of trouble getting his shots or initiating the offense because of it. And when Delonte was running the point against Holliday in the fourth, Jrue shut him down as well.
I don’t know what it is about UCLA, but Holliday and Mbah a Moute are definitely two of the absolute standout perimeter defenders I’ve seen play so far this season. Could be Howland’s coaching philosophy. Could be evil dark magic obtained by the selling of one’s soul. I’m going to go with evil magic, personally.
Mo was able to get free off some 3-1 PnR sets in the fourth quarter to hit some big shots, but how much he struggled to get free from Holliday is a concern, especially if the Cavs end up seeing Rondo and the Celtics in the playoffs.
For some possible news on the future playoff matchups front, a big reason the 76ers were able to stay in the game was that they outscored the Cavaliers 30-14 on the fast break, and none of the current Eastern contenders play at or above a league-average pace. So that particular weakness probably won’t kill the Cavs.
A related note on that front: A rare sight in this game, as Iguodala got the ball off a turnover and started towards the basket with LeBron about two or three steps behind him. LeBron started to rev up for the chase-down opportunity, then quickly realized that Iggy was too fast and finished too strong for him to have a chance at the block, and gave up. You don’t see a lot of guys who occupy the same athletic stratosphere as LBJ, but Iguodala is one of them.
As for LeBron’s game, he was definitely bailing out the team again on Wednesday night, and while it wasn’t his most textbook game, he got the job done. As was mentioned, he wasn’t moving off the ball in the first half the way we’ve become useful, and he did stall the offense a few times throughout the gate.
Also, his perimeter game looks like it’s regressed a bit in terms of form. He’s not setting up that 18-20 foot jumper with a hesitation dribble and then rising straight up on it like he was earlier in the year, and he’s leaning on a lot of shots inside the arc. That said, he hit some big shots when they needed to be hit, and ended up with 15 points on only 13 shots outside the paint. The Cavs needed LeBron to hit tough shots to win the game tonight, and hit them he did. The other notable things about LeBron tonight were that he was only 4-10 on shots at the rim, which is well off his 73% mark on “inside” shots, and only recorded three turnovers.
Really good stuff from JJ in relatively limited minutes tonight, as he played within himself really well and finished 4-5 from the field, showing good patience around the rim and even some interior passing.
Getting 27 points on 15 three-point attempts helped out a great, great deal.
Speaking of that, Boobie went 3-3 from deep, making the most of the looks he got from some good ball movement around the perimeter and rewarding pretty basketball. Really, this shirt is not only for him, but for the second unit’s fine play in the second quarter and the small-ball unit of West/Gibson/Moon/James/Varejao that played a limited stretch in the fourth.
Bullets of Randomness:
For the second night in a row, a young big man on the other team looks like the best player on the planet in the first half and completely disappears in the second. I have no idea whether Thad Young and Brook Lopez are The Future or two guys who will get massive extensions based on their reputation and cripple the team’s cap. I want to name this type of player after LaMarcus Aldridge somehow, but the best I can currently come up with is “LaUntouchables.” Help me out here.
I have a very hard time thinking of Roy Halladay as an American, I’ve realized.
Poor Ryan Howard. He’s lost like 30 pounds over the past two years, and the 76er sideline reporter asks him where the best cheesesteaks in the city are. That’s just tempting the man.
Kapono: DNP-CD. It’s taken a while, but I am no longer mad about the Cavs losing him in the expansion draft. Remember when nobody on the team could make an open three and Kapono was shooting 50% from beyond the arc with the Heat? Fun times. Until later, everyone.
I know this is old, and not related to the game at all, but I found this the other day..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX5NdToDjfk
Too funny to pass up.
Is anyone taking notice of how Lebron is playing this year? I have been a fan of his since he came into the league, but now (I know this is gonna sound blasphemous) I am starting to not even care whether he stays or goes. Let me back this up a bit. I really thought that the loss to the magic in the EFC last spring would motivate him to become the player that the Cavs need to take carry them to the championship. I thought we would see more variety in his game. But through the first quarter of the season I have seen a player who is selfish, wants to carry the team by himself, does not trust his teammates and is not making good decisions out there with the shot clock and the ball. If he had the drive, he could totally dominate the game without expending too much energy by making quick moves with the ball (as opposed to holding it for 8 seconds and then jacking up a fade away three), driving and waiting for the collapsing D then whipping it out to the perimeter for open shots, starting the defense scrambling by moving the ball around the perimeter then getting it back on a cut to the hoop or an open three for himself or a teammate, or taking it more at the elbows (Jordan extended his carreer by living from here) where his options are many. Let me ask this am I wrong? Is Mike Brown coaching these guys. Lebrons body language is that of a coddled superstar who no one has the guts to stand up to including Mike Brown (a totally lame duck coach whose job is not in Jeopardy, but just tell Lebron what he wants to hear) who Lebron is not even Listening to. Seriously have you seen them on the sidelines this year? maybe they turn things around and suddenly Lebron “gets the secret” (Bill Simmons courtesy of Isaiah). But at this point fellow Cleveland fans pull yourselves up by the boot straps now and get ready for a long season.
jeremy, thou doth protest too much, as shakespeare once wrote. LBJ has done all those things you said he should do this season. and it’s hard to take you seriously on the “he should involve his teammates more” front when LBJ is averaging a career high 8 assists a game.
LBJ is the player he is and too often i think fans and media fail to enjoy and even celebrate his greatness because they are fixated on the player they want him to be. jordan had this same problem ’til he won a title. everyone wanted him to play more like magic and/or bird. LBJ is who he is, the best basketball player on the planet with a chance to be the GOAT. what the hell more should we want here? i’m unclear…
i think it’s crazy to say lebron doesn’t have the secret.
i feel like this team has the same mentality a lot of the cavs fans have this year (that we learned the hard way last year): you can have the best regular season ever, but no one cares unless you produce in the playoffs.
so why blow all the energy in the first quarter of the season? or first half?
i believe we’ll see him come very much alive in march/april (which sounds absurd considering how well he’s playing right now). if things are still slow then, then i perhaps your concerns are well founded.
but of any ball dominating superstar, who looks more to pass than lebron (cp3, but besides him)? who dances and celebrates the success of his teamates more than lebron?
he’s always been and always will be THE team player, and sometimes that’s knowing when to try to take over a game and when to kick it out to a shooter. he can honestly do no wrong in my book (in-game wise…).
i’m feeling a lot better about this team than in the first two weeks. and i’m really looking forward to the mid january-april schedule. so many home games… should be an excellent chance to get some positive momentum going into spring. (which is when the 06/07, 07/08 campaigns started gaining steam and momentum)
if anything, i’m encouraged that they’re still working things out while winning, albeit ugly. i have more faith in lebron the underdog than lebron the mvp of a 66 win regular season team. and a 50 something win team shouldn’t be so much of an underdog…
thanks for writing this blog john! go cavs!
KJ,
you are correct in saying that I protest a lot and I do enjoy watching Lebron play. You forgot to point out that with the career high in assists, Lebron is also averaging a career high 3.72 or there abouts turnovers per game. This is his highest number ever. I am not saying that Lebron is not playing staistically impressive basketball. Wilt Chamberlain led the league in assists for a season and where did that him? Knocked out of the playoffs by Boston again. I am worried that if Lebron does not cut down the turnovers we will not even be able to get past Atlanta this year. All I am saying is that the east has improved a lot this year. No one know what Orlando is going to be capable of when they get more games under their belt. Boston is back at full strength plus Rondo is a year older and KG brings the intensity of a welter weight fighter from the streets of Buenos Aires 8 figure contract be damned. Cleveland is right now in win-now mode with the roster they have. It is win now or bust so to speak. The points, rebounds, assists and chase you down from behind blocks are always going to be there for Lebron. What I am not seeing from him is the kind of intensity that will put this team over the top. Stats are not the best judge of where a player is at. Jordan had some of the best stats of all time but until Phil Jackson came along and coached him, didn’t let him get away with baloney like holding the ball, that team wasn’t going anywhere. Lebron and the Cavs are at a crossroads right now. It just does not seem to me that he learned anything from last years disappointment. And Lebron is not the player he is today without tremendous debt to those who came before him (Jordan, Johnson, Russell, Dr. J, Kobe, et al.). Great players are not an island unto themselves. They are influenced by those who come before them. And Lebron cannot carry the title of best player in the game until he supplants Kobe in the finals. Duncan was the best and proved it when they met the Cavs in the finals a couple years ago. Every one just wants to let Lebron coast. Someone needs to push him to be the best, do the things that it takes to win all game (not holding the ball for eight seconds). This gives a team a chance to get set and figure out how they are going to play him. It also probably bores his teammates half to death. Rudy Gay stopped Lebron when it mattered the other night. Rudy Gay! No, Lebron is not doing those things consistently this year only in spurts ( I have ween a couple of plays from the elbows this year that simply were awesome). I want more from this team because I know it is capable of more.
Speaking of badass perimeter defenders from UCLA, don’t forget Westbrook and Affalo.
Jeremy, that’s ridiculous. You don’t know what’s going on in LeBron’s head. He shows emotion during games and does everything I’ve seen him do in the past. But whatever you say he is thinking, is just a projection you’re making, probably because they aren’t the best team this year. Why would LeBron’s intensity not be there? He has every incentive in the world to be motivated, and uh, you don’t get to post historical statistics by coasting. LeBron holding the ball and then firing shoots isn’t really that big of a deal. If you ‘jack up’ shots, you don’t post .600+ TrueShooting %. If the ball is going in the basket, then that’s all that matters. John Salmons, Trevor Ariza..those bros jack up shots. Not LeBron.
His turnovers are up proportional to his assists, so there’s an acceptable trade off there. Going up .7 in turnovers and .8 in assists doesn’t seem like a damning formula for losing basketball games. And he’s the best player in the game. He just is. Any metric, formula, stat that you wanna use, LeBron bests Kobe overall. You gotta understand that being the best player doesn’t mean you have to take down Kobe in the Finals. Kobe’s not a Boss in Super Mario. Kobe is very good, and he has superior talent around him, thus, he should win the title. If you replace Kobe with LeBron, there’s no way the Lakers aren’t still winning it all last year. There’s no way you can say LeBron is selfish when he is constantly running plays to set up his teammates (Z on pops, Andy on cuts, shooters off screens, JJ weakwide, Shaq on a post up). He does that shit all the time. Your boy Kobe stops the ball on the elbow and either shoots fadeaways or posts up. It works, but it’s not team ball.
Bro, I know it sucks that the Cavs aren’t playing as well as last season. It does. And when the team looks a little rougher, it’s easy to criticize the guy who’s supposed to bail out everybody at all times. But LeBron is the most efficient, best player in the league and it’s ignorant to call him out. Saying Kobe is better, when really, there’s no evidence, beside playing with more talented players (Gasol>Mo). Blame Z for missing shots, Delonte for missing time, Shaq for doing whatever it is he’s doing, or Parker for getting torched by every guard he sees. But in no way is this on LeBron.
Bradley H, your comment on Kobe not being a Super Mario boss is the greatest thing I have ever read in my life! haha
Kobe’s not a Boss in Super Mario.
hilarious. thats awesome. just awesome.
Having gone to both UCLA and USC, I would have to say the majority of soul selling happens with the Red and Gold. I’d use that phrase to describe a certain drink condiment of a player.
And I would gladly have him lose a couple of those assists, BradleyH (the Helen Keller award goes to you for bravery despite your blindness), for sharper ball movement that does not eat up the shot clock. Maybe it would be better to have a couple other players have those assists if it meant that the ball was moving. I would like to see maybe six or seven assists and two turnovers. The turnovers are horrible to watch six or seven of them some games. The better the defense the more turnovers Lebron is making. If this keeps up what happens in the playoffs? Watch the games and pay attention to what is happening. Lebron is killing the movement. Right now they are just getting by because Lebron makes enough spectacular plays during the course of the games. And you are wrong in saying that Kobe stops the ball on elbow Phil Jackson won’t let him. he makes quick decisions with the ball. he will either shoot it quick or start the passing that leads to the shot. Rarely does he hold it for eight seconds and then end up with nothing. Plus he has added more post moves to an already good post game. The Cavs have good players right now, they just need Lebron to lead them, really lead them. Not to mention that he is not playing the same kind of amazing defense he did last year.
how do u go to both UCLA and USC? traitor… unless you started at USC and then realized your mistake.
but seriously, mbah a moute is one of the best defenders in the whole league. Any team can use a guy like him.
And, I 100% agree about westbrook (and to some extent, afflalo). I haven’t gotten to watch a lot of russ in OKC but the job he did on OJ Mayo in college was possibly the best defensive performance i’ve ever seen in a college game. He ran after OJ ALL GAME and SHUT HIM DOWN
Kobe’s the best player in the league. period. end of story.