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November 19, 2014The Cavs are mediocre, but let’s still have fun: While We’re Waiting…
November 20, 2014San Antonio Spurs (7-4) 92
Cleveland Cavaliers (5-5) 90
On the eve of tonight’s showdown with the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers star and prodigal son LeBron James spent some time gushing over the team that, other than maybe the Boston Celtics, has been the biggest foil of his career. The Spurs, the defending NBA champions, swept LeBron’s Cavaliers in the 2007 Finals, lost a heartbreaking Finals against LeBron’s Miami Heat in 2013, then avenged that loss by routing LeBron’s Miami Heat in the 2014 Finals.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a rivalry, I would say it’s a mutual respect,” James said on Tuesday. “It’s great competition and they definitely help me grow along the way, and hopefully I push them too.”
Mere moments before tonight’s contest tipped off, LeBron even went as far as to go over to the Spurs bench to give coach Gregg Popovich what was probably a very beard-y hug (both men have grown some healthy winter whiskers), an unusual gesture before a professional basketball game. After tonight’s performance against the Spurs at home in a loss, many will probably again wonder aloud if LeBron’s nemeses (but not his rivals) are in his head.
Here are the numbers:
10 of 29 – Those were the combined shooting numbers from LeBron James and Kevin Love, two of the Cavs’ best three players. That’s a dismal 34.5 percent from the field from what are historically virtuosic players. Two weeks ago, I wrote that Cavs fans should be optimistic because James and Love’s career numbers dictate that they won’t continue to struggle from the field. Tonight was another step back from their career averages.
23 – No, not LeBron James’ jersey number, but Anderson Varejao’s point total for the game. Rarely does Varejao’s relentless and high-energy play translate into something quantifiable in the box score. But tonight, Varejao’s effort was rewarded with a bounty of buckets. This was Varejao’s first 20-plus point night since December 18, 2012. Other players need to pick up the scoring when a team’s top scorers aren’t productive, and Varejao was up the task tonight. It seemed most of his points came from aggressive rolls to the basket after setting picks. His telepathic link with LeBron that has somehow immediately reactivated after four years apart is one of the bright spots for the Cavaliers, and something for the rest of the team to emulate as they perfect mind-reading capabilities characteristic of great basketball teams.
19, 6, 7, 3, and 1 – That was Boris Diaw’s box score from tonight’s game, as the Spurs forward totaled 19 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and one block. Casual basketball fans may not be familiar with Diaw, the Frenchman who spent most of his career as a doughy bench player. But attentive basketball fans know that Diaw was the most impactful role player in last season’s NBA Finals. Tonight, Diaw was unquestionably the best player on the floor for three quarters, and had the best game of anyone. Like in the Finals, his offensive vision was masterful and his passing surgical. In the first quarter, he caught a pass from the strong side, then threaded a right-handed rocket of a bounce pass back to the opposite side of the lane to Duncan, who laid the ball in with ease. He shredded the Cavaliers defense all night, killed rallies, and knocked down the occasional three just as gravy. He’s the ultimate role player, and the Cavs need their second-tier players to contribute in inventive ways like Diaw, who Jalen Rose called a “stretch mark four,” has for the last several years.
2 to 2 – Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving had two assists and two turnovers tonight, breaking a streak of five games where Irving had more assists than turnovers. During the streak, which began after his (gasp!) zero assist game against Utah, Irving had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.38. While James has been hot-and-cold all year, and Kevin Love has been somewhat underwhelming, Irving has been mostly stellar. He has carried the team for stretches, his 60.2 true shooting percentage entering tonight was the best of his career, he had a crazy eight secondary assists tonight, and he seems to be much more patient waiting for the flow of the game to dictate when he asserts himself. His signature play of the night came halfway through the fourth quarter, when he used a right-to-left crossover to lead Tony Parker into a Kevin Love pick, giving him space to pull up for a jumper. Using the crossover like that to conjure a split-second of separation out of thin air was just a filthy move, one that Kyrie pilfered from Tony Parker’s own playbook.
25 to 13 – That was the game’s disparity in free throw attempts, where the Spurs exceeded the Cavs by a 12 attempt margin. Free throw attempts is one stat the Cavs have dominated this season, and their inability to get to the line hurt them tonight. It was part lack of aggressiveness, part lack of opportunity, and part lack of officiating. LeBron and Kyrie shot a combined five free throws despite being forceful all night. But the refs did call a foul on Tony Parker reaching after Kyrie Irving when LeBron was about to rise up for a wide open three and the Spurs had a foul to give (thus leading to no free throws) with forty seconds left. So thanks for that.
7 – The number of words Gregg Popovich said to Chris Broussard during the contractually-obligated interview between the first and second quarters, and here they are in all their glory: “He played well,” (In response to a long-winded question that was basically, “Tim Duncan’s 11-point quarter was good, wasn’t it?”) and “No, we just played,” (on whether it was a concerted effort to get Tim Duncan 11 points). If you don’t love Gregg Popovich in all of his curmudgeon-y curmudgeon-iness, then I can’t help you and also get the hell off my lawn.
0 percent – The amount of time fans should spend blowing smoke over LeBron’s game-ending turnover. With less than seven seconds to go off a rebound, LeBron had to go the entire length of the floor and sink a bucket as all-timers Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan turned into giant moving traffic cones. Yes, it would have been better had he not dribbled it off his foot. Yes, LeBron is not the Cavs’ best ball-handler. Yes, LeBron’s career numbers aren’t great on last shot opportunities. But if you want to act indignant about a fluke turnover in the throes of desperation while people dive at our ball-handler, I have five hours of Skip Bayless broadcast footage to show you.
It was a disappointing loss for the Cavaliers, but it was a near victory playing by the Spurs’ Rules: defensive effort, team involvement, and ball movement. The Cavaliers had 23 assists, only narrowly trailing the Spurs’ 26, and the Spurs are the big dog on the block right now. The Cavs were the Macho Man Randy Savage to the Spurs’ Hulk Hogan. If the Cavs only lost by two at home to a team that dismantled the 8-2 Golden State Warriors at home just last week, and when the Cavs’ three greatest scorers had a combined 45 points, then I feel good about the finished product that should emerge from the oven in a few months.
11 Comments
A couple of takes, possibly hot:
Blatt make a huge mistake at the end of the 3rd quarter when he had a lineup with no one of the Big 3 on the floor. I think the Spurs went on a 9-2 run or something like that. That was the turning point for me. Unless they are all in foul trouble or the game is out of reach, there is no way that all 3 of them should be on the bench.
The Cavs could use Joey Crawford the next time they play the Spurs. That over-the-back on Leonard on LeBron that wasn’t called was a huge blown call and it seemed like the Spurs got away with a lot more contact on defense.
I like Joe Harris, but on a supposed superteam should a 2nd round rookie be playing crunchtime minutes against the defending champs?
Well, regarding Harris, he’s only playing because our undrafted free agent 2nd year guard who would normally be playing is hurt.
Agree on 2.5 out of 3. The lineup to end the 3rd was a terrible coaching decision. We were up 11, and then in the blink of an eye we were up like 3 or 4.
I was willing to be the one to say it if nobody else wanted to – the officiating was atrocious. I may be exaggerating, but only slightly at best. The fouls that weren’t called on the Spurs were either game changing (like the one you mentioned), or were fouls that were getting called on us on the other end. And the touch foul on Parker mentioned in the article, the one that seemed like it was called only to try to make it look like the calls were fair…
As for Harris, he’s been playing well and has earned (aka: not been given) his crunch time minutes. That said, he did struggle a little last night, but as Andrew alluded to in his response, the next best option was in a suit (I’m assuming, I didn’t actually see him).
I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again…NBA officials are the absolute worst referees in all of sports…not even a close 2nd anywhere! So terribly inconsistent! I almost can’t bare to watch the NBA because it’s so blatant!
3 things blew this game and I blame them both on Blatt…one already mentioned above: the last 2+ minutes of the 3rd with none of the Big 3 out there, why the hell was Harris in there guarding Ginobli instead of Marion, and having no timeouts at the end. Inexcusable!!
I’m fine with this game. Just a few overall takes:
– The Cavs played great, about as well as we can expect them to play at this early stage of development against an experienced champion clearly up for this game. The Spurs are expert in how to choke an opponent to death closing out quarters. The Cavs and their coach are in the process of learning how to exploit all their own weapons and how to maintain poise when the opponent is playing almost perfectly as a group, and they did well. Defensively this was their best effort, considering the Spurs ridiculously beautiful ball movement.
– These are the types of games Kyrie, Love and Dion must get accustomed to. Last night’s every-possession tension will benefit them come springtime. They’ll be fine, they just have to get used to game-long total attention to detail.
– Blatt needed to have a time out in his pocket for the last possession. He has a lot of experienced bench help. They need to get in his ear, or he needs to listen. Growing pains, but he’ll be fine.
– Yes, love Pops. He’s single-handedly terrorizing every stupid television interviewer. You can see the fear in their eyes.
Agree on all but Popovich, whose cantankerousness has become a cliche.
I’m not upset by this one at all.
The Spurs are simply the class of the league, and have been for a long time. They have a really deep team as well: Anyone who thinks of them as Duncan-Parker-Ginobili after last years’ finals is simply not paying attention, because there are at least 10 Spurs who are making significant positive contributions. If you shut down Duncan-Parker-Ginobili, Leonard or Diaw or Splitter or Mills or Green will beat you, and vice versa. The Cavs have a long way to go before they become that kind of machine.
So to get this close, and largely stick to the game plan rather than chuck up bad shots and pray, is actually a very good sign.
Mike Miller is officially the Nick Swisher of the Cavs….. cheerleading hair model.
“3 things blew this game and I blame them both on Blatt”
Well said!
haha…good one about miller being slick pisser…but once again, nothing from Thompson, the bum.
Your kidding about Tristan, right?
He’s averaging almost 9PPG and 6RPG off the bench in very limited minutes right now and you can see his chemistry with LeBron blooming quickly.