GIF: LeBron James posterizes Alex Len
January 13, 2015The Ohio State Buckeyes are the best! – WFNY Podcast – 2015-01-14
January 14, 2015Cleveland Cavaliers (19-20) 100
Phoenix Suns (23-18) 107
[Box Score]
The story before the Cavaliers faced the Suns in Phoenix was the return of LeBron James. He had missed eight games with knee and back issues, his last showing a flaccid 5-for-19 effort in the Cavs’ blowout loss to the Pistons on December 28. The Cavs went just 1-7 in his absence. Right when it looked like the team was starting to get it together, things fell apart faster than Chinua Achebe or The Roots could have imagined.
With LeBron (and Shawn Marion) back healthy, the thinking went, the Cavs could finally integrate their new pieces in earnest. The hope was that the return of the king would see a Cavalier team playing with renewed vigor, purpose, and understanding. Did those things happen in the desert Tuesday night?1
Not really, no. LeBron did some exciting things, but it was more of the same drudgery we’ve seen from the Cavs over the past couple weeks. They were lax on both ends, turning it over too much on offense and breaking down too often on defense.
THAT WAS THE CASE, that is, until the end of the third quarter. JR Smith went ballistic in the period, scoring 15 points and keeping the Cavs within shouting distance. LeBron had a big dunk in the closing seconds, JR knocked down a three off of the ensuing stolen inbounds pass, and the Cavs entered the final frame having cut a 19-point lead to 6.
That sequence gave the Cavs an enormous boost, which they kept going throughout the fourth. A snoozer turned into a nailbiter faster than JR Smith can uncork a 30-footer.
Alas, it’s another loss. Let’s look at the numerals:
33, 7, and 5 – LeBron James’ points, rebounds, and assists in his first game back from injury. LeBron looked spry for much of the night, driving aggressively and looking like the player we have come to know. He had a few iffy moments on defense and turned it over five times, but he had to control everything with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love struggling. It was great to have No. 23 back, especially since he threw down a few wicked dunks, including this one early in the first quarter:
8-of-14 – JR Smith’s three-point shooting numbers. JR scored 29 points and was the best thing the Cavs had going in the third quarter. He scored all of his 15 third-quarter points on deep balls. He added four steals on defense before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. We have seen a lot of good from JR so far. He’s got some 3-for-17 games in him, to be sure, but he has the ability to keep a team in a game all by himself. That was the case tonight.
0 – Kevin Love’s minutes played in the fourth quarter. As you’d expect from such a figure, Love had a tough night in Phoenix. He scored 9 points on 3-of-11 shooting and pulled down 9 rebounds. His absence was felt in the game’s final minute, when PJ Tucker beat James Jones for an offensive rebound to effectively end the Cavs’ chances. His poor play and subsequent benching are obviously concerns, though the Suns’ stretch fours were always going to be a tricky matchup for him.
15-of-21 – Speaking of the Suns’ stretch fours, Markieff Morris went nuts Tuesday. He scored a career-high 35 points on 15-of-21 shooting, including more than a couple contested jumpers. He scored in the post when he had a matchup conducive to doing so, he grabbed seven rebounds, and he generally killed the Cavs all night long.
9 & 8 – Kyrie Irving’s point and turnover totals, respectively. There’s no sugarcoating it; this was a miserable game for Kyrie. He shot 4-of-14 and is now 20-of-55 in his last three games. I’m still bullish on the 22 year-old point guard, and I thought he gave a solid effort on defense, but the Cavs will be hard-pressed to win anytime he has as many turnovers as points.
44 to 38 – The points in the paint figures, which were in Phoenix’s favor. The Cavs attacked more in the second half, but the Suns built their 19-point lead on the strength of far too many bunnies inside. Timofey Mozgov was ineffective and played just 16 minutes, but the Cavs struggled to defend the paint even when he was in.
19 & 27 – The Cavs’ turnover total, and the Suns’ points off turnovers total. Far too many giveaways, far too many easy points. Again, the Cavs did better in the second half. But they can’t keep digging holes like this unless they intend to climb in and take a long dirt nap.
43 – The number of games remaining. They ain’t dead yet.
- A tangentially-related aside: big shout to Mo Williams going off for 52 points for Minnesota. You read that correctly. [↩]
8 Comments
Any.day.now.gentlemen.
http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/waiting.gof.gif
ugh. that is all.
Marion is still terrible. Kevin Love is a poor defender. Cavs as a whole are a terrible defensive team. Shumpert can’t get healthy soon enough. And Cavs really need next season to come quickly, so they can get Varejao back, and deal Hayworthless’s contract for another big.
I have faith in this team but only if they pull it together on D. I can’t keep watching opposing Power Forwards having career nights.
When does the winning start and the excuses stop?
Cavs can make all the trades they want, until they start playing defense they aren’t going anywhere. I wouldn’t even bank on them getting out of the first round right now.
Look at all the stories and coverage between the team losing again and LBJ “shoving” his head coach the media is just lapping it up like kittens to milk. Of course the unofficial mouthpiece of LeBron James Mr. Brian Windhorst leads the way. Once upon a time, prior to LBJ becoming a Cavalier, I liked Windhorst but the more I see his name the more I can’t help but feel like he’s nothing more then an opportunist continuing to ride the coat tails of LBJ no matter where he plays.
They better beat the Lakers because I can’t see them beating the Clippers. But before this west coast trip I predicted they’d return home under .500 and that looks like a sure deal after last nights loss. What makes things worse is when the Cavs return home they face some tough teams so there won’t be any time for this team to catch it’s breath.
Soooo, are we just ignoring the Windhorst stuff about the team openly ignoring Blatt’s playcalling, having Lue calling timeouts behind Blatt’s back, and players talking to other teams about how much they don’t like their coach? Are we still pretending that LeBron has changed w/r/t his need to be placated at every turn even one iota since the last time he was here?