Truly frightening: Halloween costume ideas inspired by Cleveland sports
October 28, 2015Exploring, Tom Wolfe, and Losers: While We’re Waiting…
October 29, 2015Cleveland Cavaliers (1-1) 106
Memphis Grizzlies (0-1) 76
[Box Score]
On paper, it would have been easy to write this game off as a loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coming off a tough, physical loss in Chicago the night before, the Cavaliers had to travel to Memphis where the Grizzlies were playing in their season opener at home. From a certain point of view, that’s actually exactly how this game played out.
In reality, the Cavaliers played like a team who already had a game under their belt to help find their rhythm. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies played like a team who was playing their first game of the season, rust and all. The NBA can be funny like that, but it’s not always easy to come out playing your best basketball in your first game of the season, and this was far from the best basketball Memphis is capable of. But credit the Cavaliers for making the Grizzlies take difficult shots early and not letting their foot off the gas when the lead began to swell.
The Cavaliers came out playing outstanding defense and showing incredible ball movement on the other end. It was a balanced attack for the Cavaliers and this was a game that, quite frankly, had almost nothing to do with LeBron James. This was one of the most quiet games LeBron has ever played and for once, that was OK. The rest of the Cavaliers made an early season statement that this year’s team doesn’t have to rely solely on LeBron the way the team did in the NBA Finals last season.
In some ways, this was a game that showed so many signs of what this team is capable of as well as the ways in which David Griffin addressed some of last season’s weaknesses in the offseason. It wasn’t a perfect game for the Cavaliers, some players are still showing some signs of rust, there are still some injured players missing. So there’s still plenty of room for improvement and growth, but still, if you’re one who is looking for early season indicators of what the Cavaliers are capable of, this game shows just how dynamic and dangerous they can be when things are clicking.
Now let’s look at some of the numbers…
- 19% – In the first quarter, the Cavaliers’ defense was outstanding, holding the Grizzlies to just 10 points on 19 percent shooting from the field. In the season preview for the Cavaliers, I listed defense as one of this team’s potential weaknesses. I mentioned that I felt the Cavaliers had the athletes to be a good defensive team, but I wasn’t sure how dedicated they would be to that end of the floor. If they can keep playing this level of defense all year, I will have to eat my words, because the Cavaliers’ defense was so good in this game. Players were active, they were communicating well, and they were consistently forcing Memphis to work extremely hard just to take tough, contested shots. Overall the Cavaliers held Memphis to 35.4 percent shooting from the field, holding Mike Conley to a quiet eight points, and Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to just 12 points each. In fact, Gasol and Randolph were the only Grizzlies to reach double digits. Just an outstanding overall performance by the team on the defensive end of the floor.
- 29 – As impressive as the defense was, perhaps the most impressive part of the Cavaliers game in this one was the ball movement on offense. It’s no secret that the offense was sometimes stagnant last year. The players were still feeling each other out, trying to figure out their tendencies and develop a rhythm. I think most expected the offense to be even better this year, but this was probably the best ball movement I’ve seen from the offense in the last two years. The Cavaliers had 29 assists on 41 made field goals. The Cavaliers had a total of 287 passes in this game. At times, they were almost over-passing the ball, as everyone was working so hard to keep the ball moving and trying to get everyone involved in the offense. The ball movement wasn’t simply just drive and kick, either. It was actual offensive set with the ball moving from side to side as well as moving inside and out. Six players took eight or more shots while nobody took more than 14 shots. The offense was balanced and just really fun to watch.
- 17 and 13 – Kevin Love really left his mark on this game. The Cavaliers found shots for Love early in the game, Love was crashing the board, looking to push when he could with his outlet passes, and just overall played a really complete game. Love finished the game with 17 points and 13 rebounds. I was even impressed with the effort Love gave on defense, often forcing Zach Randolph into tough shots in spots on the floor he’s not as comfortable with. The Cavaliers talked quite a bit this offseason about wanting to involve Love more this year. It was a fairly quiet first game for Love before his late game burst, but in game two we really saw just how the Cavaliers might envision Love’s role on this team, especially in the first half of the season while Kyrie Irving is recovering.
- 50 – One of the bigger issues in every season with LeBron for the Cavaliers has been bench production. Far too often the Cavaliers have had to helplessly watch as leads disintegrated whenever LeBron had to rest. In this game, the bench didn’t just tread water, they continued to push the lead even larger. The Cavaliers bench outscored the Memphis bench by a 50 to 29 margin. Richard Jefferson led the bench with 14 points while Matthew Dellavedova and Jared Cunningham scored 12 each. The Cleveland bench unit was a cumulative +102 for the game with not a single player on the roster registering in the negative side of the plus/minus stat. Look, this isn’t an original thought and it’s not rocket science, but it can’t be overstated enough…the Cavaliers need to be able to play LeBron less minutes this year. The Cavaliers need to be a more complete team. Getting performances like this from the bench certainly will help achieve that goal.
- 9/7/7 – One player whose stats won’t light up the box score and who probably will be overlooked in a lot of discussions about this game is J.R. Smith. I really thought J.R. had a really, really strong game. He finished with nine points, seven rebounds, and seven assists while playing tough and active defense all over the floor. He was keeping the ball moving, setting up teammates. His seven assists were a team high.
LeBron James finished this game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. It wasn’t a bad game for LeBron. It’s not like he was doing things to hurt the team. But it was definitely strange watching the Cavaliers win in such a dominating fashion with LeBron having such a quiet game. It was strange, and it was a positive development. The Cavaliers needed an early season game like this to build confidence that they can win without Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert without having to rely on LeBron to do all of the heavy lifting. To demonstrate that point, here are some nice words for everyone who played in this game who hasn’t been mentioned yet:
Mo Williams – Decisive with the ball, got the offense flowing, took big shots when the team needed them.
Timofey Mozgov – Played great defense on Marc Gasol all night and frustrated Gasol all night.
Richard Jefferson – Knocked down big shots time and time again. Exactly what the Cavs needed out of the top bench scorer.
Tristan Thompson – Was active and did his usual rebounding thing.
Matthew Dellavedova – Aggressive and attacking while showing more control at the PG position.
Anderson Varejao – Maybe he can’t play the minutes he used to, but showed he can still be effective in shorter bursts of energetic play.
Jared Cunningham – Very explosive, an incredible athlete who can really get to the hole when he plays under control.
Sasha Kaun – He has really long arms. As he gets more comfortable with the NBA, has potential to be a somewhat disruptive force off the bench.
James Jones – The captain of the bench.
Joe Harris – Gave really nice high fives to everyone as they came out of the game.
That’s all for this game. Just a really nice early season win for the Cavaliers. Now they have something positive to build on as they head back to Cleveland for the home opener against the Miami Heat on Friday.
37 Comments
Randolph was grabbing Love’s arm and it didn’t fall off! That’s progress!
It’s nice to have a bench that doesn’t look like this…
https://knowledgecenter.unr.edu/digital_collections/exhibits/gaming/assets/skeletons.jpg
106 – 76 not 102 – 72.
“The NBA can be funny like that, but it’s not always easy to come out playing your best basketball in your first game of the season”
This kind of thinking helps you from getting TOO excited over this win, and also makes me feel better about the first game. While it applies to Chicago, too, I think they played a slightly better “first game” but still feel like a fully healthy, fully-in-season Cavs squad won’t lose a series to them.
I was a fan of the Jefferson sighting and two games in he’s produced more than Shawn Marion did all last year. I hope they can rest their “big 3” and save their minutes for the playoffs.
When RJ comes into the game, I get a little giddy. Almost like a kid with a new toy. I remember feeling the same when we got JR last year. JR…RJ…JR…RJ. I think I’m (not) on to something, here.
But seriously, having someone that can lead the reserves and spell LBJ is a big deal, especially if we’re capping LBJ’s minutes or he gets “injured” in December.
Last years bench of Marion, Miller, Perkins, and Haywood has been replaced by Mo, Jefferson, Andy, Cunningham, and Kaun.
Conversation I overheard today….
“So, LeBron ends the first game getting rejected, then is invisible in the second game? ”
Of course, people are randomly talking about the Cavs in Texas, but I still found it hard not to laugh as I walked by.
Le Batard?
Coffee station in an engineering office. But, might be parroting and he could be source?
Two words: bench play! It’s been a long time since LBJ hasn’t had to lead everything that happens on the court for the Cavaliers. I’m hoping last night is the first of what will become many games decided by the Cavs new and improved bench. I’m sure as the Cavs get closer to full strength the bench play will be even better.
x100!
RJ has been great.
“Yeah, that guy had zero touchdowns. Now back to what I was saying about flux capacitors.”
He’s in Cuba West I mean Miami isn’t he?
Those must have been Browns fans! J/K
Jared Cunningham received some playing time while Joe Harris did indeed look great congratulating players as they came to the bench as mentioned by Andy. This was most definitely a “team” win. But lets remember the Cavs have owned the Grizzlies of late so I don’t want to get to geeked over last night. Still after a tough loss on opening night to come back the next night in Memphis and earn a blow out win well that’s niiiiice!
Things I loved:
– First and foremost, watching a local team win for the first time since October 11. Sweet.
– Team playing like a roster without personal agendas. Forgot just how good and smart Love can be, including the below-the-rim rebounding position and sweet passes.
– Delly’s old man game, the set-shot 3s and weirdo waist-high tear drops when the defense thinks he’s still dribbling.
– LeBron as plant foreman on the second night of a back-to-back. Just periodically strolling the floor, making sure the guys are taking care of business and the line is moving, a little word of encouragement or his high level expertise and then heading back to his office.
Love the “Lebron as Plant Foreman” line. I was surprised Blatt brought him back out in the 4th but guess he had to chip in a few buckets to avoid internet hysteria over a lackluster stat line.
Actually, today they are saying that it was just in order to preserve his streak of scoring in double figures. It’s like third longest in NBA history now
wow. I didn’t realize everyone didn’t watch the Grizz telecast. One of the guys was harping on Blatt for keeping LeBron in, but the other guy was talking about how important it was for him to get in double figures. I think Jordan and Kareem are the only ones with longer streaks.
And it was after LeBron hit a free throw that he got to 10 points, which is why Cunningham then went and wrapped someone up on the inbounds – to get LeBron out.
Andrew talked about what Griffin did this offseason. The one guy who i thought looked bad was James Jones. It’s amazing when you can throw in some young athletic guys off the bench.
I can’t wait for the Mo/Kyrie/RJ/LeBron/Love lineup. I thought Mo Williams was simply fantastic last night. He kept the ball moving, and kept the team moving.
For me, the biggest takeaways were related:
1. There is actually a bench
2. They are all for the team
3. They should all play, some more sparingly than others
4. When they played last night, they went bonkers with effort. Memphis was absolutely crushed physically. Even their announcers were talking about how they were sucking wind.
If the Cavs get that type of effort and energy from the bench, they will win it all. Imagine this bench with last year’s team against Golden State. They can simply absorb energy and save the starters.
That’s not Cuba North?
Cuba West is a whole lot of Gulf.
Jefferson certainly looks good. He is SOOOOOOOO much better than Shawn Marion it’s not even measurable.
Or North’s sibling.
In a perfect world James Jones only plays when necessary. When this team is back in full they will have so many options and so many possibilities that LBJ should be spared even more physically.
North west no?
Cuba light?
They left him in to work on his free throw c’mon!
Yes. Cuba West is North West’s sibling. Am I making sense or is the joke just beaten to death?
Yes I want to beat you to death! Have a nice day.
I’ve been so impressed with Mo in the two regular season games. This is probably true for a ton of players, but on this Cavs team with LeBron and company, he looks so much better than he ever did for Minnesota, Utah, LAC, or Charlotte. It’s like seeing an old friend and immediately having a rapport no matter how much time has passed. Mo just fits with this team (and so does RJ… my gosh). Well done David Griffin.
For whatever reason, the Cavs are just a terrible matchup for the Grizz. We hold their bigs in check while pretending like they don’t have an amazing defense. What’s not to like? (h/t Nick Gilbert)
Teams that are bigger won’t be as much of a problem as the smaller teams with guards who can shoot and drive. Well until Shumpert and KI are back. Then I just think the Cavs will have to much depth, to many options, to struggle for an entire game. If they can all find a role/mesh/play together.
I think Blatt’s offense is perfect for Mo it lets him stay on the move and always be aggressive on offense. When KI comes back having Mo come off the bench will be awesome because Mo will have had all the time being the starter under his belt.