Cavs’ Week in Review and Live Thread: Clippers @ Cavs

Good afternoon CtB!

Here’s a look back at the last week of Cavs basketball…

1. Bucks 102, Cavs 114 (or, The Evan Mobley Game)

The Cavs took care of business against the Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks 114-102 on the backs of Evan Mobley’s best offensive performance of his young career and a CP3-like virtuoso performance from Darius Garland. A whole host of role players also pitched in with fantastic supporting performances from Caris LeVert, Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, and Isaac Okoro. Hopefully the Cavs can bottle up the ball movement they achieved in this game (33 assists), as well as their aggressiveness attacking the paint. It was also a game where Coach J.B. Bickerstaff used a 10 man rotation and employed some small ball lineups to great effect. On defense, the Cavs were stellar keeping the Bucks off the boards (Cavs won the rebound battle 41-36) and forcing 14 turnovers, six from Jrue Holiday and three from Grayson Allen. Unfortunately the win didn’t really parlay itself into more sustained success as the Cavs continue to be mired in some mediocre basketball at this point of the season.

2. Cavs 103, Knicks 105 (or, Bench Blues on Broadway)

The Cavs lost a crucial one against the New York Knicks 103-105 in what has to be one of the more frustrating losses of the season. The last two seasons have been defined by the Cavs’ ability to dominate the bench minutes in order to stack up wins, yet the triumvirate of Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love, and Caris LeVert completely tanked any chance for the Cavs to win this game. Bickerstaff did not help his bench either by icing Cedi Osman and Dean Wade (seven minutes combined), two of the best role players the Cavs have. To add insult to injury, Donovan Mitchell decided to come back prematurely from his groin pull only to re-injure it in the waning seconds of the game. While obviously the team should bend over backwards to accommodate whatever Mitchell wants to do, this was an instance where a lack of organizational leadership came back to bite the Cavs in the ass. Hopefully the coaches and training staff manage this injury much better than they did previously.

3. Cavs 113, Rockets 95 (or, Texas Flood)

The Cavs rained buckets on the hapless Houston Rockets to coast to a 113-95 win, which was a sight for sore eyes that haven’t seen the team really demolish an opponent like this since the mid-December game at home against the Utah Jazz. Rockets fans had to watch in horror as Evan Mobley firmly put to bed any notion that Jalen Green was worthy of second pick ahead Mobley in the 2021 draft class. The starting backcourt of Darius Garland and Caris LeVert completely outclassed Green and Josh Christopher, while Jarrett Allen, Ricky Rubio, and Dean Wade put forth stellar role player performances. Sadly again the Cavs couldn’t parlay a stellar performance into a streak of wins as their road weary legs betrayed them up north across the Red River.

4. Cavs 100, Thunder 112 ( or, Out of Gas)

The Cavs ironically ran out of gas in the oil fields of Oklahoma City as a second half collapse doomed the Cavs 100-112 against the Thunder. Perhaps Bickerstaff could’ve bought a few more minutes from Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens off the bench to push this game over the finish line. But as Coach Bickerstaff is wont to do, he decided to ride Caris LeVert and Tower City’s dead legs until the wheels fell off the game. Sadly the Cavs wasted a stellar Darius Garland game due to their inability to contain refball merchant Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A couple of positives from the game from the perspective of yours truly are the victories of the pro-Jalen Williams and anti-Ousmane Dieng Agendas. Williams delivered a solid performance against the Cavs and is having a very solid rookie year with the Thunder. Williams statistical production looks eerily similar to a more efficient version of Caris LeVert with some upside, which is a fantastic outcome for the 12th pick in the draft. On the flip side, Dieng looked like he didn’t belong on an NBA court. He’s going to need a lot of time and patience from the Thunder organization.

5. Commentariat Questions

There were a couple of calculator rat requests from the CtB Commentariat of which yours truly is happy to oblige. Regarding Caris LeVert, the disconnect between the perception of who Caris is (underachieving, overrated chucker) and the reality (versatile role player with a highly prized skillset and proven playoff production) comes from either a misunderstanding or ignorance about what skills matter in NBA basketball.

The most sought-after skill in the NBA is the ability to break a defender down off the dribble and get into the paint and put pressure on the rim. This is the reason why Caris has value, but also the reason why ball dominant scorers are typically overvalued and overpaid in the NBA. The question becomes, “how is Caris performing in the role he’s been given?” Here’s some numbers for your consideration:

Cavs’ Isolation Play Stats:

As one can see, LeVert is one of the best isolation players in the NBA. Any time Caris is asked to break his man down off the dribble, LeVert delivers good offense. Without LeVert, the Cavs would be left with one elite self creator (Mitchell). It’s laughable to suggest that this is a skill that Ricky Rubio or Evan Mobley can replace this season. This isn’t a knock on either player as everyone knows yours truly is a fan of both players, the point is that it’s going to take a long time before Mobley develops his game and can shoulder the load of primary offensive option. Also given the nature of playoff basketball increasing the value of isolation basketball, the Cavs would be foolish to dump Caris if they have any designs on actually winning in the playoffs. This is also the reason why theoretical trades involving trading LeVert for 3 and D shooters are shortsighted and ignorant. Spot up shooting and defense are infinitely easier to acquire than self-creators who can dribble and pass. This is precisely the reason why the Dallas Mavericks are willing to part with their 3 and D specialists for another self-creator to ease the burden off of Luka Dončić.

Cavs Spot Up Shooting Stats

Much to the chagrin of Caris haters, LeVert’s spot up shooting leads to much better team offense than many of options Coach J.B. Bickerstaff chooses to run out there. These stats really illuminate the discrepancy between how Caris is perceived and what is actually happening on the court. If the Cavs were serious about improving the spot up shooting of the team, dumping Caris LeVert is a stupid way to go about it. Instead, looking at finding better players to occupy the Cedi Osman, Isaac Okoro, and Lamar Stevens’ minutes is the low hanging fruit Cavs GM Koby Altman should be picking. Also it wouldn’t hurt to eliminate Evan Mobley’s power forward minutes, but at least there’s the excuse that the Cavs need to develop Mobley’s spot up shooting.

As for Cedi Osman’s advanced stats, it’s clear that the reason his minutes have been dwindling is because the team’s defense has been crap with Cedi in the month of January so far. Such a drastic turn leads me to believe that there could be an undisclosed injury with Cedi or that he’s simply lost his confidence and physical edge due to having his minutes cut. To be fair to Cedi, the Cavs defense in general has been getting lit up in the month of January (113.3 defensive rating). Ironically Okoro really hasn’t been any better defensively than Cedi, Okoro’s minutes have been earned on the offensive end recently with decent shooting and passing.

Cedi’s Splits

Okoro’s Splits

6. Hospital Clippers Up Next

For tonight’s game against #Cavs, the Clippers will not have Paul George or Kawhi Leonard. They are both listed OUT.

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) January 29, 2023

The Cavs welcome the Agua Caliente Clippers to the shores of Lake Erie for what has turned into a must-win game for the good guys. NBA Champion and former Cavs coach Ty Lue has performed a masterclass this season keeping the Clips afloat while they get Kawhi Leonard back on track from injury, and come in on a five game win streak. This game is the ultimate test for the Cavs, a team that they should beat but could easily struggle against if they don’t adopt a professional approach to the game. Hopefully J.B. has his guys ready, Go Cavs!

Tip off is scheduled for 7:00PM Eastern time and will be broadcasted live on Bally Sports Ohio/Great Lakes.