Recap: Cavs 104, Warriors 108 (or, All’s Bad That Ends Badly)
2013-12-29
Another close game, another disappointing loss for the young Cavaliers. After two straight games of near-victories, the Cavs came into this one firing on all cylinders, shooting a fantastic 52.2% at the half, while holding the hot-shooting Warriors to 44.4%. The difference in shooting in the first was clear – the Cavs moved the ball as well as they have all season, never settling but instead looking for the open shot. On the defensive end, the played moved well, forcing the Warrior’s heralded offense into forced shots, turnovers, and charges.
But, while the first half saw a glimpse of what could be, the second half saw the Cavaliers return to form: allowing transition buckets and interior penetration on D, and stagnated ball movement (filled with ISOs ) on offense. David Lee, who was held scoreless in the first half, went off for 19 points (before fouling out in OT), leading the way for a Warriors comeback. Thanks to another miracle three by Kyrie to tie the game with just a few ticks left on the clock, the Cavs forced an OT, where they promptly went scoreless for the last 2 and 1/2 minutes.
While the method of achievement may have been different, the outcome was familiar – the Cavaliers again managed to blow a game, this time in which they led by as much as 17, while still searching for their team identity.
And identity really is the key here. While the team finally looked completely in-synch in the first and second quarters, they reverted back to the bad habits that have been prevalent all season long – silly, contested shots, lackadaisical defense, and horrible communication on the court. Fatigue likely played some part of the second half slump, but regardless, this team has some serious soul searching to do.
The Good
Ball Movement In The First Half: For the first time this season (or at least that I can remember?) the Cavaliers looked seriously sharp moving the ball. Instead of settling for bad shots, or worse, the dreaded Kyrie/Dion/Jack ISO, the Cavs moved the ball effectively, resulting in a shockingly even point distribution going into the half. The Cavs, who are fourth-worst in the NBA in per-game assists, had 13 going into the half, finishing with 21. More impressively, the team finally fulfilled their destiny as rim-attackers who kick out to the open man. Numerous times in the first two quarters did the Cavaliers successfully run this play. Now if only they could do it with more consistency…
Defense in The First Half: Likewise, the Cavs played tenacious on the D end, forcing horrible passes, overly aggressive shots, and a bunch of offensive fouls. Brown’s D-minded game has clearly sunk in for this team, particularly Zeller who was disruptive the entire game.
Kyrie: Looked pretty decent on D (as decent as you can look against Steph Curry) while moving the ball well (and doing his usual shooting magic). Even without the monster game-tying three this would’ve been among his better games this season. 9 assists and 27 points? I’ll take it!
CJ Miles: We all know the story by now – some days he’s on, some days he’s not. Today he was on. Boy was it fun to watch!
Tristan (on offense): Tristan has developed a serious knack for being in the right place at the right time, consistently knocking in a couple big put-backs, snatching a few big offensive rebounds, and generally being the consistent force down low. He even had a few timely knock-down jumpers from the wing. The one blemish on his night was being battered by David Lee through the second half. But that’ll happen from time to time.
The Bad
Cavs In The Second Half: Lets keep this one short – while the first half was beautiful and, frankly, the best this team has looked all season, the second half was a mess akin to what we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. Boring, plotting, slow, sloppy basketball. And Overtime was even worse.
Dion Waiters: I would end up with a classic bad Waiters game. Again, keeping this simple, it was ugly. I counted three horrible early shot clock step back jumpers in the first quarter alone, and it didn’t get much better from there. I do want to point out that Dion was the primary catalyst to the rim attacking, though. I just wish he’d cut down on all the stupid jumpers.
The Rest:
Early Game Plan: Lets give some credit to Mike taking advatnage of the fact that the Warriors are 29th in the NBA in turnovers, forcing them into sloppy passes in the first half. Again, fatigue likely made it difficult to sustain the entire game, but it was a smart game plan.
Fouls Galore: Part of the reason the Cavs were so successful in the first half was because of fouling problems for the Warriors. Lee had three fouls by the early 2nd Q (eventually fouling out in OT), and the Warriors finished the 2nd quarter 15 fouls (and 28 on the night)
Locker Room Issues? Did anyone else notice Dion in Kyrie’s ear at the start of OT? He didn’t look happy…
Disappointment was certainly the theme of 2013 for the Cavaliers. With one game remaining (against the Pacers) before 2014 arrives, lets hope the team goes out with a bang.
JHill, exactly. Well said.
Because the Browns are dysfunctional losers and have been rebuilding for like 20 years.
If the Browns can fire Chud after 1 season, why can’t the Cavs fire Mike Brown after 1 season? Just curious….
@Amer
Not after one year!
The cavs as a team are playing good but it always comes down to late game situations, where decision come from the coach. Coach brown is not doing what a coach should do at the end of games regulations , which is simply bringing home the “W”. He is not coaching players and he doesn’t know how to draw up a play. So therefore the cavs organization should fire head coach Mike Brown because of his lack of coaching and due to the fact that the cavs are losing games down the stretch.
#fireMikeBrown.
I HATE 2013. This year needs to get over quickly. What else can happen to any of my sports teams? This team is hard to watch. I told my wife during the game that I didn’t know why I watched them because I guarantee they lose a heartbreaker … Again. Well, yup. I love the way Dion attacks but I wish he threw it down more and laid up less. This team needs a proven winner that can help right the ship. There isn’t one on this team and I think that is what is hurting them in all these… Read more »
Also – Dion shows the ball too early on his layups. There is no reason he should have so many shots blocked.
1) We refused to move the ball when Kyrie had it. Jack had a solid game – he attacked and hit his shots. He might be struggling this season but at least we doesn’t dribble in one spot like Kyrie does. 2) Dion attacked and attacked and attacked. He missed half a dozen layups but they weren’t easy. I liked the fact that he did not settle for a ton of bad jumpers. Kyrie settled but was hitting. 3) Thompson would be averaging 15 ppg in a real offense. He had another very productive game despite the fact that I… Read more »
when we were up 17 in the 2nd quarter, i highly doubt I’m the only one here who said to theirselves “watch, were gonna blow this lead”….it’s the Cavalier way.
I didn’t see the game, so much thanks to the CtB crew for the write-up. A good half of ball movement and assists is a welcome sign, and hopefully something the team can build on. Overall, I’m still feeling pretty good about the Cavs. They have 3 productive very young players, and they are playing better defense over all than previous years and contending in games with good teams.
My main worry going forward is that without Bynum in the mix Andy is going to get hurt again. Granted it was overtime, but 37 minutes is too much for Andy.
Hey @Jon, did you read the WFNY article about Kyrie’s shooting woes in the clutch? No one is making this stuff up or picking on Kyrie. He’s the best player on the team so he gets held to the highest standard. Plus, he had great clutch numbers the last two years. Yeah, Kyrie was actually pretty good tonight and that 3 was impressive. You know what wasn’t impressive, however? Two straight questionable drives by Kyrie that both ended up in TO’s near the end of overtime. Dion had one too. Here’s some more numbers to chew on: both Kyrie and… Read more »
And just for giggles I thought I’d point out that Olidipo is shooting 37% this month and 22% from deep. He averaged 12 points on 12 field goals despite also getting 4.5 fta a game. He actually drastically raised those averages the last 2 games as well with pretty good games. He wouldn’t really be helping this team.
Matthew I disagree getting into the paint off the dribble is 95%of the time a good play.
Jack is the Worst signing we have made in a long long long time. Worse than Hughes.
Let’s be honest. The refs gave the Cavs a gift even letting the game go to overtime. Kyrie clearly called a timeout on the rebound at end of regulation, and it should have been a technical, which 90% of the time Curry nails. But what I really want to talk about is how awful Jarret Jack was. Yes, he had some nice plays late in the game, but he was almost singlehandedly responsible for the blown lead in the third. He kept jacking up ridiculous jumpshot after ridiculous jumpshot and then guarding no one. Speaking of Guarding no one, Kyrie’s… Read more »
First bad overall shot selection game from dion in a while. He was very bad, but put your head down and focus on Indiana is all u can do.
There is way too much passive appreciation for Waiters’ “rim attacking”. He’s just running into the lane and getting blocked, passing late, throwing the ball over his head and running out of room. Just because you can dribble a ball into the paint doesn’t mean you are a stud. I was at the game and there were people saying, “Man, at least the guy is aggressive and gets to the rack.” A player shouldn’t get credit for running into the lane and making poor decisions. Although Waiters was most frustrating to watch tonight, I’m tired of watching this team not… Read more »
I remember see them talking at the start of OT, but i think they were doing it about the fact that Irving tried calling time out at the end of regulation, even tough the team didn’t have any, and that was this the thing that Jackson was complaining about.
WHy would Dion be pissed at Kyrie. He was playing AWFUL!! WHy in the hell didn’t Brown put in Clark to increase our chances to get 3’s ? It sure as hell wasn’t going to happen on a cold and lose the ball again Dion. I think I actually hated watching Dion more than Bennett. Absolutely LOVED ZELLER!!! I think Mike Brown should show films alriight……On WARRIORS how they can find ways to score!!! If plan A doesn’t work; they got Lee & company right under the rim to tap it in or they just slam it in. WHy can’t… Read more »
I’m sure the commenters here will give Kyrie credit for the clutch game tying 3 he hit while admitting that Dion shot poorly.