The Point Four-ward: O-Boards Don’t Lie

First, if you haven’t checked out Ben’s excellent recap of the Cavs/Blazers game, it’s right here.

And now: Four points I’m thinking about the Cleveland Cavaliers…

1.) It’s tough to believe, but these Cavs — the Cavs of the most highly anticipated offense in years coming into this season — are shooting just 42% from the floor so far this season. LeBron James continued a cold start to the season going 4-12 for 11 points against Portland. That included going 1-6 in the paint, a ridiculous number for a finisher as good as number 23.

Against Portland, though, everyone caught the cold hand. The team shot just 36.5% for the game. Kyrie Irving was 3-17 and (in a disturbing trend) was thoroughly outplayed by slumping-until-yesterday Damian Lillard. Dion Waiters was 3-11 and didn’t attempt a three-pointer. Only Kevin Love, who led the team with 22 points and 10 rebounds, managed a remotely efficient offensive game.

I know it’s early, but the team’s stagnancy and passivity on offense is a little disturbing. There’s been precious little of the weak side action that we saw freeing up so many good looks in the preseason and the ball’s been more of a moderately warm potato than a hot one.

While some early season struggles were expected, it’s concerning to see the Cavs contribute to a sputtering offense by coming out so passive. This was the type of approach that, with the addition of James, was supposed to be a thing of the past. But it’s back and, what’s more, it’s got James pretty full in its clutches too.

On the plus side, at least the blow-outness of the game allowed head coach David Blatt to manage his starters’ minutes more than he had in the first two games. Hopefully, that’s not always what it will take.

2.) While Adrian Wojnarowksi’s recent column about James and Klutch Sports generated most of its retweeted buzz off speculation that former Golden State coach Mark Jackson’s end game in signing with Klutch is to parlay that relationship into the Cavs head coaching job, should it become available, the thing that caught my eye was the suggestion that James may not be quite the de facto owner/GM of the Cavs as it appeared during the victory lap of The Return over the summer.

Wojnarowski makes an interesting point: while, yes, James will continue to have (and exercise) a huge degree of influence over team decisions, there is pressure on James to make this work too. For James fairy tale return home to work, the four-time MVP has to make it work on this stop in Cleveland. Therefore, if he butts heads with Blatt (which, to be clear, he hasn’t… just hypothesizing) it could ultimately be messier for him to openly express dissatisfaction or campaign for a coaching change than for him, as the Miami front office forced him to do with Erik Spoelstra, to find a way to make it work.

Should the team’s early season struggles creep on longer than expected, how James carries the responsibility for that could be the ultimate test of how much he’s matured since his first run in wine and gold.

3.) I joked to a friend after the Cavs and Tristan Thompson failed to agree to an extension before the October 31st deadline that Thompson’s monster (or, at least, extremely key) fourth quarter and overtime stretch against the Bulls — which occurred exactly as the two sides were nearing the final hour of their reported negotiations — may have helped the Cavs win the game but actually prevented an extension deal from happening.

You can imagine the Cavs pointing to stats from Thompson’s first three years saying, “Reserve big man,” while Thompson’s agent, Rich Paul, was pointing to his client’s performance in the waning minutes of a sneaky-important Cavs/Bulls game and screaming “Max extension!”

Over the weekend, Terry Pluto wrote a column detailing the reasons why a deal between the Cavs and Thompson wasn’t reached. He lists several other players — Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and Miami’s Norris Cole, for instance — who are hoping for big seasons right before the salary cap takes off like a helium-filled zeppelin next year. Cole is in his first year as a starter and Butler finally (at least, so far) has Derrick Rose to play beside for a full year (…y’know, give or take), so both of these players could be looking at cashing in on an expanded (or, in Butler’s case, a more fully realized) role.

Thompson, though, is aiming to do the opposite. He’s looking to turn a reduced role into a deal in the $12-14 million a year range. On the surface, that would seem nearly impossible. But judging from the first three games of the season, he may be well on his way.

4.) Now, I’ve been fairly critical of Thompson during his tenure as a Cavalier — but so has most every writer (save for the Plain Dealer’s new beat writer Chris Haynes, whose near-constant stream of Thompson adulation has even started to raise some eyebrows nationally). Thompson’s early-season play — while still far from an polished gem — has been one of the bright spots in the Cavs sluggish start.

Thompson followed up his 13 rebound game against the Bulls with eight boards in 22 minutes against the Trailblazers. That’s 10.5 rebounds a game over his last two in which 80% of his rebounds have been on the offensive end. In a key third quarter stretch against the Blazers, Thompson grabbed two offensive rebounds in the same Cavaliers possession, showing the only real energy and determination at a point in the game where, had other Cavs players brought it in a remotely similar fashion, the game may not have gotten away from them the way it did. Thompson has even showed an improved ability to finish at the rim and has been playing like the “energy guy” label placed on Thompson without necessarily seeing the energy play to back it up.

Clearly, Thompson’s 4-10 line from the field isn’t what you want from your energy guy. But on a night where Kevin Love was the only Cavalier able to remotely hit the broad side of a barn, Thompson’s growing ability to turn one Cavalier possession into possibly several is a genuine plus going forward.

Buckets may not lie, but O-Boards do a good job with the truth, as well.