Recap: Cavaliers 106, Magic 74 (Or, Defense Makes Grown Men Giggle)

The Cavaliers held the Orlando Magic under 37% shooting in a quintessential “get well” game. The Wine and Gold played with far more sustained intensity on both ends of the floor en route to a 32 point victory. LeBron James scored or assisted on 32 of the Cavaliers’ first 48 points. The Cavs racked up 30 assists on 42 field goals. It was the type of win that makes coaches sleep well at night.

1st Quarter: The Cavs didn’t get out of the gate very quickly. Shawn Marion was beat on a backcut by Evan Fournier that led to a Nikola Vucevic putback dunk. The next Magic possession, Fournier broke down Kyrie Irving off the dribble for a running left-handed layup. But after those two trips down the floor, the Cavs’ defense tightened. The Magic missed some open looks off decent weave action, but the Cavalier length on the perimeter made it difficult for Orlando to make clean passes to the weakside. The Matrix and LeBron anticipated the roll pass better than they have all season. When Vucevic did make the catch in traffic, his size allowed  him to finish over the defense, but his catch opportunities were limited.

LeBron got on board early with two dunks in transition. The first came off a simple Love rebound and outlet pass. Irving’s active hands in the passing lanes lead to the second. LeBron didn-t get up very high for either dunk., In the halfcourt, the Cavs made an effort to post anybody and everybody. The Magic like to pack the paint defensively leaving clean flashes to the middle. The first bucket of the night for the Wine and Gold came on a LeBron post opportunity on the right block. Vucevic looked to provide help on LeBron leaving Anderson Varejao to flash cleanly to the front of the rim. It was the first of eleven assists for James on the evening. The Cavs ran action to get most of the post touches for LeBron and Kevin Love. Both had success distributing from the mid-block and elbow. Love finished with five assists of his own. LeBron hit Kevin with a sweet bounce pass(:48 second mark of video) at the 5:08 mark the first quarter.

The Cavs still had some strange turnovers in early transition. The poor interior spacing and lazy passes that have plagued the Cavaliers during the four game losing streak were limited but not completely eliminated. The ball wasn’t consistently whipping around the perimeter, but baseline drives by LeBron and Kyrie yielded a few Spursian moments. LeBron scored or assisted on all but one Cavalier point in the first. The Cavs led 26-16.

2nd Quarter: Lou Amundson got some early burn to start the second quarter. A lineup featuring Kyrie, Dion, Matrix, Tristan and Lou provided stout defense to open the period. David Blatt went to a man-to-man defense that switched absolutely everything. Though we have seen that before, what made this system standout was the fluidity of its working parts. The Cavs started the halfcourt set in what appeared to be a normal 3-2 Zone with TT as its head. Lou Amundson actually had Evan Fournier as his primary assignment. It effectively eliminated the PnR from Fournier’s game. Any switch would simply leave Fournier with a guard on him, creating no mismatch. Lou’s mobility allowed him to stick with Fournier off ball. But again, any off ball screens were switched as well so Lou didn’t need to do any long term chasing. It’s basically a modified match-up zone. Blatt has played around with this defense in preseason and after, but it never flowed as well as it did against the Magic. It isn’t completely viable against solid post players, but it was extremely effective in the second quarter of this game. The Cavs limited the Magic to three points over the first three minutes. Dion’s baseline jam at the nine-minute mark pushed the Cavalier advantage to 35-19.

Love and Bron checked back into the contest at the seven-minute mark. After a small flurry of ball movement, Kevin Love knocked down two jumpers. I think Kevin has been a bit reluctant to fire from distance the past two games. He has passed up some good looks in search of statistically less efficient shots, but any made bucket is good for his confidence.

After Matrix hit a corner three off a baseline drive, the Cavs led 43-25. The defense continued its aggressive play forcing some errant passes. The Magic did help by missing a few open shots off solid action. Nikola Vucevic did his part, though. The huge human being kept Orlando within screaming-into-a-loud-speaker distance through two quarters. He finished with 16 first half points. LeBron was better. The King registered 22 and seven at the half. 56-38, Cavs.

3rd Quarter: Victor Oladipo came out of the locker room looking to attack the rim. He had three layups in the first moments of the third. Vucevic’s little hook in the lane cut the lead to 58-46. The Q was getting a bit worried when the Wild Thing went off. Andy hit four jumpers in all to restore order to the game. A dunk from LeBron after Andy’s fourth Mark Price impersonation pushed the lead back to 72-48.

The defense in the third frame was outstanding. On the weakside, LeBron crashed hard with anticipation killing any Magic PnR attempt. Passing lanes were as small as they have been all year. It was the kind of effort from LeBron that the league has come to expect. The Cavs pushed hard into early offense. The Cavs headed to the fourth with an 81-58 advantage.

4th Quarter: Kyrie, Cherry, Harris, Love, and TT played surprisingly good defense to begin the final quarter. Cherry did a nice job collapsing on the weakside. He also came up with a steal and subsequent layup. Kyrie played like a man possessed. He was in a great defensive stance throughout. When he received the ball, he pushed for early gain. With the Cavs up 90-60, Kyrie completely stymied Elfrid Payton’s attempt to break him down. We all know Kyrie’s primary problem is with PnR defense, but it was still beautiful to see Irving stay in great guard position over an extended play. There is hope.

Garbage time came early. James Jones and Brendan Haywood saw the floor at the same time. Somehow Brendan had three blocks in six minutes. They were not highlight worthy, but still.

Thoughts:

David Blatt made a very specific schematic change. It will be interesting to see if the defensive pressure that the Man/Zone combo provided can be replicated moving forward. It should work with other lineups as well.

Amundson probably earned himself some minutes in this contest. He flashed to the appropriate places on offense and moved his feet beautifully on the defensive end. His ability to stay with guards for short stretches while providing decent rim protection is very valuable. He afforded Love an extra breather.

LeBron’s aggression both as a weakside defender and as a scorer is what drives this team. He doesn’t need to handle from the top to initiate offense. As has been the case throughout LeBron’s career, his teams win when he gets into the post.

Will Cherry provided a nice spark off the bench. The Cavs need a bit more athleticism in the backcourt. His defensive energy was contagious. He also stayed patient on the offensive end. If he can become a poor man’s Patrick Beverly, the Cavaliers will greatly benefit.

Kevin Love did more Icing of the PnR in this game than I have seen before. I think it is a better choice for the Cavalier bigman. His PnR coverage communication with Kyrie was much better. To be fair, the Magic don’t feature any great PnR players. Regardless, it is a step in the right direction.

The Cavs MUST continue to push the ball for early offense. Kyrie sometimes forgets that he is destructive in transition. Every possession that starts with Kyrie walking up the floor is a wasted opportunity.

The Cavs had their “get well” game. Now onto the “get revenge” game against the Wiz.