Culty Catch Up: Second/All About D Edition

Each week there is a ton of NBA media pertaining to the Cavs and the league in general that deserves recognition. A lot of it goes unread because there just isn’t enough time to keep up with it. Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered with six to eight notable reads/videos (the last two reads are up in the air just like the Cavs bench production this season) from the past seven days to get you through the weekend feeling entertained, caught up, and much smarter. I’ll throw in Dion’s Neon Man Of The week and some other features to add to the entertainment

The Cavs are on an eight game win streak, and they have earned it. The wins against the Bucks, Knicks, and Raptors were by less than five points. The Raptors and Knicks games involved fourth quarter comebacks where the Good Guys held the opposition under 15 points for the final twelve minutes. The defense can get revved to the red when it needs to these days. Everyone is starting to notice.

Kevin Pelton started the week out praising the team for coming around defensively in his ESPN Insider Column.

Coach David Blatt hasn’t solved Cleveland’s lack of rim protection. The Cavaliers still are allowing opponents to make 65.5 percent of their attempts inside the restricted area, the NBA’s second-worst mark. But Cleveland recently has been able to overcome this liability. It is doing a relatively good job of keeping opponents out of the paint. Just three other teams allow a lower percentage of shot attempts inside the restricted area.

Beyond that, the Cavaliers have forced misses from everywhere else. Opponents have made just 34.9 percent of their 2-point attempts outside the restricted area in the past 10 games, compared to 45.0 percent during the first eight, when the defense struggled. Cleveland also has been slightly better than average in terms of opponent 3-point shooting (34.6 percent).

While Pelton acknowledges the Cavs defense is coming around, he mentioned how hard it will be for them to continue being a top ten one like they have been during the win streak. However, this article was written before the Cavs closed out against Toronto on a 20-6 run over the last eight minutes.

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Kyrie’s defensive prowess has specifically been noted in a separate insider article ranking the top 25 guys under the age of 25. Coming in at number four just behind John Wall, Cleveland’s dribbling wizard earned praise that anyone watching games last season thought he would never earn.

Thorpe: Maybe the most skilled player in basketball, along with Stephen Curry. Great poise and learning to be an aggressive defender, which helps him make up for a slight lack of athleticism compared to the other elite guards.

Tristan Thompson was left off of the list, which is not fair at all. He’s playing 25.9 minutes a game and averaging 3.5 offensive boards. The other guys with more offensive boards for the season, and there are just seven of them, are starters averaging around thirty minutes a game. Those 3.5 extra possessions are game are coming at crucial times and opening up driving lanes for the whole team, since guys are terrified of the Big T getting the Big O in crunch time. He had three in the final five minutes of the nail biter against the Toronto men.

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There is a lot of ESPN in this week’s catchup. Amin Elhassan and David Thorpe expanded on the decision to rank the Wall ahead of Irving in the above mentioned piece. Thorpe ranked him higher because he’s a good defender (debatable as Kyrie did play Wall quite well during their last meeting), has muscles, and knows how to get guys involved.

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Spurs assistant coach Ettore Messina penned a personal blog on some Russian site about working for the Spurs this season.

What’s interesting is that he always pushes his coaching staff to argue with him. Sometimes he reminds me one of those Greek philosophers, the sophists, who tried to find the truth through arguments. He really encourages discussion and variety of opinions, seeing them as a means to improve as a unit.

I know what Jim Boylan needs to do with David Blatt during tonight’s game against the Thunder. Seriously check out this piece. The Spurs are such a stand up team. It’s worth getting past the sub par website presentation of the piece to hear an account of greatness.

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BBallbreakdown.com has some of LeBron’s classic pick and roll moves from this season broken down. They also present the interesting fact that he is top ten in the league of far as creating an opportunity for an assist to be earned. The King has decided to set up his monarchy atop the assist category this season, and it’s been taking some of his energy. Once this throne is established though, the team could become even more terrifying as he decides to, once again, be the efficient robot machine the world witnessed during the past three seasons shooting wise.

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The sixth man article this week has to go to Matty D. The D-Man grabbed two offensive boards, two alley-oop assists, and drew two charges during the fourth quarter win against Toronoto. He made it, and Tim Leglar wants him to be recognized in this examination video.

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The catch up is going deep this week because the Cavs bench is looking semi-deep as Tristan, Matty, Dion Waiters, and James Jones are sort of looking legitimate. Neighboring Cavs writer Will Gibson gushed over Kevin Garnett for Waiting For Next Year.

People—that is, people who do not cheer for the teams for which Kevin Garnett plays or has played, and maybe those people, too—do not like Kevin Garnett. He is known for being some combination of unkind, unhinged, uncivil, and ungentlemanly. He’s a jerk, basically.

He doesn’t forget to mention that the Wild Thing is the Cavs KG. Also, I would like to label Matty D as the idiot KG. He isn’t being obnoxious on purpose, but he surely makes other guys angry with his non-stop completely motor driven talent.

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Once again, I have to end with a Nick Young video. This might become a tradition. Going down a Nick Young Google black hole is just so entertaining.

Dion’s Neon Man Of The Week

Last night, Rajon Rondo elbowed Lance Stephenson in the neck UFC style. Lance dropped to the ground, but then he stood up and popped Rondo in the face with a little love rub. Why? Who knows and who cares, Dion’s dudes do what they do.

This quote from Rondo sealed the win:

“He weighs about 60 more pounds than me. I don’t think I was that strong on that play to knock him down.” [Gary Washburn via twitter]

Bottom Lines of the Week

Rondo gets a second nod this week for picking up a triple double after that incident. He grabbed ten rebounds, ten assists, and 12 points on 6-11 shooting in the loss to the Charlotte Hornets. He was benched the last game against the Washington Wizards, which they lost in overtime. Here’s some food for thought on that and Rondo from Kelly Dwyer at Ball Don’t Lie.

The best Cavs quote this week so far comes from Dion Waiters after scoring a season high 26 points against the Brooklyn Nets.

“Coach let me play,” Waiters said. “Anytime I get that type of freedom, I know I’m out there and I can play my game without looking over my shoulder, these are the types of games I have.”

Is that a thinly veiled threat? If so, I’m okay with it, as long as Dion keeps putting up numbers and functions as someone who can swing on a piece of figurative thread hanging from a well functioning offense without unravelling it.