Recap: Cavaliers 106, Jazz 92 (Or, Too Much Everything)

The Cavs served the Jazz a simple two course dinner.

The Cavs invited Utah into the Q tonight for a basketball dinner. Gordan Hayward really thought it wouldn’t be a mean meeting, but he was in for a surprise. The King’s a bully. The Cavs ran the “all fast break all the time offense” and the “feed people to Mozgov because big Russians want to destroy little men” defense. This two course dinner was exactly what every Cavs fan wants to see served up all the time. The Wine & Gold held the Jazz to 41.7% shooting while scoring 22 points on the break. The whole team delivered this meal with the delicate touch of a waiter working somewhere where the dinner bill warrants a fifty dollar tip. Nothing was forgotten tonight, as all five starters scored above fifteen points for the second game in a row.

First Quarter

The Jazz started the night like any smart team does against the Cavs. They had their scoring big man, Derrick Favors, go at Kevin Love. However, Love stood his ground. Kyrie scored the first Cavs points with a hesitation dribble that froze his defender like Darth Vader froze Han Solo, allowing Irving to rise up for a mid-range bank shot. The team didn’t rely on just iso shots though, as Kyrie sealed Trey Burke with his left shoulder, and LeBron James  fed him over the top for an alley-oop a play later.  The King then caught an offensive board all the way up near the moon after a few more possessions hit K-Love for an open three. It was that type of night. LeBron was trying, and the rest of the team did the same. J.R. Smith threw a bad pass mid-way through the quarter, but he teleported down the court to break up the fast break. The King then threw an oop off that action to a cheetah-esque Timofey Mozgov. Timo was down the court in what seemed like a second.

The Jazz tried to hang in. Hayward hit a three to put the music men up by two with four minutes left, but Kyrie said, “Oh no you didn’t,” and countered it with a trey of his own. After that three, the Cavs finished the quarter on a 15-5 run to go up 20-31. They kept the ball moving by running up the floor for early offense,  and when that didn’t work, they were cutting off the ball as if a three second violation could happen anywhere on the floor, not just the paint. Defensively, Mozgov simply said, “No Jazz points in my paint.”

Second Quarter

On the very first Jazz possession, Elijah Millsap tried to get a layup. Mozgov had other plans though. He layed “Doom” and “Gloom” (what he calls his hands) onto the ball for some two handed humiliation at the rim. The Cavs started the quarter on a 7-0 run until Millsap hit a three at the eight minute mark. Timofey even hit a little safety valve jump shot. Matthew Dellavedova did a good job of keeping the ball moving and safely finding points.

The Cavs defense got a little sloppy  for a few minutes allowing Rudy Gobert to grab an offensive board and score, and also allowing Enes Kanter to grab two offensive boards that led to three points. However, the King’s Men didn’t totally give up like in the past. They still closed out hard on open shooters and certainly didn’t just stare at the ball.

Their defense was slowly righted, and they finished the final four minutes strong. Check out this play around the 3:30 mark. Kyrie appears to open his defensive stance to Dante Exum; however, he is really sending him towards the beast in the middle, so he himself can play the passing lane. Irving dives and tips an Exum panic pass to Kevin Flacco. Then BOOM, Touchdown. Tom Brady called Kevin to give him props.

The Cavs ended the quarter up huge, 40-53. They held the Jazz to 32% from the filed and had 12 fast break points.

Third Quarter

The Jazz did the smart thing again to open the third quarter and went at Love. Love registered what is being called a block, but was really just a knock away on  Favors. Nonetheless, Favors will have to face ridicule from all other big men because the statistician called it a block. LeBron followed that up by grabbing an offensive board and whipping the ball to J.R. Smith for an open three.

This quarter was about Kyrie and Love for a little bit. Love dropped a Kyrie pass on the right sideline, but made up for it by making a twenty-footer after Irving cut into the middle and tossed it backwards. Irving then frolicked down the floor with Mozgov and hit him in the lane for a dunk. Finally, Love secured a Gordon Hayward missed three and found LeBron on the other end. BOOM, second touchdown. Russell Wilson called him to Kevin a long heartfelt compliment. Mozgov continued greatness the next play by tipping in a LeBron miss. J.R. wanted to be included too, so he found an errant pass to get his easy layup. With seven minutes left still the Cavs were up 22 points after the Jazz scored just six in six minutes.

The Jazz finished the final third of the quarter on a 14-10 run. They hit two threes in a row and scored four easy points off some turnovers. However, The Cavs looked fancy during this run at least. Thompson completed two alley-oop passes from Delly, and Kyrie broke up a three on one fast break that just showed the Cavs might have what it takes to win a playoff series. And, that wasn’t even enough for him. He made sure that steal turned into a Love oop. Cavs up, 62-82.

Fourth Quarter

The Cavs started the quarter with Delly at point guard, and the offense looked wonderful running their half-court sets. Every single guy moved with the conviction of a thirty year monk. It would have been nice to rest the starters, but the Jazz, much to their credit, tried really hard to make that not happen. They opened up the last minutes 4-4 from the field and got the game within 13 at one point. It was a case of the Cavs letting up a tiny bit on defense and the Jazz making shots. Enes Kanter also stepped up his game and had five points off of offensive put backs. At no point did I feel scared though. LeBron and Kyrie both had and-1s and LeBron got into the paint at will. Nothing was stopping the Cavs tonight as they finished with the win, 92-106.

Gripes

1. Rudy Gobert is a really lanky animal. When he was standing next to Tristan Thompson, he looked a whole foot taller. Rudy was so incredibly active on the offensive boards. He had three of them, and they led directly to his six points. He also had one block and three assists. If he can gain a little bit more muscle and become a little more coordinated, he will be owning the league. He gets rebounds effortlessly already and is able to get good post position even though he gets pushed around quite easily. Also, no one wants to drive into him by the rim.

2. The Cavs seemed to force the ball into the paint. It resulted in a few turnovers that could have easily been avoided. They should work on entry passing down low because Mozgov and Love do have good positioning on a lot of possessions.

3. Why is Love a spot up shooter now?

4. Cavs went 5-24 from the three line. Again, how is that possible with this team?

Not only does he play defense and run the floor, he models plaid.

Hypes

1. Kyrie’s defense is top tier right now. He hounded the ball and was an absolute terror. I loved how much he was on the floor fighting for balls tonight. Also, of his five steals two of them stopped three on one fast breaks. Kyrie is even using the new defensive scheme how it should be used. He utilizes the help in the middle to act like a degenerate gambler. He’s all in every attempted steal. Kyrie played a solid offensive game and his four assists came when he wanted them to. He’s simply doing what the team needs him to do so they can win. He had 18 points on 8-13 shooting.

2. Speaking of the defense, “I todda so.” I always mentioned David Blatt would switch to a zoning up style defense for this team, and he has. It’s paying off now.

3. Offensively, the Cavs played how they should always be playing. They were so fast, which is why they had so many fast break points. Each time the ball was rebounded everyone was up the floor instantly, no walking whatsoever. And, on the rare occasions the Jazz set up their defense, every body was cutting off the ball. Matthew did an awesome job running the second team, and he looked great when he shared the floor with Kyrie. He enabled Kyrie to be very effective as a spot up guy. The Aussie had six assists.

4. Timo is the best center the Cavs have had since Big Z was in his prime. He runs the floor each and every single play, regardless of whether or not he’s being included in the offense. It’s as if Timo gets hyped up from having guards sent into the paint, which should be called the “Iron Hurtin Zone” when he’s on the prowl. He had 16 points, two blocks, and 11 rebounds tonight. He was honestly the biggest reason the Cavs won. The team looks different with him out there.

5. And, if Timo can get his jump shot to be a tiny bit better, he’s going to be an even bigger game changer. He doesn’t shoot jumpers really, but both of his attempts tonight showed a gorgeous stroke. He releases high up and at the same spot each time, it’s a lot like Dirk’s shot.

6. The King looked amazing again and flirted with a triple double. He had seven rebounds, nine assists, and 26 points. He just needs to eliminate the turnovers he racks up so quickly (he had seven).

7. Kevin even stepped up his defense and wasn’t a complete pushover. I was proud of him.

8. This was a great game, and I can’t wait to see the Cavs take on the Hornets and the Thunder. Good things are on the way if this keeps up.