Recap: Cavs 106 Grizzlies 76 (Or, The Return of All That is Good)

While preparing to watch the Cavs play their second game of a back-to-back, on the road, against an elite Western Conference Team (that had a beatdown to avenge), I resigned myself to the possibility of a bloodbath when the banged-up and out-of-practice Cavaliers took their aching backs to the Grindhouse.  And a bloodbath it was.

It’s always easy to say after a tough shooting night “we had good looks” (which the Cavs did on multiple occasions after the loss to the Bulls).  The problem I saw in the Bulls game was that many of the Cavs “good looks” were actually moderately contested jumpers whose origin story included exactly one pass from the top of the key.  While some NBA players can survive and a few even thrive on a steady diet of moderately defended perimeter shots – that’s not a formula for success in today’s NBA.  Players today are most effective when ball movement (The Spurs/Warriors/Hawks) or dribble penetration (Clippers/Bulls/Rockets) create catch-and-shoot opportunities for role players.  The Cavs of last season touted an offense with some supreme individual talent that rarely enabled the kind of rhythm shots that bring role players along for the ride.  The November 15th explosion against the Hawks featured more catatonic NBA-Jammishness than balanced execution.

It is my opinion that the 2015-2016 Cavs are an EC Finalist on talent alone. They’re an EC Champion with the stout half-court D and ferocious rebounding displayed last spring. Cleveland will break the 50+year curse if and only if the Cavs can harness the power of their legion of above-average, spot-up 3-point shooters.  When Mo Williams becomes Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova becomes JJ Barea, Richard Jefferson becomes James Posey, and James Jones continues being James freaking Jones – that’s how we get the monkey of our backs. It’s a real possibility this June.   (Coming from the resident pessimist realist of the blog).

With that in mind I paid close attention to the off-ball movement and the nature of the shots the Cavs took.  (Again it’s been my prediction that the Cavs would struggle offensively until a month or so after getting everyone healthy).  Tonight was just…what a pleasant surprise…

1st Quarter CliffsNotes: The Cavs worked hard on D and kept the Grizzlies off the glass.  They were opportunistic on offense. Kevin Love looked strong in the post and spry on the wings.  He stole an offensive rebound to earn an easy putback.  He also rifled a pass to a galloping LeBron who finished with a dunk in transition.  The Cavs also got transition buckets on a LeBron feed to a steamrolling Mozgov and a Richard Jefferson corner 3 on a push from J.R. Smith.  The half-court offense was a bit stagnant but to my surprise most of the jump shots were in rhythm even if the overall execution wasn’t Spursian.

There were ugly moments: at one point LeBron took an awkward, jumping-turnaround shot that barely hit anything.  With my Standard Definition Cable I actually thought it was TT at first.  Mo Williams, Kevin Love, and Delly all jacked up not-terrible/not-optimal triples and canned more than they missed.  But again, I would say that their looks were “in rhythm”.  At the other end, the Grizzlies played like they expected half-court offense to be easy.  It wasn’t.  They compounded lazy, iso-heavy offense with a lack of off-ball movement and almost no second chance opportunities.  Their shots were very “out of rhythm”.  The Cavs led 26-10 after one.

Like last night, Jefferson for @KingJames is #Cavs first sub; And just like last year, @kevinlove off to great start v. MEM – 5pts, 7reb.

— Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG) October 29, 2015

2nd Quarter: The Grizzlies scored exactly 15 points through the first 17 minutes of the game.  Kevin Love backed down Tony Allen with authority and flipped in a hook shot as Allen shoved him (seen in the headline picture).  The Cavs’ defensive activity and toughness was on display, but the Grizzlies just stunk up the joint too.

My one gripe with David Blatt tonight was that he chose not to call a timeout during a sequence when the Cavs offense had become stagnant and the Grizzlies had finally broken the seal and scored on three straight possession.  I’m pretty sure Mo Williams expected a timeout, based on his body language as he crossed half-court.  But none was called and the Cavs settled for a terrible LeBron fall-away as the shot clock winded down.  The Grizzlies ramped up their energy and Tony Allen stole a rebound out of Kevin Love’s hands and converted a layup.  Obviously it didn’t affect the outcome, but if there is one criticism of Blatt backed by some hard evidence, it’s his sub-optimal use of timeouts.

Out of the timeout, J.R. Smith gave the Cavs a shot in the arm.  He chased down an offensive rebound which resulted in a Mo Williams triple.  Then he assisted on a Mozgov soft-slam before burying his own high-degree-of-difficulty jumper.  (Larry Hughes owned the PUJIT, J.R. Smith gets the HiDoD).  At this point I thought the Cavs defense showed some holes, and it was more about the Grizzlies playing like crap than the Cavs tightening the screws.  Tony Allen tried dribbling left-handed on a two-on-one fast break which resulted in him losing the ball out of bounds.  Mike Conley Jr. missed a wide open 3 from the right corner (same spot and same result as against the Warriors in the Semi-Finals).  The Cavs took a 53-32 lead into halftime despite a quiet half from LeBron.

Fun half to watch, Kevin Love's looking pretty comfortable out there

— Brendan Bowers (@BowersCLE) October 29, 2015

3rd Quarter: The first half wasn’t a fluke.  The Grizzlies built a Ziggurat tonight.  It’s almost not worth commenting on how good the Cavs D was or wasn’t because the situation didn’t dictate the result – everything the Grizzlies threw up clanked off the front iron.  Unless they painted that rim with fighter jet paint, it’s going to need to be touched up.

Paint looks good on this bird!

The Cavs put the Grizzlies to bed in the third quarter with some exceptional point guard play from Mo Williams (the first six minutes) and MattyDice (the back half).  Both of Kyrie Irving’s backups flashed some scoring swagger while keeping the offense dynamic and rewarding teammates for moving.  One of the coolest offensive sequences of the night started and ended with Delly at the top of the key.  But sandwiched in between Delly signaling a play to teammates and sticking a rhythm 3 was a helluvadova’of ball movement.  And in case I forget to mention it later – J.R. Smith has become a BASTIAN of unselfishness.

PAAAAAASSSSINNNNNNNNNNNG!

4th Quarter: Hey, didn’t Preseason end?!  I’m sorry I flipped on Spurs/Thunder.  I heard Jared Cunningham did some cool things.  About Cunningham, I think he really fits this team.  They need more athleticism and Cunningham attacks the basket pretty well.  He looked good again tonight.

I’m with Robert-> I love how the Cavs can really only make me feel good things right now.  I wash down my pre Jan-15th losses with a nice tall glass of of confident expectations (thanks to commenter, Cols) and yet I am giddy like a kid-on-the-last-day-of-school when they do great things.

https://vine.co/v/eYFv6P21LWt

Here’s a fun #hottake in lieu of 4th quarter box score analysis – when the Cavs “empty their bench” they may not be fated to a minus 60/48 point differential like last season.

They're playing the 'Six Feet Under' theme song here at FedEx Forum with the Cavs up by 30 in the 4th. That's one way to wave the white flag

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 29, 2015

Final Thoughts:

The Cavs put a good ol’ fashioned whoopin’ on the Grizzlies tonight.  The only guy from Memphis that could hit an outside shot was a fan that buried a half-court shot to win…a lifetime supply of Tater Tots???

While the beatdown was a bit surprising, it’s way too early in the season to take stock in box scores.  Weird things happen early in the season.  The Cavs could lay an egg against the Heat in two days and it won’t mean much.  The Bucks and Rockets both got blown outta their own arenas tonight by the Knicks and Nuggets, who may not combine to win 50 games this season.  That said, eight Cavaliers scored at least nine points!  There are meaningful take aways, and if I had to find a thread that ties them all together it’s in the title.  So what “returned” tonight?

1.) The Return of the Herculoids?  The question mark is intentionally there as a hedge but I loved what I saw tonight when Delly, Andy, and Richard Jefferson shared the court.  No surprise, their plus/minuses respectfully: +29, +17, and +19 (in 18, 11, and 18 minutes no less!).  RJ flashed some impressive court vision tonight.  Andy has always had a Herculoid heart – he moves without the ball about as well as #peak Luke Walton.

If this is sustained, do we call them the “New Herculoids”?  How about “Space Stars” because they are so good at moving to the open spots in  space?  With the full might of the C:tB community we can make this a thing you guys.

2.) The Return of Delly Making me Swoon – Delly’s become a folk hero in Cleveland for one reason.  He continues to surpass our expectations.  Few expected him to make the roster in 2013.  Few expected that almost-comeback against the Wizards where he single-handedly locked down Bradley Beal and almost stole the game back for the Cavs.  Few expected him to be a viable point guard given his unconventional style and apparent lack of talent.  NO ONE expected what he pulled off in the playoffs.  He became a Cleveland cult hero for his legendary closeout game against the Bulls.  He became a household name for his performance against Steph Curry.  Well, based on tonight, he’s not done surprising us.  I saw three things from Delly tonight that were unexpected.

1. His release is quicker on 3s.
2. He attempted (and converted) a contested 1v1 fastbreak layup by going underneath and finishing with his left hand.  (First time Delly has ever made a layup off the correct foot!)
3. And finally, something that may have gone unnoticed to some fans, Delly appeared to be a much more confident ball handler.

Early in the game, Mike Conley Jr. applied some heavy full-court pressure.  Delly never turned his back, paused, picked up his dribble, or even looked for help.  His handle looked tighter than I’ve ever seen it.  He went through his legs and started to blow by Conley who had to recover.  Then Delly crossed over, approached the top of the key, and called out the play.  As someone that has Damon Jones’ leg kick burned into my memories – I appreciate the little things, like being able to competently handle point guard duties.  More than just bringing the ball up the court, the improved handle allowed Delly to create space with his dribble to make passes that he otherwise would have trouble making.  Remember last year how Delly would make 3 or 4 awesome plays in a row and then remind us of his limitations by trying to throw that cross court pass to the left corner?  The one that got picked off ALL THE TIME.  It’s because he saw an opening but had to wait until he dribbled forward to create some space to jump and make the pass.

Tonight I saw him do things I’ve never seen him do with the ball in his hands and it created the space he needed to run a creative offense.  Old Delly would just fire chest passes to the next closest guy on the wing and then sprint around the court trying to set picks and stuff.  It was endearing but ultimately limiting, especially when Delly’s minutes started getting ratcheted up.  Maybe the “playmaking” drop off won’t be so severe now.

Oh this definitely went in. Delly’s in danger of making us expect these wrong-legged shot-puts to clank in.

3.) The Return of Kevin Love – Story of the game.  K Love splashing 3s, establishing himself on the block, protecting the glass, firing the outlets, and looking like the most skilled big man on the court (which featured Zach Randolph).  Thirteen rebounds in under 30 minutes?  That’s the gaudy K Love stat line that carried my fantasy team in 2013.  Return of his floor game, anyway.  Seriously how is this the same person?

4.) The Return of the Wild Thing – I saw limited preseason and thought: “Andy looks spry!”  That has only been reinforced by the first two games of the season.  He looks quick, he keeps the ball moving on offense, and he’s grabbing rebounds (five in just 11 minutes tonight).

5.) The Return of Good J.R. Smith – Unselfish to the point of bouncing great passes off unsuspecting teammates, committed to defense, providing that occasional bail out HiDoD jumper.  As J.R.’s ability to get the rack wanes it’s important that he hone his floor game and keep out of trouble.  So far so good.  Interesting that the NBA rescinded his tech against the Bulls.  That was a turning point in the game.  I thought the refs screwed the Cavs with the call and the tech – at least they admitted the tech was unwarranted.  J.R. turns away in disbelief but he didn’t appear to “show up” any official and he certainly didn’t seek out a confrontation.

6.) The Return of the GOOSIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was secretly hoping that Mo would bring back the Goosie and that the Cavs would go back to the fun-loving antics of 2008.  Those days may be over, and maybe it’s just going to be Mo’s thing, not a team-wide phenomenon.  Still, when he flashed it tonight, it brought back all the nostalgia.  AC and Fred loved it.  In a more symbolic sense, Mo Williams has brought an element of the 2008-2009 Cavs back to this team.  I think we have all underestimated how effective of a playmaking point guard he is.  We remember how apocalyptically bad he was in 2011 and assumed that was the start of a precipitous drop off.  The dude can still play.

He had five dimes to just two turnovers and stuck 3/6 triples.  More than that, his demeanor is just so intoxicating on offense.  He’s very purposeful.  While he’s never been the most effective point guard, he loves to push the tempo, loves to drive baseline (a lost art), loves to jack up the occasional pull-up jumper (one of the few guys in the league that you’re OK with taking mid-range Js), and he’s just a fun player to watch to boot.  The 2008-2009 Cavs won 16 more games than the 2007-2008 Cavs and Mo Williams was a huge part of that.  He knows how to play with LeBron and he is exactly what the Cavs needed out of a bargain Vet – can run an offense and stick outside shots.  I’m really glad Mo’s back.

Here’s something we saw tonight that isn’t “The Return of” anything EVER: The Cavs dominated start to finish in a game where LeBron played poorly.  His shooting line of 30/0/50 % was awful.  Discounting his rookie season, LeBron has only had 17 games (reg season and playoffs) where he failed to score more than 12 points.

If you haven’t read Nate’s Cavalier missive on the Cavs, well, you should – it’s phenomenal.  His bit on LBJ is spot on:

For the first time in your career, for your team to be truly great, there are going to be times you need to defer. I know, I know. That sounds crazy. But for this to work – long term – Kyrie and Kevin are going to have to be your equal at times – in the playoffs especially.

Managing your effort is going to be your biggest challenge. The team feeds off you. Coasting to start the season, like last year’s 19-20? That’s tough to come back from. I’d rather 28 minutes of fired up LeBron rather than 40 minutes of a tired King. Figure out the minutes expectation and how to pace yourself for bursts of excellence throughout the season. Remember, everyone feeds off you. When your effort is down and your body language is negative, so is your team’s. I know it’s hard to be “up” all the time. That’s part of why you need other guys to take up the leadership mantle. They’ll pick you up and pick the team up when you need help. You’re going to have to trust them.

LeBron didn’t play well tonight but his body language and approach were fine.  He actually had a handful of steals that led to run outs.  Thanks to the nature of the Cavs blowout he only had to play 31 minutes.  The Cavs don’t need to ride LeBron until the playoffs.  He can play himself into shape – let’s just hope he breaks out of his shooting slump (that’s he has essentially had since returning to Cleveland).

It’s time to have fun.