Recap: Cavs 120, Kings 111 (Or, Waiting for Last Year)

Whatever crisis of confidence you may have in the Cavaliers, your heart is undoubtedly less despairing than it was on January 15th of last year. At some time after 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the Cavaliers, standing at 19-20, found themselves down by four after giving up 61 first half points to the hapless 12-18 Los Angeles Lakers.  The trades for J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert hadn’t gotten the Cavs back on track.  The trade for Timofey Mozgov would not move the needle, and even LeBron, back from his hiatus, didn’t right the ship, as the Cavs lost to the average-at-best Phoenix Suns.

Suddenly under .500, and struggling to impose their will on a terrible team, the season seemed lost.  I anticipated that David Blatt would be fired if the Cavs were embarrassed on National TV to the Lakers. Kevin Love, enduring all of the negative media attention and Cleveland fan anxiety, had little time to worry about such trivial things, with back spasms keeping him from being able to jump or stand erect.  Charles Barkley joked in the post-game highlights that “you can beat the Lakers with back spasms, though, Ernie.” (background laughter ensues)

If you watch that clip, you’ll notice that Delly and TT literally peeled Kevin Love off the floor after he accepted a fairly forceful charge from Jeremy Lin.  What a gutsy play!  In the most prophetic moment of the 2014-2015 NBA season, our own Nate Smith wrote that night (emphasis mine):

Then, Kevin Love made the play of the game on defense. He took a charge on a Jeremy Lin drive from just outside the circle that just looked like it hurt. Kevin crumpled like a sack of potatoes. He was noticeably shaken, and it took four Cavs to help him up. It was Cleveland’s grittiest defensive stop of the year. If this season has a turning point, that was it. It was positively inspirational.

Well, I’m going to try to pull a Natestrodamus.

Tonight, with the Cavs struggling to impose their will against a 25-38 Kings team, Kevin Love was taking a beating on CavsTwitter and in our Live Thread.

David Blatt would have taken Kevin Love out awhile ago

— Michael Cousins (@M_Cousins91) March 10, 2016

Tyronn Lue stayed with Love from the eight minute mark until the game’s dramatic conclusion, despite some uneven energy and a sequence where DeMarcus Cousins abused the Cavs so thoroughly that Fred and A.C. interrupted themselves mid-thought to exclaim “they’re going to have to change up how they’re defending Cousins.”  Love missed not one, not two, but three 3-point attempts in crunch time.  Most were wide open.  And then, thank Heavens, he broke through, and gave the Kings a Banana Republic in the tailpipe.

Kevin Love converts 4 point play gets love from his Cavs teammates pic.twitter.com/kNpg9dMo76

— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 10, 2016

This is the moment the Cavs, the fans, Kevin Love, LeBron James, Tyronn Lue, Kyrie Irving… this is the moment we’ve been waiting for.  We’ve been waiting for last year.  For January 15th.  I think we got it tonight.  I think this is the moment.  Notice the visceral reaction from Kevin Love.  You never see that sort of demonstrative fist pumping.  Look at J.R. Smith.  Here’s a more fun angle:

https://vine.co/v/iH5mAndLlZI

Notice Kyrie and Tristan and LeBron immediately fired up and waiting their turn to bruise Kevin Love’s chest and bark sweet nothings in his ear.  And Cleveland let out a collective UNNGH!!! Ball game.

It’s just one shot, and Kevin Love re-iterated the proper perspective in his post game answers: “I’m not going to act like it’s the biggest thing in the world”.

.@KevinLove's big four-point play had the @Cavs going crazy. The big man talks about getting out of a recent funk. https://t.co/bgo7fKcav6

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) March 10, 2016

But it wasn’t just one shot.  It was the culmination of some under-the-radar improvements in the Cavs’ identity that started almost immediately after Tyronn Lue was promoted.  The Cavs, more than at any time over the last year and a half, have lately shown a commitment to keep Kevin Love involved on offense. Tonight, they stuck to that commitment, even as the game hung in the balance.  In the first quarter, the Cavs ran the same action repeatedly:  KLove set a screen for the ball-handler (usually LeBron), and instead of the ball-handler using the screen, he waited while Love slipped behind both defenders to create some separation.  The ball-handler would then pitch a pass to Love, who would catch it at the free throw line or the free throw line extended, and immediately pivot into the triple threat position.  This (repeatedly) forced the defense to collapse, and the Cavs found themselves with wide open 3-point attempts, as long as they made the requisite number of perimeter passes to stay a step ahead of the closeouts.  It worked to perfection.  Here’s an example that starts a bit late and doesn’t quite capture the interaction between LeBron and Love that led to the initial pass.  Trust my description above and enjoy the result.

https://vine.co/v/iHibBEiiYKV

I wish I could DVR games so I could tell you what the Cavs’ points per possession were when they began offensive possessions with this screen-slipping action from Kevin Love to get him the ball near the free throw line, with the defense not already in position to push him back. But, regardless of the results, the Cavs were getting any look they wanted around the perimeter.  It’s one of the reasons they jacked up 44 threes.  Also, the off-ball action (especially from LeBron, Kyrie, and J.R.) showed a prescience from the weak side that we’re not used to seeing from the Cavs.  So, the Cavs, despite having trouble stopping the Kings at the other end, stayed true to their offensive game plan and didn’t revert to hero ball when the goin’ got tough (as LeBron and Kyrie are often wont to do).

And, I gotta tell you about my favorite sequence of the night, the final breadcrumb indicating that we may be almost home.  With under three minutes remaining, and the Cavs having squandered a nine point lead, LeBron and Kevin Love ran a slick give-and-go to earn Love a pair of free throws that he canned.  It was the antithesis of what we’re used to from LeBron in these situations.  He’s either jacking up from outside, putting his head down, or, oftentimes, doing everything in his power to draw attention so that he can jump pass to the nearest out-of-rhythm teammate.  Not this time.  LeBron and Love ran a crisp play that smelled so, I don’t know, just completely free of the normal desperation under these circumstances.

The hope is that these decisions are habit forming.  Whether it’s showing patience with Kevin Love when he seems a bit overmatched or lacking energy, or just initiating their offensive action by finding him in a favorable triple threat position from the middle of the half-court.

The optimist in me believes that Kevin Love’s game-sealing 4-point play was the necessary vindication the Cavs (from Kyrie, to LeBron, to Ty Lue, to even Kevin Love) needed to continue on this path.  The galvanizing moment, similar to the charge Love accepted last season despite the nagging back spasms.

To the recap:

1st Quarter:

The Cavs opened the game with some fun spin moves from LeBron (layup) and Kyrie (nasty 3-pointer shown below).

OH MY, KYRIE! 🔥😱 #CavsNation #Cavs #Kings #NBA https://t.co/EECmFNWVk0

— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) March 10, 2016

They played with reasonable energy, and a bit too much enthusiasm, as they tried for home-run full court passes on a number of occasions, with less-than-stellar results.  As I mentioned above, they made a concerted effort to start many possessions with some 2-man action between Kevin Love and the primary ball-handler from the left wing.  LeBron did something he rarely does on two straight possessions: he faded to the right and stuck jumpers.

Lebron's got the jumper going! #CavsNation #Cavs #Kings #NBA https://t.co/E6kB2epEsJ

— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) March 10, 2016

You may recall, in Game 5, LeBron hit two huge shots fading right.  Those were rare shots for LeBron, then and now.  He’s much more comfortable fading to the left.  TT had three offensive rebounds in the first quarter to earn the Cavs the lead despite being outshot by the Kings.  28-25.

2nd Quarter:

Kyrie ignited the nightly feud between those that focus on Kyrie’s defensive ineptitude and take his otherworldly offensive mastery for granted, and those that focus on Kyrie’s wizardry and pretend like he’s not one of the worst defensive players in the league.  And, tonight, it was almost like Kyrie was trolling us. After missing a wide open corner three, he refused to follow his shot (which bounced right back towards him), and then nipped at Darren Collison’s ankles for 75 feet.  When Collison put the brakes on in the paint, Kyrie stayed glued to his back hip. He stayed between Collison and the basket the entire play.  The Cavs basket.  As the groans reached a boiling point, Kyrie left us, mouths agape, with two straight filthy layups. Patently Mosconi-esque english.  Take a look.

Kyrie takes the hit and scores! #CavsNation #Cavs #Kings #NBA https://t.co/ifnPXr8hRT

— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) March 10, 2016

KYRIE TAKING HIM TO SCHOOL! #CavsNation #Cavs #Kings #NBA https://t.co/i1RYuUQYRE

— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) March 10, 2016

Yes, Kyrie Irving is a fun case study in the confirmation bias of fans.

I just don't know how you turn on these games on make the judgment that Kyrie is the problem.

— David Zavac (@DavidZavac) March 10, 2016

I’m not implying David Zavac is wrong, but he’s the yang and there’s a stubborn yin that clashes with him almost daily about Kyrie.  I saw the whole gamut tonight, with Kyrie being offered up in trades, and Cory Hughey entering after a particularly highlight-filled sequence in the second half, and proclaiming that he’d dump The Chosen One before trading Kyrie.

https://twitter.com/MrDee25/status/707775056844365824

Despite the Kyrie and-ones, the Kings would not go away.  Rudy Gay hit a couple of threes, and Caron “Tough Juice” Butler emerged, sans the McDonald’s Straw, and proceeded to give the Kings a boost.

Caron Butler flexes his flabby arm after a three. Amazing.

— David Zavac (@DavidZavac) March 10, 2016

The Cavs traded buckets until the end of the half, when some poor defense allowed Collison and Rajon Rondo to get into the lane and finish.  The Kings added a few transition buckets to push their lead to 10.  At the half, they led 60-54.

3rd Quarter:

This tweet perfectly describes the start:

Since none of the 5 on the floor bothered to move toward Darren Collison on that corner 3, Lue takes timeout less than 1 minute into 3rd.

— Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) March 10, 2016

The Cavs got a little lucky here.  The game could have gotten out of hand, as they were not executing well on offense.  But the Kings resorted to Demarcus Cousins threes and other head-scratching decisions, and J.R. Smith canned two threes that really didn’t materialize from good offense.  Then, the Cavaliers flipped the switch a bit starting with a facial from TT.

Double T doesn't shy away from throwing the hammer down over Boogie Cousins!!@Cavs closing the gap in the third. https://t.co/Yp9xXcETZ4

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) March 10, 2016

The Kings continued a trend of missing lots of layups, and the Cavs reeled off a 10-1 run.  That gave them some breathing room, and then they started trading baskets as the Kings got out of their 3-point-happy shot selection and #FREEDCASSPI.  LeBron finished a ridiculous and-1, where the collision from Quincy Acy would have knocked a significant portion of adult males unconscious.  LeBron absorbed the assault and kissed a feathery bank shot off the glass.

Quincy Acy basically threw a Charles Oakley-level open court tackle on Lebron and Bron still completed an and-1. Just absurd.

— Robert H (@bandwagonknick) March 10, 2016

After that, it was vintage Kyrie, the kind we haven’t seen much this year.  He pulled up from way downtown (the Arenas special before Curry hijacked everything), and sank that before lulling Rondo to sleep and burying one at the buzzer.  We’ve seen a lot of this in Kyrie’s career, and it’s been conspicuously absent this season (even as the mid-range and below the rim finishes have been as magnificent as ever).

https://vine.co/v/iHiEDrFh6LF

MFQ arrived to the party a bit early, which was fine.  Cavs went into the final frame ahead 89-84.

4th Quarter:

The Cavs got into the bonus early, and this quarter took forever.  Every time I would look up, the clock was somehow stuck at eight minutes and something.  Tyronn Lue received his first technical (I think), and the Kings tied the game at 96.  This was around the moment A.C. and Fred thought the Cavs needed to change up their defensive approach with respect to DeMarcus Cousins.  They may have done some things differently, but I mostly noticed that TT just played a little grittier down the stretch, forcing DMC to miss even more bunnies.  DMC gave a little shove after a made basket that earned him a tech.  And, then, the unthinkable happened!

https://twitter.com/tompestak/status/707795591531724800

I was joking of course, but maybe I backed into some foreshadowing.  It is good to know that LeBron didn’t overrule logic to go clank a Craig Counsel-esque torque-throw off the back iron. Delly swished, and the fourth quarter trudged on — like this recap!  At this point, both teams seemed too exhausted to both play defense and secure defensive rebounds.  The O-boards flowed like milk and honey in the promised land. Kyrie finished a lefty lay-in to give the Cavs a 109-100 lead with five minutes to go.  But, they let the Kings back into it.  Love, J.R., and LeBron all took turns missing threes (come on guys, you were in the bonus), and the lead dwindled to one.  But then, the give-and-go between LeBron and Kevin Love, and finally, the exclamation point.

But the turning point?  We hope.  We’ve been anxiously waiting for last year.  Maybe we’ll look back at this moment as the one where LeBron abdicated his throne to become a cog in the democracy. Where the Big-3 branches of government began to respect each other’s powers, and work together to ensure domestic tranquility.  A (banana…{chuckles}) republic, if you can keep it.

https://twitter.com/CLEsportsTalk/status/707802894347735041