Recap: Cavs 102, 76ers 101 (Or, Inconsistent As They Wanna Be)

The Cavs played an extremely inconsistent game. For bits of it, they were racing down the court and getting easy 3s and layups before Philly’s defense was set. They had 40 fast break points, and only 18 points off the Sixer’s 17 turnovers! At other points in the game, they couldn’t create any offense in their half court sets and were settling for 3s (14-38). Defensively, the Wine and Gold struggled to keep Philly from having a good shot available. There seemed to be two Cavaliers in the same exact spot on the defensive end for reasons unknown to the world because they weren’t executing traps. Thankfully, the Sixers didn’t always find the open man or they would have shot much higher than 46% from the field. The Cavs shot just 40%, which helps explain why this game went down to the last possession.

LeBron James played his usual laid back ball until the team really needed points late in quarters. He had 25 points, 14 assists, and 8 rebounds. He also assisted on or scored the Cavs’ final ten points in this game.

Kyrie Irving was awful for most of the night. He went 3-17 from the field and missed all five of his 3-point attempts. He struggled to keep anyone in front of him, but in the fourth quarter he had two big steals and took a charge to prevent the Sixers from increasing their lead in the final minutes.

Kevin Love had the best night of any Cav. He had 20 points on 8-16 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, and he was active getting to his spots.

The first quarter started out well for both teams. The Cavs went to Love immediately. His first score came when LeBron shuffle passed him the ball for a 3-pointer. The next play Love caught the ball a few feet in from the 3-line and jab stepped before hitting a jumper over Dario Saric. A play later he pump faked Saric into fouling him on a mid-range jumper. The Cavs went up 14-7, but the Sixers managed to rip off seven straight to tie it back up. At the 3:00 minute mark, the Cavs went on a 17-0 run. It started when the King penetrated and found Richard Jefferson in the weak side corner. Jefferson drove across the court and tossed up a layup while getting fouled for an And-1. A few plays later, the King ran the length of the floor after a rebound and got a layup.

The fun really started though when James  kept sprinting the length of the floor with a fellow Cavalier going straight to the sideline for an easy deep ball. Each 3 came from the same spot. It seemed as if the Cavs had found some bizarre strip of air at that point on the court that wanted to suck the ball straight down for three points automatically. Shumpert tried the spot out the first time.

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Mike Dunleavy tested that air patch the second time.

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And, Frye checked it out the third time.

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The King capped the run by getting out on the break and getting fouled while trying to finish. He made both freebies and the Cavs finished the first twelve minutes up, 34-19.

The second quarter started out with Iman Shumpert slamming all over Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, owner of a negative PER. Shump just did a simple crossover coming down court in transition to get the highlight.

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The Cavs went up by as many as 18, but the Sixers battled back in the middle of the quarter. They kept fighting to get the ball down low to their big men for fouls or easy layups. And, then to make things even tougher Joel Embiid and Ersan Ilyasova both hit completely open 3-pointers, which further flustered an already rattled Cavs defense.

Love only had five points in the quarter, but he had seven boards and demanded the ball. At one point, he was screaming for the ball and hand fighting with Ilyasova to get him onto his back on the right side of the floor by the baseline. When he finally got the ball from J.R. Smith, he turned inside and took the ball hard to the rack. He got the ball to fall, but Embiid laid him out with some hip on hip mid-air contact. The refs didn’t call it.

The Sixers got within three, but the King took over the final three minutes leading a 10-2 run. He finished a touchdown pass from Love for two of his seven points (including an And-1)that all came on the break. He also dished it to Love in transition for a 3-pointer. The Cavs entered the locker room ahead, 57-46.

The third quarter was the worst one for Cleveland. The Sixers scored seven straight and the Cavs called a timeout two minutes in. After the timeout, they showed some life. LeBron hit a long two and then stole the ball going the length of the floor for a layup. Embiid tried to stop him, but just made a risky play hitting him on the hit while he was in the air.

That near flagrant didn’t slow Embiid though as he had 13 points, and hit all three of the absurdly open 3s he was given. Defensively, the Cavs did almost nothing. They kept dropping into the mid-range area to deter penetration, but the Sixers passed behind them (they were 6-9 at the rim), or hit 3s.

The Cavs kept settling on offense throughout the quarter. They took 12 threes, but made just 3 of them. It was aggravating because they were effective going at the rim. Irving was horrendous going 1-6 on nearly all isolation type play.

Cleveland’s 3rd Quarter Shot Chart

Love continued his tenacious play. Midway through the quarter, he caught a beautiful over the top pass that resulted in him taking Robert Covington and Embiid to the ground as he finished his layup. The Sixers had a 34 point quarter. Cleveland went into the fourth up by one basket, 82-80.

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The Cavs started the fourth quarter with Love and the bench guys. After less than a minute, T.J. McConnell scored a running jumper in semi-transition to tie the game up. The defense faltered, as they tried to get another lead. Early on Dunleavey was burned by Stauskas for a layup, and then Frye fouled Dario Saric when Dario drove into the paint. Both teams traded buckets much of the quarter. Jahlil Okafor had six in the first few minutes to keep the Sixers moving forward.

The King checked back into the game with 6:53 left and Philly up by three. Henderson immediately rose over James for a 17 foot jumper to extend the lead to 91-96. The King was sagging off. That was Jame’s last error though. He then picked the team up, this seems to be a common narrative this season in the fourth quarter, and carried them the rest of the game.

The Cavs struggled to break into the deficit for a full minute. The score finally moved when the King used a J.R. screen to get into the paint for a solid dunk. J.R.’s man, T.J., wanted nothing to do with switching onto an angry James. James then responded to an Embiid jump shot with a three to cut Philly’s lead down to two. And, then, knowing the T.J. isn’t the best defender, the King found JR coming off a TT screen up high for a 3 to give the Cavs a lead, 99-98.

The lead was short lived though, as Ilyasova was left open at the 3-line and Sergio Rodriquez found him. The Sixers tried to extend their lead, but the Cavs had a bit of luck. On what appeared to be a sure thing layup by Robert Covington, Irving slid in to take a charge. The Cavs took a timeout at that point and subbed in Frye for TT.  LeBron then found Frye for a 3 when Embiid dropped into the paint to prevent LeBron from driving to the rim.  The remaining minute of play with the Cavs up by just one was very hectic.

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The Sixers tried to get the ball to Embiid out of their timeout, but the Cavs crashed down and trapped him. J.R. came over immediately. Embiid forced a lazy pass to the weak side and Kyrie picked it off. Then Kyrie threw it down the floor to an invisible Cav. He thought someone would be running down to get a quick bucket, but was wrong. The Sixers wound up with the ball. They then pushed it up the floor, but Kyrie pressured Sergio into a turnover off of his own leg. The Cavs then missed a 3, and the Sixers sprinted the ball up the floor again.

They took a timeout with seven seconds to go. The first time they tried to inbound the ball, Cleveland’s defense was so tight they had to take a time out. The second time, they got the ball to Gerald Henderson. Henderson had some steam going to the basket, but veered away as he jumped for a shot. J.R. Smith ripped the ball from him and the Cavs won by one point. The refs saw no contact.

Gripes

-The Cavs couldn’t lock down and finish the Sixers off at any point. They were up by 18, and the Sixers just got back in it. Cleveland needs to figure out how to bring defensive pressure when they are up, instead of just rolling over. Philly shot 61% in the third quarter.

–Joel Embiid is a straight animal. He had 22 points (7-13), four blocks, and six rebounds in 25 minutes. He also hit all four of his 3s. His shooting stroke looks amazing for a big guy. The Cavs couldn’t contain him when he got good positioning down low, and no Cavalier wanted to cover him out to the 3-line. Embiid is a little dangerous right now. He doesn’t realize how strong he is and definitely hurt Kevin Love when he dropped him to the ground. His LeBron chasedown attempt also could have ended badly if he had undercut him.

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-The Cavs didn’t want to chase any big man out to the 3-line. Ersan Ilyasova had 22 points and hit four of his six 3s.

-Jahlil Okafor will be in the league for a long time. His ability to get buckets can raise up any second unit. He had 14 points on 11-14 shots. His one dribble spin move to the hoop caught the Cavs off guard a few times.

-Sergio Rodriquez had 11 assists and six rebounds. I didn’t notice his assists, but Embiid doesn’t struggle to get the ball where he wants it, so Sergio must be doing something right.

-It was bizarre that Tyronn Lue didn’t use his bench more, although he probably got scared that the 76ers were going to take this win. Either way, Lue needs to get the bench integrated to save the King’s body for later in the season.

-The refs were awful tonight. They missed a goal tending call and let both teams beat each other down low. It didn’t ruin the outcome of the game, but sometimes you gotta protect the players. Love was mauled by Embiid a few times.

Hypes

-The Cavs had 40 fast break points, which is unbelievable. They used their transition game to get out on big runs. LeBron orchestrated all of the runs by making sure he just got the ball up the floor before the Sixers could get up the floor. It was simple and beautiful. Lue needs to show the Cavs the tape of that stuff, because it could help them become even more deadly offensively.

–Kevin Love looks like a star again. He not only got a double-double, he showed that he can run the second unit offense. The Cavs just need to work on getting him the ball when he’s in the post and trying to do work.

–Tristan Thompson had seven points and 13 boards. He did a decent job on Embiid, outside of not following him out to the 3-line. TT showed how to stop paint warrior Joel though. You just have to be physical against him. TT made Embiid fall to the ground at least twice when he bodied him. Embiid is still bulking up.

-This was one game. The Cavs should use it as a lesson. They have a ton of talent, but that isn’t always enough to win. Tonight it barely saved them, and the Sixers are one of the worst teams in the league. They won’t always get lucky.

-LeBron passed Hakeem Olajuwon for tenth on the all time scoring list.