Point Four-ward: Taking Out the “Trash”

The Cavs battled for a gritty offensive win (oxymoron?) by overcoming the Wizards in DC in overtime with LeBron on the bench after fouling out early in the extra session.  With all four healthy starters (Iman Shumpert left with an ankle sprain, of course) logging 40+ minutes in the game, the Cavs matched the intensity that the Wizards wanted.  As John Wall stated that this game was the “biggest regular season game in his career”, the remainder of the healthy Cavs players thwarted his mission to win with timely defense and spectacular offense.

Quietly, the Cavs have won five out of the last six and while there is a bunch of “outside noise”, the Cavs are focused on improving and getting through the lulls of the regular season.  Regarding the reports of a Melo-Love trade, here’s what James had to say…

LeBron responds to the recent K Love/Melo trade rumors… pic.twitter.com/zmLTovOpxN

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 7, 2017

1. The Cavs won despite some circumstances against them in DC

The Wizards circled this game and made it a mission of theirs to win, which was obvious from John Wall’s sentiment with respect to a game in early February.  In addition to some interesting calls by Tony Brothers and company, the Cavs also had to deal with a strange technical foul when an official believed that a profanity laced exchange between Coach Lue and Tristan Thompson (on the floor at the time) was directed at him.  The Cavs also lost Iman Shumpert to friendly fire, when he stepped on Kevin Love‘s foot.  Shumpert left the game and did not return, logging just 24 minutes in this one.

Finally, despite an amazing shot by LeBron to force overtime, James, who entered the period with five fouls already, committed his sixth in the first 90 seconds, forcing Kyrie and Kevin to step up in his place.  While this game was an entertaining affair (covered here by John Krolik), the Cavs still managed to give up 135 points…..

#LeBronJames & #KyrieIrving provided some CLUTCH shots down the stretch for the @cavs in the OT thriller vs Washington! 😬 pic.twitter.com/f7h1khaPnt

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 7, 2017

2. Carmelo trade rumors won’t die down

Despite reports of the Kevin Love for Carmelo Anthony trades continuing to dominate the news circuit, Kevin Love has been outstanding in the last couple of games coming back from injury. Posting double-doubles in his last two games, Love has gone 23-16 against the Knicks and 39-12 against the Wizards.  It is somewhat hilarious that the reporter whom LeBron referred to as “trash” has predicted Kevin Love to be shipped out for the past three seasons, only to be wrong time and time again.

Frank Isola has literally had Kevin Love being traded or leaving in free agency three years in a row pic.twitter.com/l5ApyPT8ma

— Bottlegate (@Bottlegate) February 7, 2017

That being said, the media machine gets all revved up and analysts/pundits debate if a move should be made or not.  I wouldn’t do the deal at all.  Even Frank Isola, the author of the article causing the stir, said he wouldn’t do the deal if he were the Cavs.  However, it’s almost as if there is not enough going on during this time of the year and the pot has be stirred.

3. Iman Shumpert absence will hurt

As Iman Shumpert left the game last night, many probably wondered what will the Cavs do going forward.  With JR Smith already out until at least April, not only are the Cavs down a playmaker, but now also have a depth chart crunch at the wing spot.

In the 13 starts Shumpert has had this season, he’s shot 45.5% from three point range, a vast improvement over his 37.0% as a bench player. In addition, his scoring averages went from 7.0 ppg as a reserve to 10.1 as a starter.  The looks Shumpert got on offense in the starting rotation were definitely better, hence leading to better percentages, but Shump deserves credit too.  With Iman likely missing some time (hopefully minimal), Ty Lue will likely have to juggle the minutes of Kyle Korver, Jordan McRae and DeAndre Liggins to fill the role.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kISHuZPGL80

4. Cavs will need to make a move

After the Cavs had a “mega-workout” with four solid veterans, it was widely reported that Jordan Farmar and not Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson or Kirk Hinrich would be signed. However, with the injury to Shumpert and lack of bodies starting to really rack up, the Cavs have to be anxious to get to All-Star Weekend.  Hoping to come back refreshed and recharged from the mid-season break, the Cavs will more than likely have a couple of new faces in the coming weeks, whether it be a buyout candidate (Andrew Bogut, Jose Calderon, Deron Williams) or Farmar, it won’t be Lance Stephenson, who signed a 10 day contract with the Timberwolves.

With arguably their best perimeter defender (outside of an engaged LeBron) out, Stephenson would have worked well.  Despite his alleged beef with LeBron, almost anybody with NBA experience may help this squad, as currently there are only 11-12 healthy bodies on any given night and Lance would have best fit the “Shumpert” role.

Regardless, the Cavs will more than likely make a move, sooner rather than later, to help keep the minutes down for their guys. That’s more important now than ever, with LeBron’s age, Kevin’s back issues, and Kyrie’s leg ailments.  While none of these seem serious long term, keeping the minutes down over the course of the rest of the season should help in the long run.