Recap: Thunder 118, Cavs 109 (or, No Rest For The Weary)

In his post-game comments after the Cavs had turned the lights out on the Pacers in Indiana, Tyronn Lue alarmed the media and OKC fans alike by announcing that he was planning to hit the snooze button and let all three of the All-Stars on his roster have a night of rest against the Thunder. After all, the guys had been on the road for almost a week… had already played three games in five nights (including one that went to overtime)… and were probably due for a little time off after putting together a 3-0 trip. It seemed especially prudent given Lue’s seemingly renewed sense of dedication to find whatever respite he could for LeBron James (who had averaged 40 mpg in the first three games on the road). And, since he hasn’t really been able to cut down LBJ’s minutes, why not just give him a full 48 off and sit him on the second night of a back to back?

Unfortunately, the best laid plans don’t always come to fruition. As you might guess from the metaphorical unruffled bed above, rather than rest… there was a long night in store for the weary Cavalier stars. Whether the culprit was the noise being made by the media about sitting stars for a nationally televised game… or the restlessness of his own players to finish the four game road sweep (something the Cavs haven’t done since 1994), Ty decided to change his mind about an hour before tip off and play everyone who was healthy. And, once he made his bed, he had to lie in it.

Bedtime Story

Once upon a time… okay, I’m a little tired myself, so this won’t be an exhaustive retelling of events. And, actually, you’ve heard the beginning of this story as recently as the night before anyway. Just like in the Pacers game, the Cavs were sleepwalking a bit at the start defensively, and let the Thunder beat them in transition and from the perimeter. Instead of CJ Miles and Jeff Teague knocking down uncontested shots, it was Victor Oladipo and Cameron Payne. Even though they caught up halfway through the first, the Thunder closed out the period on a 10-0 run. OKC pushed the advantage out to as much as 12 (it was 15 against Indy) in the second by thoroughly dominating the boards and forcing turnovers before the Cavs woke up on defense. With the Thunder blanketing their shooters on the outside, the wine & gold got it going inside and (eventually) at the line, which loosened the OKC defense up enough for some timely threes. Where they only closed the gap on the Pacers by halftime, they actually passed the Thunder to take a two point lead into the locker room.

Frye for 3. Here come the @cavs!#NBARapidReplay @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/gjR5OgEjl9

— NBA (@NBA) February 10, 2017

Unfortunately, there was no storybook third quarter scoring explosion like the one that arrived the night before, as there were few open looks for the Cavalier shooters to be found. With Russell Westbrook dictating the flow and Steven Adams controlling the paint, the Thunder re-took the lead going into the final chapter. There was a glimmer of hope when Kyle Korver hit a three with under a minute to go in the third (his first shot attempt of the game), and followed that up with five more points to start the fourth. And, Kyrie channeled his inner MFQ to go mano y mano with Russ, tying the ballgame at 99 with five minutes to go. At that point, the hope was that LeBron would find his second wind to help finish off the four game road sweep, but he looked to be clearly out of gas. Westbrook canned successive mid-range jumpers over Kyrie, and then dished a couple dimes for Oladipo triples (and a super lame 360 layup… yes, layup, not dunk… to notch his 26th triple double of the season)… to give the Thunder a 10 point lead and put the Cavs to sleep for good.

Rest Is For The Weak?

I’ve honestly given up trying to figure out Tyronn Lue’s philosophy on rest. On one level, he’s the same guy who coached this team to a championship last season, so in general he’s earned the benefit of the doubt on most fronts. He surprised me by playing LeBron on the front end of the back to back in Indiana, since I figured he’d have played him in the nationally televised game against the Thunder. Then, when he announced he was most likely going to give all of the big three the night off, I thought it was a bold choice, but probably the right one in the long run. After all, he’s made no secret of the plan to give LBJ a night off for certain back to backs as a preferred compensatory measure to cutting his minutes in the games he does play. So, to turn around and go from considering sitting LeBron out to riding him for 41 minutes makes little sense to me. Most of the guys looked weary from the four games in six nights road trip, but King James looked particularly gassed in the second half. Before the game, Lue said his players talked him into letting them suit up and keep the win streak rolling. While that may be true, it’s also possible that external pressure from the backlash of not playing his stars in a big network game may have also played a part in the final decision. Afterwards, he stuck to his guns about playing his stars.

“I thought it was good to go through something tough,” Lue said. “It was a tough game for us, four games in six nights and it was just good to fight through, not give in. Guys came out, they played, I like how we competed. They played better and they won tonight.”

This was likely a schedule loss anyway, with the Cavs on the end of a tough road trip and the Thunder home and rested since Monday, so Ty’s original instinct to rest the guys was a good one. At some point though, something will have to give here. Yes, the Cavs have been beset with injuries (J.R., Shump, etc.), and they still don’t have another playmaker yet (sorry KShrimp), but playing LeBron to exhaustion will undoubtedly result in diminishing returns both in the near future and down the road in May and June. At least the All Star Break is coming up soon…

Heavy Lies The Crown

LeBron James looked tired in this game. Yes, he scored 16 points in the first half on 7-13 shooting to lead the Cavs, but he had only two points the rest of the way… zero in the fourth quarter (in which he played all but the final minute). He also had half of the Cavs’ 14 assists, although only three came in the second half (two on the mini Korver flurry). You wouldn’t even need to look at the numbers however to clearly see he had some heavy legs out there. He had to check out a little earlier than usual in the first quarter as he seemed winded from the pace of play the Thunder were running… and he badly missed not one but two open dunks. His turnovers weren’t as numerous as some other recent games (only three), but two of them were self-inflicted where he just dribbled the ball off his foot or made a careless pass. For most normal players, an 18/7/5 slash line would be a good night, but these figures were weighed down from LBJ’s regal standards. And, while it’s not always much fun to watch the Cavs struggle without LeBron when he sits out for rest, it’s decidedly less fun to watch him play when he’s too tired to be effective.

Not Tired… Wired

Kyrie clearly had the most energy of the big three on the offensive end of things, as he seemed to have his legs under him both from downtown (4-5) and when finishing at the rim (11-18 overall from the field). This shot was particularly magical…

Uncle Drew coming out for the 4Q 👀 pic.twitter.com/YAqRj0mMzG

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 10, 2017

He definitely appeared to recognize that he was going to have to take the reins in the second half with LeBron flagging, although Westbrook baited him into a game of back and forth hero ball, and he wound up driving into the teeth of the defense instead of kicking out shooters as much. His six turnovers to just four assists was a telling stat, as he couldn’t seem to generate a ton of looks for his teammates and was forcing the issue at times. His nine fourth quarter points (and 28 points overall to lead the team) helped keep the Cavs in it until the last five minutes, although he wound up having to guard Russ for the bulk of crunch time and it wasn’t pretty.

No Boards For The Bored

The Cavs got crushed on the glass by the Thunder (51-35)… in particular by Adams who had 13, including nine offensive boards, and Westbrook who finished with 12. Kevin Love actually held up his end with a dozen (although more than half came in the first half), but TT was abused by the Thunder front line. Both Cavs big men also had tough nights from the field, but were strong at the free throw line, going a combined 9-10. They played the least amount of minutes among the regular starters (31 & 32 respectively), and neither was much of a factor in crunch time.

The Tooth Hurts

In a surprise last minute move, Jordan McRae started at SG for DeAndre Liggins (who was starting for an injured Iman Shumpert… who was starting for an injured J.R. Smith). The initial reason given was a sore tooth (later reports said he suffered nerve and tissue damage from a tooth that fell out before the game). It’s a shame that Lig had to miss this one (oddly he did check in for the final minute of garbage time though), because his athletic defense that was on display in the Pacers game could have been helpful. Instead, we were treated to 27 minutes of the “Wedgie” McRae experience (both literally and figuratively).

Here's another wedgie, @TheStarters 🚫 pic.twitter.com/auLdAIQ0md

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 10, 2017

Of the unusually high four jump balls in this game (outside of the opening tip), half of them were the result of a McRae shot getting wedged between the rim and backboard. Typically, McRae’s offense makes him at least a threat to score when he’s on the floor, but he was just 2-9 (1-4 from downtown). Somehow, he still ended up a +4 for the game which is kind of amazing given his general defensive deficiencies.

Stay Woke Fellas!

The two newest Cavs, Kyle Korver and Derrick Williams, did not miss a shot between them. That’s right… they both went 3-3 from the field and were ready to shoot it whenever their teammates got them the rock. Sadly, Threezus didn’t get his first opportunity until there were just 40 seconds left in the third quarter… and even then he wasn’t fully unleashed. The Thunder did a much better job forcing Korver and the other Cav gunners off their spots, and even the three shots Kyle did take were contested. Williams, having just shown up with no benefit of practice on his new 10 day contract, acquitted himself nicely with 12 points in 22 minutes. In addition to his perfect night from the field, he also got to the line for 6-8. While he didn’t have all of his Whole Enchilada From La Mirada skills on display (zero rebounds, one assist), he was active enough on both ends to show he deserves a long look from the Cavs on this tryout. He was also on the receiving end of this early LBJ TD pass…

Bron taking a page out of Love's 📖 pic.twitter.com/5PDd9AiCo8

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 10, 2017

The Rest Of The Rest

Channing Frye actually had a pretty decent game… defensively. He was a bit off with his shooting touch (2-6, 1-4 from three), but pulled down six boards and blocked a shot in 15 minutes of relief. Richard Jefferson barely played (five minutes), and was one of the few that Lue looked like he was trying to rest. Kay Felder probably should have played either a lot more (if Kyrie had actually been held out) or not at all (because he had a miserable time trying to guard Cameron Payne). James Jones is still good for at least one garbage time three per game (he’s at 57.5%).

Miles To Go Before They Sleep…

The Cavs still have a long flight home from Oklahoma City to wrap up their long week away, which was still a success at 3-1. I’m sure they’re probably glad it’s behind them, and that there’s only three more games left before the All Star Break. While two of those games are in Cleveland… there’s still one sandwiched in the middle on the front end of another back to back in Minnesota (and of course the second night is a nationally televised game against the Pacers). They’re all winnable games, which makes them all potential targets for an opportunity to rest at least LeBron, and maybe the rest of the big three.

I recognize that this recap may seem overly critical, but it’s not because the Cavs lost the game… after all, it’s not a loss that means a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. It was always going to be a tall order to waltz into OKC on the second night of a back to back… on the end of a road trip of four games in six nights… against a motivated team that the Cavs beat a week ago… who had been hanging out at home since Monday. What bugs me is that Ty Lue’s gut was right in wanting to sit his star players… and for whatever reason, he went against that logic. In either case it was a likely “schedule loss,” however, the scenario he ultimately went with contributes to the further exhaustion of his superstar.

Hopefully, they can all get some good rest tomorrow…