Recap: Cavaliers 102, Bucks 95 (Or, Slow Your Roll, Freak)

The Cavaliers calmly and systematically beat the the Milwaukee Bucks in an boringly entertaining game Monday night at the “Q”. LeBron James returned from illness to drop 24 points, 10 boards, and six assists in 37 chill-mode minutes of game action. Richard Jefferson and the rest Cleveland’s defense held young superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, to a measly nine points on 4-13 shooting. Let’s get to it.

1st Quarter:

The Cavs started Richard Jefferson at a forward spot with Kevin Love still out with “a knee”.  A moment before tip-off, Milwaukee countered the Cavs’ smaller look by giving rookie pterodactyl, Thon Maker, the nod at center. It was a very exciting development for about two minutes of game time before Maker picked up his second foul defending old man Jefferson. RJ moved well without the ball in the first half of the quarter, drawing fouls and dropping hammers on his way to nine of the Cavaliers’ first 15 points. His bounce off two feet continue to shock all human beings over 30. On the other end of the floor, Michael Beasley played “King of the Court” by scoring against Kyrie Irving, missing against Tristan Thompson, rattling out a layup past RJ, and drilling a baseline jumper over LeBron James. Each shot looked like a good idea. Some things seem like a better idea than they are. The Bucks didn’t run any real action until about half through the quarter on their way to a 4-16 start. When Cavalier killer, Tony Snell, checked in, the game changed. At least that is what it felt like as impending Snelly doom filled our collective chest. Alas, Tony only hit one three ball and played great defense, but his presence was enough to affect my concentration. LeBron looked bouncy and spry in his first run back from sickness, but he did contribute to the early Cavalier turnover woes. Despite hitting 59 percent from the field, Cleveland only led by a bucket heading to the second quarter, 27-25.

2nd Quarter:

Lue trotted out the Cavs’ new “Death Lineup” to start the second period. Derrick Williams, Kyle Korver, RJ, LeBron, and Channing Frye looked to resume their assault on the league. Instead, Micheal Beasley, annoyed at my previous analysis, went el fuego by scoring or assisting on all 10 of the Bucks’ early quarter points. The Cavs missed some decent looks and Beasley drained his to give Milwaukee a 35-33 lead. Unfortunately, Michael injured his left knee in transition, short-circuiting a fun back and forth between the “Death Lineup’s” team ball and Beasley’s single-handed destruction. Get well soon, sir.

With Beasley out, rookie guard, Malcolm Brogdon, took over the play-making duties for the Bucks. He is an incredibly solid young player both in skill-set and build. Still, the Cavs finally got some traction as the quarter went along. Derrick Williams did a tremendous job running in the open floor and making early dive seals in transition. His aggressive movement, and LeBron’s ability to find him, helped get the Wine and Gold into the bonus with more than six minutes remaining in the second. After falling behind by five, the Cavs went on a 17-5 tear with good ball movement, aggressive defense, Kyle Korver’s shot making and Kyrie Irving’s solid play. The Cavs stayed patient guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo making sure to stay down on his upfakes and Eurosteps. Jefferson was a beast chesting up The Greek Freak on the block, preventing the young superstar from getting his shoulder in the lane. Cleveland pushed the lead until Tony Snell-ed the Cavs with a late three to equalize the quarter’s scoring. At the half, Cavs 52-50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z67M7Ow1oSk

3rd Quarter:

The third quarter bore little resemblance to the first half, as both teams moved the ball incredibly well and made their open shots. Those shots were harder to come by with better defensive execution by both squads. Thon Maker, liberated from the bench, drilled two three bombs early in the period to fuel a Bucks surge. With Beasley out, Brogdon started the second half. Brogdon’s presence, combined with Jason Kidd’s decision to actually let Mathew Dellavedova run the point, gave the Bucks better floor balance and off-ball action than at any point during the first half. But, the Cavs were up to the task defensively. Jefferson’s bullish defense and Irving’s and LeBron’s three-point marksmanship drove a 13-0 mid-quarter run. One similarity to the first half was the Bucks’ resilience. Brogdon led another scoring run to keep the contest close. A Derrick Williams buzzer three from about 32 feet extended the Cavalier lead to four heading to the final period. 77-73.

4th Quarter:

The last period was an example of how solid basketball fundamentals lead to a solid victory. The Cavaliers were very patient with their offensive attack. LeBron controlled pace on almost every possession as the point forward. When there were opportunities to attack, the other Cavs did so without pressing. On many occasions, the Bucks’ length would stop an initial action or drive. Instead of forcing tough shots, the Cavs, almost to a man, would pass out of the tough position to restart the offense. Defensively, Cleveland straight smothered Giannis’s driving lanes, helping off the correct players, and generally making the Freak’s life miserable. There were few defensive miscommunications as the Cavs slowly clamped down. Brogdon and Delly got a little bit of downhill action going early in the period, but a mini run from Kyrie and LeBron essentially put the game to rest. A Tristan Thompson block that led to an Irving right corner three, to push the lead to 94-85, effectively ended it. Derrick Williams’ subsequent bomb was the nail in the coffin.

Thoughts:

It was lovely to see stretches of great defense. The Cavs came into the evening averaging over 118 ppg in the month of February. Defense hasn’t really been necessary with the way the Cavs have been filling it up. Still, as a fan of defense, I loved watching Richard Jefferson and Kyle Korver get some work in on that end. RJ was more obviously great in this game, shutting down Giannis on more than a few possessions with his strength and intelligence. What was less obvious was Kyle’s amazing off ball rotations and on ball angling. Kyle is so quick to his help responsibilities. His conditioning and footwork allow him to anticipate and thwart the opposing offensive action. He is the anti-Shump in a lot of ways.

Derrick Williams is balling out without trying too hard. His patience and activity have been fantastic on both ends. Derrick has been tasked to guard the opposing teams’ point guard when he plays in the “Death Lineup”. He is doing a great job of using his size to leverage the opponent into using the pick and then communicating well on when to switch. The fact that he is hitting from deep is extra gravy on a tasty meal.

Mathew Dellavedova had a tough shooting night. Still, he is always effective as a primary ball-handler. John Henson is always effective as a primary PnR partner. Why we didn’t see a steady diet of Delly/Henson PnR is beyond me. If I’m Jason Kidd, Greg Monroe doesn’t see a minute of playing time and Beasley isn’t allowed to play with the starters. Those guys wreck any semblance of offensive structure. Beasley’s offensive skill-set can be useful in certain second team situations, but allowing him to start the game with the rock put the Bucks’ offense in cement boots.

Kyrie and LeBron were both boringly great in this game. It’s my favorite kind of regular season greatness. LeBron drew eight fouls, rebounded the ball well, and orchestrated the offense without really having to break a sweat. Kyrie shuffled easily to his mid-range shots without punishing his body too much. They controlled the game easily and calmly. Their combined seven turnovers did help the Bucks get 14 more first half shots than the Cavs, but that was their only real weakness.

The Cavs weren’t fantastic from beyond the arc, but were great from the foul line outscoring the Bucks by 12 from the stripe. I look forward to seeing how Deron Williams shoots the three ball with the Cavs. Kyle has already made more threes this season as a Cavalier than he did as a Hawk. Deron could easily hit 45% with this squad. The rich get richer.