From Distance: Patience Is A Virtue

Four points I’m thinking about the NBA…

1. After only five games of the 2017-2018 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a bit of an identity crisis. Last week, I wrote about LeBron James, the power forward. Sliding Kevin Love to center forced LeBron down to the four. He responded by punishing people with unstoppable spin-moves in the paint. The King rotated hard and early for a defense that was predicated on switching almost everything and trapping in the corners. The defense had a plan.

Offensively, things weren’t exactly humming. Predictably, the starters couldn’t get anything going from behind the arc. Indeed, a lineup with Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose is assuredly not the way to maximize the three ball.

Why did they even bother with that lineup? Lue wants us to believe that it was some master plan to stroke Wade’s ego. If that is actually the case, it is unfortunate. The idea that a future Hall-of-Famer would come to that grand conclusion after a few games of the regular season, is rather silly and patronizing. Wade knows how basketball works. I’m sure he had talked through all the rotation possibilities with James before he signed. If Wade did, in fact, ask to come off the bench during the preseason, Lue should have thanked the basketball gods and made it so.

Instead, Lue confused everyone who knows anything about the geometry of basketball, and disrespected a somewhat sensitive guy in J.R. Smith. I sincerely doubt that there really was a master plan. Lue has proven time and time again that he prefers “name reputation guys” to players who are actually likely to improve the product on the floor.

Regardless, injuries and ineffective play in the back-court gave Tyronn Lue a chance to shuffle the lineup. Tossing Tristan Thompson back in at the five slid everyone down a position and made it possible to start LeBron at the point.

While LeBron is certainly able to man the point, and every other position on the floor, a level of aggression was immediately taken out of the lineup. Love was playing well at the five, using his strength to really mix it up in the interior. He held his own in switch opportunities allowing the defense to respond to screen action quickly and consistently.

With Tristan at the five, Love drifted back out away from the paint on both ends. With two traditional big men on the floor, the Cavs reverted to a less aggressive switching style. The Cavs don’t have enough speed at the guard position to go over picks quickly and effectively. J.R does his best, but isn’t a small slithery dude. LeBron only goes over picks when the game is on the line. The jumbo lineup has led to a general confusion (and laziness) on off-ball screen defense and a resulting storm of opponent three point bombs.

It is somewhat counter-intuitive, but the Cavs play a far more aggressive and paint oriented game with LeBron and Love manning the front-court. Love, James, Crowder, J.R. and Korver form the best combination of shooting and switch-ability for a starting lineup. Even Jeff Green has thrived in that lineup when replacing either Love or Crowder.

Unless the Cavs get a better defensive guard, Lue would be best served by playing his shooting wings and switching everything. Who knows, maybe Lue will give us that very starting lineup and claim that it was all a master plan.

2. Eric Bledsoe would certainly qualify as a “better defensive guard”. At this point, we know that Bledsoe’s time in Phoenix is coming to an end. It will be very interesting to see what kind of trade package the Suns ultimately accept. With Bledsoe’s injury history, it is very difficult to imagine that Suns’ GM Ryan McDonough would receive a talented young player and a pick. Considering Bledsoe is currently away from the team, McDonough has even less leverage.

It’s 2017. Simply being away from the squad will do nothing to eliminate strife and discontent in the locker room. I’m not sure what kind of advice Rich Paul is giving Bledsoe. Whatever it is, it is probably warranted. Bledsoe helped the Suns go 4-3 last March before management decided to hold him out of games in the name of tanking. McDonough and notoriously awful owner, Robert Sarver are not the guys to whom benefit of the doubt should be given.

Do the Cavs have a good enough offer? Right at this moment, doubtful. Assuming the Nets pick is off the table, the Suns would likely scoff at the possibility of trading Bledsoe for Iman Shumpert and a Cavs late 1st rounder.

Ultimately, it depends on the rest of the league. As evidenced by last season, Bledsoe is good enough to make tanking difficult. The Knicks have already said, “nope, we wanna suck this year, thanks”. Bled just doesn’t make a lot of sense for a young terrible team.

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

A stacked squad is unlikely to have the trade assets that the Suns front office covets. It’s hard to know whether the Bucks actually want Bledsoe, or if the Suns are putting names like Malcolm Brogdon out into the universe to signal the level of player they would like in return. If I’m the Bucks, I happily stand pat with the 24 year-old Rookie of the Year. Brogdon is as useful to the Bucks as Bledsoe would be.

“What you’re saying is there’s a chance!” Yeah, basically. The Nuggets and the Cavs make the most sense for Bledsoe as a player. A Nuggets package would likely include Emmanuel Mudiay and Kenneth Faried. If one believes in Mudiay’s potential at all, it is a better deal for the Suns than anything based around Iman Shumpert. Then again, the Nuggets don’t own a first rounder to deal. The Cavs first rounder isn’t likely to be higher than 27 or so, but it is better than what the Nuggets (don’t) have.

The Cavaliers shouldn’t be in any rush. If the Nets pick continues to lose value, Bledsoe suitors dry up, or any number of drastic things happen in this crazy league, a sensible deal may materialize.

3. In the meantime, this crazy league is incredibly entertaining to watch. Blake Griffin and baby clone, Aaron Gordon have both added the three pointer to their games this season. The Clippers have mad “Ewing Theory” mojo going. Blake’s mastery from behind the long line is a driving force behind their undefeated start. Griffin is shooting 45 percent from distance. That is impressive enough before you even see that he is making 2.5 threes per game! The DeAndre Jordan/Blake Griffin pairing has been questioned for years. Blake is in the process of answering that question with an emphatic “yes”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt3IP3j2gQY

Down in Orlando, Gordon has been ridiculous. Obviously, his five for five performance against the Nets is going to skew his numbers. I’m pretty certain he won’t continue to hit 85 percent from deep. But like Griffen, his upper body form has always been good. The problem was with his release timing. Gordon has more natural fluidity than Griffin in the early part of his gather. This doesn’t seem to be an aberration as much as a new trend. The Magic might be on to something. The Clips certainly are.

4. It’s fun to see young players develop on an NBA floor. It’s more fun to watch guys with lesser names outperform their famous counterparts (Patrick Beverley for Chris Paul comes to mind). It would be fantastic if Ty Lue felt the same way. C’mon Ty. Give me some Cedi!