Recap: Cavs 127, Blazers 110 (or, IT’s Time…)

Isaiah Thomas is a really good sandbagger. “I have no rhythm,” he said before the game… “I have no feel for the game right now,” he explained…  “I’ve been out for so long it feels like I lost my powers,” he humbly admitted. Well, if last night’s effort is any indication of what a “rusty” IT looks like… the league should be put on notice for when he’s at full capacity. There’s no lack of irony that the final margin of this game between the Cavs and Blazers (17) just happened to correspond with the amount of points the tiny dynamo chipped in during his 19 minutes of limited action. Sure, his shot looked a little off (he airballed his second triple try), and his handle was a little loose (two turnovers), but there were enough flashes of the All Star he resembled a season ago to inject a titillating new sense of excitement to this team and it’s fanbase.

I was fortunate enough to see this comeback (seven long months in the making) in person, and I can honestly say I haven’t witnessed anything quite like the standing ovation and deafening roar that occurred when Thomas checked in with 4:33 left in the first quarter. At least a measure of that response was probably due to seeing the primary counterpart to what we lost in Kyrie Irving finally take the court after all this time… but it was also extremely genuine given how IT has comported himself both in the media and on the bench with the team. Thomas is a hard guy not to like. He approaches the game as he approaches life in general, with a chip larger than his small frame on his shoulder. Yet, not in a surly way… just in the most determined way imaginable.

In this first game back, IT came off the bench (something that probably won’t happen much going forward) and for the most part blended seamlessly with the second unit. His 17 points came on a decently efficient 6-12 shooting (3-8 from three), and he mixed in three assists… including a no-look beauty to Dwayne Wade. Maybe more impactful than his scoring, however, was his ability to push the pace, spread the floor and make his teammates better. He quickly found a good rhythm with Wade in driving the bench effort, and his presence also seemed to have a direct and positive impact on fellow former Celtic, Jae Crowder, who had one of his best games of the season. This is the intangible that a healthy IT can bring to this team, providing not only a bucket when they need one (either in ISO breakdown or spot up three), but also an entirely new dimension that opens up opportunities for other players… not to mention allow LeBron to be one of the most dangerous off-ball weapons in basketball.

This is not to say the game was all about Isaiah… but it’s hard not to dwell at least a little bit on the impact he had in his first game back. Plenty of other guys also had major contributions. Crowder scored 17 on 6-12 shooting (4-8 from downtown) in just 24 minutes, and played some terrific defense with a couple of timely steals. LeBron filled the stat sheet with 24 points, eight assists, six boards, four steals and an awesome block on CJ McCollum… and he only needed 34 minutes to do it, as the second unit put the game away early. Kevin Love, despite nearly missing the game due to illness, was insanely efficient with 19 points on just seven shots in just 26 minutes. He was a blistering 4-5 from beyond the arc and had seven boards to go with a terrific stuff on Jusuf Nurkic. Oh, and the bench (led by IT and Wade) outscored Portland’s bench 61-23. Wade had 15 points, eight boards and three assists in just 18 minutes, and Jeff Green somehow scored 10 points despite not making a shot (0-5, 10-12 at the line), while registering a team high +24.

The game itself was a fairly back and forth affair, with neither team getting much separation for very long. Things were deadlocked at 28 after one, and despite a scoring drought in the middle of the second quarter by the Cavs (accompanied by some truly questionable officiating), the Cavs faced just a two point deficit at halftime (55-53). The bench helped turn that into a four point cushion by the end of the third on a terrific alley oop dunk from Wade to Tristan Thompson, but the Blazers knotted it at 91 with 11:22 to go in the game. From there, the second unit took over, as the Cavs went on a 12-0 run with LeBron on the bench. They extended the run to 25-6, effectively ending the competitive portion of the evening. Channing Frye and Kyle Korver mopped things up from there.

Give Portland credit for keeping it close for as long as they did on the second night of a back to back, following an overtime win in Chicago. Granted, Damian Lillard was probably fresh after not playing the previous five contests due to injury, although it was clear his shot was a bit rusty at the start. He did hit some ridiculous and contested threes to keep things close in the third, but couldn’t come up with enough shots down the stretch. The Cavs were guilty of letting Nurkic get the ball on the roll entirely too often in the first half, and he made them pay with 23 points on 10-12 shooting. They also allowed Evan Turner (15 points) to score at will on backdoor cuts. They did tighten things up defensively in the second half, however, but it also helped they were able to throw in 74 second half points of their own.

The Evil

Yes, the defense was entirely too sloppy in the early going, what with Kevin under the weather and LeBron taking plays off (i.e. ignoring Evan Turner to play free safety), and the Cavs allowed the Blazers to shoot 48% from the field (40% from three). They also gave up 13 offensive boards to provide Portland with numerous second chance opportunities.

I’m officially concerned with how invisible J.R. Smith has become. With IT back and the possibility of both Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert returning at some point this month, the rotation will be difficult to navigate. And, while I’d still rather have JR out there than either of those soon to be returning options, he’s going to have to start asserting himself more on both ends of the court. It’s possible that once IT takes his starting spot next to JR in the back court, his presence will open things up for Swish. Right now though, he looks tentative with his shot, and not entirely locked in on defense.

With the altered rotation to allow for IT’s minutes, Kyle Korver may have been thrown off a bit. He wasn’t able to hit much of anything until garbage time (just 1-5 before then), and got victimized a bit on switches defensively. Once IT moves to the starting lineup, Kyle should again be the first shooter off the bench.

It’s a new calendar year, but the same old awful officiating. There were some truly baffling calls on both sides in this one, including an absolute phantom offensive foul call on LeBron for a Nurkic flop. The NBA should have made a New Year’s resolution to take their referees to task for shoddy/lazy work.

The Genius

As expounded upon for the first part of this recap… IT had a pretty stellar debut all things considered. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but despite his disclaimers prior to the game, he showed a pretty full range of what made him an MVP candidate last year. He hit pullup mid-rangers, spot up threes, and got to the rack for foul calls. He even took a hard fall on his second drive, and bounced up just fine from it. More importantly, he made his teammates better, both with his passing and with his ability to push the ball up the floor with pace to give them opportunities to catch the defense napping. It’s just one game (and really just 19 minutes of one game), but it’s easy to get excited about the added dimension he brings to an already dangerous offensive team. He did get taken advantage of a couple of times defensively, but that was to be expected even when he’s at full strength.

Jae Crowder was a different player last night. He’s had a handful of good games this year, but he looked as comfortable as I’ve ever seen him in a Cavs uniform in this game. There’s no question at least some of that has to do with IT being on the floor with him, as the two undoubtedly still share some synergy from running plays in the Boston offense the last couple of years. Here’s hoping this is the start of an upward trend for Jae, especially since the two will soon be in the starting lineup together.

Kevin Love is just a gamer man. Dude missed shootaround due to illness and still was able to play and barely miss a shot. Kev is often the unsung hero of this team, and I believe the only reason Nurkic went off as much as he did early on was because Love was probably struggling on that end of the floor with the illness.

LeBron didn’t take a ton of jumpshots in this game, and he didn’t really need to. He only attempted two threes (missing both), and the rest were mostly drives, difficult turnaround shots and off-ball cuts for layups and dunks. This had the feel of an experimental game for Bron… where he just works on elements of his arsenal he might need for future use. He also had great praise for IT after the game, and as usual had no issue ceding the stage to a teammate…

“He’s very good, very good,” James said. “Very dynamic. Can shoot the pill. Can get in the lane. Can pass the ball. He’s going to just create so much for our team. What I like most about him is he has a chip on his shoulder for life,” he said. “That’s just who he is. When a guy’s got a chip on his shoulder for life, he ain’t going to — he’s never going to not work hard. Not going to never give it his all. Not going to never disappoint you. Now basketball, you miss shots and things of that nature, and we’re not worried about that. You make turnovers, all of that, that’s not what I’m saying, but a guy like that — he’s going to always put in the work. And when you put in the work the game is going to always give back to you.”

Dwayne Wade was also terrific, combining with IT to completely dominate the Portland bench bunch. It’s great to see him able to be so effective and to do it so efficiently in just 18 minutes of play.

I don’t know how Jeff Green got to 10 points (and I was at the game), but he seemed to be there filling the lane on almost every fast break opportunity. He has the kind of athleticism that should fit really well with IT’s push the pace style going forward.

Say what you want about Tristan Thompson and the spacing issues he creates… but the man does know how to rebound (eight total and four offensive in just 17 minutes). TT looks better with each passing game, and it’s nice to see him rebound from his injury.

The Cavs moved the ball well, with 28 assists overall. The coolest thing though was that even though eight of them came from LeBron, at least six guys had at least three dimes a piece. That’s the kind of team ball movement that will make the Cavs nearly unstoppable offensively as the season wears on.

Parting Shot

It never ceases to amaze me the awesome and entertaining show the Cavs organization puts on for its fans at home games. It had been a while since I’d visited the Q, and the experience was terrific. They even had a Cavs winter beanie giveaway at the door (which came in handy since I was woefully underprepared with warm headgear for this trip). Kudos to @CavsDan and the whole operation for one of the better fan experiences in the League.

Also, I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing this game against Boston tonight wasn’t a back to back situation… mainly because I’m salivating over the opportunity to see IT take it to his old team. Guess we’ll have to wait until February 11 to witness that spectacle. Here’s hoping the Cavs can still get it done without IT.

Until next time… GO CAVS!