From Distance: The Giants’ Return

four point play….

1. The NBA wraps up its preseason tonight without the services of a new favorite mutant, Zion Williamson. Though it is likely that Zion’s absence is precautionary, hoops fans everywhere seem to say an extra prayer to the Basketball Gods anytime that an article mentions Zion’s knees.

I’d sacrifice three seasons of quality Cavs basketball in exchange for Zion having a healthy career. He is that much fun to watch. Hey Basketball Gods, is that on the table? Can we make that deal? Or have we already made it unknowingly? Is that why John Beilein is the coach?

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ preseason showing has given us Beilein skeptics plenty of ammunition. We all knew that the team was unlikely to produce a quality defense, but the complete lack of offensive power has surprised even this Beilein pessimist.

Thus far, Beilein’s canine inspired offense largely dances outside of the 3-point-line featuring few hard drives to the hoop via drive or roll. The action reminds me of a 1985 High School weave, one that fails to recognize that the hoop is the ultimate target.

It may seem that I am being unduly harsh on the 41 year-old (oh wait, I meant the 41 year college coaching veteran) Beilein, but thus far we have witnessed truly terrible offensive action.

The reality of it is that without any kind of downhill threat in basketball, that horizontal action yields limited results. Regardless of whether a team is running a spread PnR offense, a motion offense, or any combination, that system only functions if at least one human being is attacking the basket. It can be the ball-handler and/or the roll man, or aggressive off-ball dives, but some action MUST go towards the hoop.

That level of aggression dictates terms to a defense. It is what opens up two-on-one opportunities. Without that, the Cavs are just wandering around the perimeter putting zero pressure on the opposition. An occasional backdoor cut cannot be the only source of this aggression.

2. The most troubling example of this coaching philosophy pertains to our guy, Larry Nance Jr. Junior has been a rather consistent roll-man at the NBA level. He has developed nicely as a short roll decision-maker. In this new role as hybrid 3/4, Nance has spent the entire pre-season drifting around the perimeter playing like a disenfranchised Ryan Anderson. What gives?

I’m all for players expanding their repertoire, but for a coach to actively turn Larry Nance, arguably the best center on this roster, into a catch and shoot threat, ostensibly because of the dearth of wings, is a testament to both a losing roster construction and/or a poor understanding of skill-set.

I have been pleased by Darius Garland’s overall skill-set and poise. Garland has displayed a decent sense of pace, and seemingly understands how to bend a defense. He has even made me fist pump a few times with his natural proclivity to “Nash” it.

Well done, young fella. His body and movement remind me of Jeff Teague. Hopefully his ceiling is higher than Teague’s and he can continue to build strength like Teague did.

Matthew Dellavedova has also continued to play heady Pick and Roll basketball when a teammate actually picks and, ya know, rolls. Delly is limited as an offensive threat unless he plays with a decent roller. He can turn a decent roll man into a great one when given a chance. Come on Beilein, put guys into a position to succeed.

Collin Sexton’s development last spring seems not to have translated to this preseason. Collin is jumping around again on defense, and offensively, that left-handed dribble drive which became his staple has been replaced by this shaky righted-handed force.

He has shot the ball better than most people, including me, expected him to shoot since coming out of college, but some of his exuberance has produced off-the-dribble attempts that are less than it desirable from a player with such a mechanical stroke. Let’s just assume Collin is testing his limits in the exhibition phase.

Kevin Porter Jr may end up being the best two-way player of the three. He has shown a better understanding of angles than most young players. He also has a propensity to fire deep twos off the bounce, but at least he gets into his move quickly before the defense has time to react.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3xdi1mghE

It is likely that the better players on this roster will be trade fodder, but it is still somewhat disappointing to look at the talent on the squad and know that the team could be one player, (or one Jordan Clarkson subtraction) away from actually being a playoff contender in a weak Eastern Conference. Or not. They’re probably three players away, and I’m still judging the roster based on my heretofore confidence in Cedi Osman’s improvement. Now would be good, Cedi.

3. Enough with the boring aspects (Cavs basketball) of the coming 2019-2020 season. An NBA junkie need look no further than the Western Conference to get her fix. My favorite team going into the season is the Dallas Mavericks. Watching Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic play smoothly dominating basketball is a pleasure for anyone one who loves the game.

Five years ago, when I first covered the Zinger, I said that we wouldn’t know exactly what he would be in the league until he actually went through puberty. Well, boy has done become a man. Porzingis’s strength has increased greatly over the last year during his recovery from his knee injury.

That opportunity to continually work on his overall physique might end up turning him into an All-NBA player this season. Between the dude’s relaxed 3-point flick, blocks coming on-ball or off rotation, mid-post magic alà Dirk Nowitzki, the Unicorn is affecting the game at all levels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EBRspIySFg

Add the entertainment of watching Boban Marjanovic play with Porzingis up front, and my fandom starts to get a little uncomfortable. Where are those Cleveland Mavs shirts again?

4. The idea that Small-Ball may be going extinct is gaining steam. If you look around the league,  the overall size of the contenders is daunting.

In the East, the Bucks feature two Lopez brothers with range, (if people haven’t noticed, Robin Lopez is looking to emulate his brother’s development this season and has been rocking the three ball) Ersan Ilyasova, huge wing Kris Middleton, and the Freak himself. That length and shooting is going to be impossible to win against during the regular season.

The Sixers also employee a giant lineup with Horford added to the mix. Obviously any squad gets a size boost when the point guard is a legit 6’10”. Josh Richardson’s 6’6″ frame at the two further adds length to starting lineup that was already giant even when JJ Redick was in there.

Unless the Clippers or the Warriors make the Finals, the Championship Round will will feature two huge teams fighting it out from all parts of the floor. The Lakers with LeBron, Anthony Davis,  and JaVale McGee/Dwight Howard up front will present size problems for anybody. A short rolling Anthony Davis with the lob opportunity to either center has been destroying defenses all preseason. Davis is right there with Giannis for the “best player alive, regular season”.

Draymond Green, Steph Curry, and Kawhi Leonard will do their best to prevent the giants from taking home the chip this season. One could toss James Harden into that previous sentence. No matter what, it will be a tall task.