Do you want to know how you can tell the Cleveland Cavaliers are a real good basketball team? It’s because they haven’t played very well to date and yet they have a 10-6 record after the first five weeks of the NBA season.
There have been a lot of injuries for sure. Max Strus hasn’t played yet and like won’t until the middle of December at the earliest. Darius Garland has played in only three games. Sam Merrill has missed time. De’Andre Hunter has missed three contests. Jaylon Tyson has been out the last four games in concussion protocol.
So, there hasn’t been very much continuity for Kenny Atkinson, yet this team is so good, they still have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Frankly, we are fine with this. We have been saying since training camp started, we would be happy if the wine and gold got off to a slower start and approached the playoffs playing their best basketball.
Last year, Cleveland relied on the three point shot quite a bit and it worked. They took 45.7% of their field goals from behind the arc and converted on 38.3% of those long range tries.
This season, they are taking even more threes (49.1%) but making less at 34.9%. In watching the games, we don’t see enough of what analyst Brad Daugherty talks about, which is playing inside out, meaning getting the ball in the paint or in a post-up situation and then kicking out to a wide-open shooter.
One of the things about last season’s squad was the guys who took the most 3s also shot at a very good percentage. The leaders in three-points attempts last year were: Donovan Mitchell (36.8%), Darius Garland (40.1%), Sam Merrill (37.2%), Strus (38.6%) and Ty Jerome (43.9%).
The league average was 36% and all five of the players taking the most long distance shots for Cleveland a year ago were above league average.
This year, the league wide percentage is about the same (35.8%).
And two of the top five shot takers from beyond the arc, Hunter (31%) and Lonzo Ball (31.3%) are well below the league average. Both are historically better than that. Hunter has made 36.9% for his career, while Ball has knocked them down at a 36.1% clip.
So perhaps those two should take the ball to the hoop a little more until they regain their touch from long range.
Much has been made about the lack of minutes for Jarrett Allen in the fourth quarter of games, but at this point in the season, we chalk that up to experimentation by the coaching staff. Allen is still a solid defender and good rebounder, and that’s greatly needed if you have a lead down the stretch.
If you haven’t noticed, the NBA is getting longer and having more size, particularly on the wings will be even more important. We have talked about the Cavs not having enough size for a few years now. That’s why we are happy to see Nae’Qwan Tomlin have some success.
He’s 6’10” and very active on the glass, particularly on the offensive end. And having Tyson and Ball, both at 6’6″ adds some size to the backcourt when needed. Think about it, without the injuries, does Tomlin get any playing time?
But having Garland’s shooting is also important for offensive spacing. Perhaps in the playoffs it will be like baseball. Get the lead and then bring in the defenders.
We haven’t moved off of our belief that this is the time for the Cavs to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s a good thing they are able to do that and still win more often than not.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 