Is Kyrie’s Passing The Key To Cavs’ Success?

There is no question that the best player on the roster of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and for that matter, the entire NBA is LeBron James.

However, you can a very good case that when Kyrie Irving plays at a superstar level, that’s when Cleveland becomes one of the best teams in the league.

The Cavs got off to a tremendous start in 2016-17, heading into the new year with a 25-7 record.

Irving was very efficient in those months, scoring around 24 points per game and taking around 18-19 shots on average.

In December, the wine and gold went 12-4, their best month of the season, and Irving was incredible, averaging 23.2 points and 7.8 assists per game.

In one seven game stretch toward the end of the month, the 25-year-old had 10 or more assists five times, while scoring over 20 points in the same number of games.

However, January saw the beginning of the malaise that has enveloped the Cavs for the last three months. The team went 7-8 during the first month of the year, and while Irving averaged 25 points per game during those 15 games, his assists numbers dropped to 5.2, and only two games with more than seven dimes.

His shots per game increased as well, going from around 18.5 in November and December to almost 21 in January.

The Cavaliers’ ship righted itself in February going 9-2, and coincidentally, Irving became more of a passer again, averaging 7.1 assists a night (six games with more than five), although the shots were up again at a little over 21 a game.

Kyrie didn’t shoot well from the three point line in February, making just 32% of his long range shots. He was close to 40% up to that point.

Then came March, the worst month record wise for the Cavs since James returned to the team at 7-10.

Irving’s scoring was up (27.0) and his shooting was very good (almost 50% from the floor and 44% from long range), but his assists totals were down to under five per contest (4.8).

The former first overall pick had six games where he had more than five assists during March, and the Cavs went 5-1 in those games. That means when Irving had less than five, Cleveland went 2-9.

Now, there can be many reasons for Irving’s assist totals to be down, one of them logically being his teammates not making as many shots as they were earlier in the year.

When you lose JR Smith for 10 weeks and Kevin Love for five, two of the Cavaliers’ better shooters, your assist totals could take a dive. And there is no question, Irving tried to pick up the scoring slack from the absence of those two players.

However, in watching the games, the ball movement that was a trademark early in the season is no longer there. There is simply too much isolation ball, and too much dribbling by Cleveland players.

We would also like to see Deron Williams be the playmaker when he and Irving are in the game together. Williams seems to be deferring to Irving, dribbling the ball across the time line and then giving it to Kyrie right away, instead of letting Irving be the scorer in that lineup.

Perhaps Irving should be more particular as to when he needs to carry the entire burden of the offense, and spend time earlier in games getting the other players going. Outside of the “Big Three” (and the Cavs do that with Love in the first quarter), the rest of the team is struggling.

Maybe getting them some good early looks will get them into a good rhythm.

But it is clear when Kyrie Irving’s assist numbers are up, the Cleveland Cavaliers win more often.

Another thing to look at for the rest of the season and into the playoffs.

What Needs To Be Done To Fix Cavs’ D

The Cleveland Cavaliers either have a huge problem or they are deceiving the rest of the NBA.

They haven’t played solid defense for most of the season, but over the last few weeks, the ease at which opponents are scoring has become alarming. Allowing over 125 points is becoming a regular occurrence.

We feel there are several factors at work here, some of which can be fixed prior to the beginning of the NBA playoffs, and some that may not be able to be repaired.

The first problem is familiarity. Since JR Smith was injured around the holidays, Cleveland’s roster has been in flux. Kyle Korver, Derrick Williams, Deron Williams, Andrew Bogut, and Larry Sanders have all been brought in, and Smith and Kevin Love missed significant time with injuries.

Those things, coupled with the lack of practice time NBA teams, particularly older ones, get during the regular season, make defensive rotations difficult to assimilate, and that shows in games.

There are many nights where the wine and gold look like they just met in a pick up game on the playground. Really, they pretty much did.

The second problem is the defensive schemes are very vanilla, and this is by design because Tyronn Lue and his staff aren’t showing anything for the playoffs. For the most part, the Cavs aren’t blitzing the pick and roll, and aren’t trapping point guards to force the ball out of his hands.

We are sure this will be done once the post-season starts. Think back to the Boston game early in March and last night’s contest vs. Washington. The Cavaliers pretty much guarded both Isaiah Thomas and John Wall straight up. That won’t be the case in a playoff series.

It looks ugly now, but why show either potential opponent your cards before you have to.

However, we can call into question Lue’s playing rotations. He has a deep roster, but still insists on playing LeBron James 38-40 minutes per game. With the playoffs beckoning, why not reduce that to around 32 per night.

He also has too many lineups on the floor with glaring deficiencies. For example, a group without Love and Tristan Thompson, which results in opponents getting second and third shot chances.

We see too many group on the floor without a solid defender besides James. It is his job to make sure there are at least two or maybe three players who can guard someone on the floor at all times.

He has cut back on the playing time of Derrick Williams, an young, active guy who has shown signs he can guard someone. Which is exactly what the Cavs need right now.

We know Cleveland wants to go into the playoffs healthy, but a big problem defensively is allowing dribble penetration out front. Kyrie Irving isn’t fighting through picks and isn’t staying in front of his man.

If you know the game, this leads to the interior defenders having to pick those men up, leaving their man open, or leading to ball rotation for an open three point look. You can’t have that in the playoffs.

Speaking of interior defense, all of the minutes and guarding on the perimeter seem to have taken a toll on Thompson, whose defense has slipped as the season has progressed.

His ability to guard smaller men away from the basket on switches was a key to last year’s title run.

The regular season games are winding down, meaning fixing the problem soon is critical to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

If they play defense like they have over the last month or so, they simply will not win the Eastern Conference again. Let’s hope our theory on being secretive about their plans is correct.

Cavs’ Defensive Issues Are Due To All The Changes.

Our initial reaction after the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night was they looked like they had never played with each other before.

Which, of course, is true.

Think about it, Derrick Williams has been with the team for about three weeks, Deron Williams about two. Kyle Korver has been with the wine and gold since early January (he didn’t play on Thursday), so he’s never been on the floor as a teammate of JR Smith, who missed two and a half months with a thumb injury.

This presents a problem offensively, as Deron Williams learns where the rest of the players like to get the ball so they can score.

And as great as LeBron James is, and as much as he studies his teammates as well as opponents (remember how he told us we watched tape of Korver to see where he likes to catch the ball), even he admitted last night how tough this year has been with all the comings and goings due to roster moves and injuries.

There have been too many games recently where the James and Kyrie Irving are scoring almost half of the Cavs’ points.

Anyone still want to tell us how Kevin Love isn’t important to this team?

Love is a guy who is scoring more than 20 points per game, and in addition to that, is a huge factor on the defensive boards. Anyone else notice the increasing amount of offensive rebounds the Cavaliers are giving up?

It is even a bigger problem defensively. On that side of the ball, there is a great deal of trust, knowing you can pass an opponent off to another member of the Cavs, but you have to know they are going to be there.

Think about what Tyronn Lue has had to do on the fly.

He got Korver basically to replace Smith when he went down, and although Korver isn’t a horrible defender, he tries to hide his lack of quickness with knowing where to be, he isn’t as good a defender as Smith, who emerged last year as very good on that end of the floor.

Love isn’t an elite defender, but he is better than most people think, but replacing him in the starting lineup with Channing Frye is a large drop off in defense. The wine and gold’s defensive rating takes a huge hit when Frye is on the floor.

Another issue with Love being out is that it has taken a toll on the Cavs’ chief interior defender, Tristan Thompson.

Thompson seems to be getting worn down as the season has progressed, having to battle opposing big men basically by himself over the past few weeks.

No doubt this was the biggest reason Andrew Bogut was signed, and also that it appears Larry Sanders will be inked to a deal in the coming week.

Smith is back now, and hopefully Korver’s foot won’t cause him to miss too many more games.

Love should back soon as well, perhaps in about 2 weeks.

Getting everyone back, and getting some extra practice time before the playoffs begin could be the biggest remedy for the defensive issues the team has had.

They need to play and practice together to get the trust back on the defensive end of the floor. That should greatly decrease the glaring breakdowns when the opponents have the ball.

With all of the shuffling on who is and isn’t available on a nightly basis, something is going to suffer, and it’s usually defense.

When that improves, this team will be very difficult to beat.

Defense Is Cavs’ Biggest Issue

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a funk.

Perhaps it’s an annual thing, because they seem to go through this each of the last two Januarys, or maybe they are simply bored as the season has just passed the halfway point.

Maybe it’s a hangover from the franchise’s first title last summer, and they will be able to turn the switch after the All Star game at the end of February.

Whatever, it’s not very pretty to watch.

Monday’s loss to Dallas was embarrassing. Yes, they are missing two starters due to injury in JR Smith and Kevin Love, but so were the Mavericks, who were without Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut.

Dallas is the third worst team in the Western Conference at 18-30 and have a below .500 record at home. And they played the night before and picked up a huge road win, perhaps their biggest of the year, at San Antonio.

Still, the Cavs couldn’t take advantage. They continue to struggle away from Quicken Loans Arena, dropping to 11-10 on the road for the season.

And while LeBron James continues to say the team needs a backup point guard, the biggest need for the wine and gold is to improve their defense.

Yes, if you play an up tempo game, you are going to give up points in the NBA, but the Cavs have allowed 100 or more points in 13 of the last 14 games. In the first 33 games this season, Cleveland held their opponents under 100 points 13 times.

That’s why in today’s “tryout camp” for veterans that the Cavs are having today, we would look for defense first.

Now, that being said, we don’t want players who don’t have any ability to put the ball in the basket, like say DeAndre Liggins. Those players become liabilities when you have the ball and allow teams to double on James and Kyrie Irving.

However, we would look to sign players who can defend, but also have the ability to score. We understand that sounds like an oxymoron, but Tyronn Lue has players who can shoot at his disposal, guys like Smith, Channing Frye, and Kyle Korver.

But outside of Smith, they are not strong on defense.

What is really needed though is an accountability from the current players on the defensive end. We have seen too many opposing players getting by their defender, which causes someone to help, and that leaves someone wide open on the perimeter.

If the help doesn’t arrive, then it’s a lay up. That is happening far too often, and it isn’t just elite players causing problems. Heck, Dallas had Yogi Farrell, currently on a 10 day contract, and Seth Curry, not Steph Curry, parading to the basket.

That just comes down to personal responsibility. Keep your man in front of you. We know they are capable of doing that, which plays into our boredom argument.

We understand there probably isn’t a real threat to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t mean if these bad habits aren’t curtailed soon, other teams might feel like they have a shot.

Part of the Cavs’ mystique is many other teams are defeated before they take the floor. That’s something they don’t want to lose, and stepping it up on the defensive end is a step in that direction.

January = Drama Month For Cavaliers

It’s the first month of the new year and once again there is drama and anxiousness regarding the city’s professional basketball team.

When you think about it, this has become an annual rite of passage.

In 2015, the team endured LeBron James missing two weeks to basically refresh his body. The Cavs actually dropped below the .500 mark at one point (19-20), and then GM David Griffin traded Dion Waiters and some draft picks for JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Timofey Mozgov and the team took off.

Oh, and there was the team bonding bowling trip then coach David Blatt took his squad on.

That team went on to win the Eastern Conference and ultimately lose to Golden State in the NBA Finals.

2016 brought the blowout loss to the Warriors on Martin Luther King Day and the shocking firing of Blatt with the Cavs sitting at 30-11 for the season.

It was a bold move by Griffin, and it turned out to be the right move as well, as the wine and gold went on to win its first NBA title.

So why would you think 2017 would be any different? Apparently, the title doesn’t change everything.

The Cavaliers are going through their first rough patch of the season, losing three of six on a west coast trip and then losing to New Orleans and Sacramento.

The defense has been non-existent and the foul shooting deplorable.

And then LeBron James made comments about the roster and it has been reported that he and owner Dan Gilbert are at odds about the money being spent on improving the roster.

Yep, it’s January alright.

We understand James’ comment about the roster and we believe he is talking more to his teammates than he is to the front office. He is saying that the players can’t continuously look to himself, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love to get things done.

The rest of the team has the ability to make some things happen and they need to step it up.

James keeps talking about another point guard, or playmaker as Griffin says, and we feel another inside defensive presence is a more pressing need. Right now, Tristan Thompson is the only quality interior defender on the roster, and the team certainly could use another big man.

As for the discussion with the owner, we are sure James wants to make sure the luxury tax, of which the Cavs are paying a ton, isn’t a deterrent to defending the title.

James has to believe that the Warriors, Spurs, and any other contenders will add to their roster by the trade deadline, and to be sure, he wants assurances Griffin will not be hamstrung by tax concerns.

But the current roster has to play better too. It seems like a little complacency has set in and right now, the wine and gold have been playing sloppy–too many turnovers and laziness on the defensive end.

They are getting every team’s best shot as the defending champions, and they aren’t responding.

That’s not something Griffin and/or Gilbert can fix. It must come from within the locker room.

We would start by putting Kyle Korver in the starting lineup and putting everyone else back into the roles they were in before Smith went down with his injury.

We would also start giving some minutes to Kay Felder and Jordan McRae, thus cutting back on playing time for James, Irving, and Love.

We may see that as soon as tonight.

Right now isn’t the time to panic. It’s just a normal January for the Cavaliers.

In Public, Cavs Take The High Road

Tomorrow evening, the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Golden State Warriors in a renewal of the rivalry that has developed since the two teams met for the NBA title in 2014-15.

Steve Kerr’s Warriors won that one in six games, and immediately after Draymond Green commented before their victory parade that the Cavs “sucked”.

Before the Warriors played their regular season game in 2015-16 at Quicken Loans Arena, Stephen Curry said he hoped the visitor’s locker room still smelled like champagne.

Did we mention that when Golden State won the championship, they defeated a Cleveland team without Kevin Love for the entire series, and without Kyrie Irving for all but the first game.

We believe that anyone would rank those two in the top 30 NBA players currently in the league.

Then in last year’s Finals after taking a 3-1 series lead, Klay Thompson of the Warriors commented that LeBron James may have gotten his feelings hurt in Game 4, won by Golden State.

Klay’s squad never won another game in the series.

Thompson commented this week that the Cavs’ actions after coming back to win the title last summer were childish.

Reportedly, at a Halloween Party thrown by James, there were cookies with tombstones with Warriors’ players names on them, and you had to walk over a doll in the likeness of Curry to get through the entrance.

On the other hand, publicly, you never hear a Cavalier player say anything bad about the team they played in each of the last two Finals.

James went out of his way after Friday night’s win over Sacramento to say Golden State has been the best team in the league over the last two years, and the Cavs were just trying to get better.

Some joy from the Cavaliers gets out every once in a while, like Thompson mocking Green’s comments the year prior during the Cleveland victory parade, but for the most part, the Cavs give the Warriors the respect they deserve as a great team.

You just don’t hear that out of the Golden State players, and even Steve Kerr mocked the Quicken Loans Arena scoreboard last week. (NOTE: We think “The Diff” is stupid too.)

On the other hand, James talks up the other players in the league a lot. Perhaps he is using it to soften his opponents, but we genuinely believe he is a fan of the game, and respects the talents of other great players.

When asked earlier in the year about averaging a triple-double, James said he doubted he could do it now, but quickly added that Russell Westbrook could.

Granted we get more coverage of the Cavs than the Warriors, but when was the last time you heard Curry or another Golden State player comment about how good another player in the NBA was?

We also believe other people involved in the NBA are getting tired of the hype surrounding Golden State. Recently, Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers reminded the press that the Warriors have only won one title.

Some of this stems from ESPN’s continuing coverage of anything blue and gold, despite “defending champs” missing from the Golden State story. Some of that is due to the high profile free agent signing of Kevin Durant this summer.

And of course, the four letter network loves to climb on a bandwagon.

If the Cavs win tomorrow, we are sure the players will talk about a great win against a great team to finish off a long trip.

If the Warriors win, we are anxious to see if there will be any humility after losing the title last season. Or will they trash talk some more giving James and his teammates more motivation if the two teams meet for a third time in June.

Either way, the newest rivalry in professional basketball writes another chapter tomorrow. It’s not just another game.

Is LeBron Getting Enough Rest?

The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to be conducting an experiment with LeBron James this season.

With James turning 32 years old at the end of December, one of the favorite things for fans and media alike to debate is rest for The King.

LeBron is currently third in the NBA in average minutes per game, behind only Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Minnesota’s Zach LeVine, playing slightly over 37 minutes per night, an increase of about a minute and a half more than a year ago.

On the other hand, James doesn’t rank in the top 20 in the league in minutes played for the season, as a result of sitting out three games already this season, and we are sure there are more to follow.

The experiment is this…what is better for the athlete, reducing minutes on a nightly basis, or having the player just not play on certain nights. That way, he doesn’t warm up, doesn’t get mentally prepared to play. It’s just a complete day off.

We understand that Tyronn Lue has said all along that a reduction in James’ minutes would occur in January and February when the schedule got a little contracted, but on this current trip, the least minutes in a game for #23 was the 35 he played in Brooklyn on the first game on the roadie.

Right now, James doesn’t show any signs of fatigue and the guy is obviously a physical freak. He doesn’t seem to get tired, even at the end of games.

While San Antonio is famous for starting the concept of giving players game days off, sitting Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili when the schedule got heavy, Gregg Popovich also cut the players minutes per game.

At age 32, Duncan played 32.7 minutes per night, while at the same ages, Parker played 28.7 and Ginobili also spent 28.7 minutes on the floor per game.

Obviously, the goal is to have James fresh through the middle of June as the wine and gold defend their championship. The concern is with The King getting older, can he take on the heavier minutes per night, and still be his dominant self throughout the playoffs.

We are sure there are constant conversations with Lue, James, and the training staff about how the player feels, and the organization has done studies on what is the proper way to keep a high caliber NBA athlete fresh after they have reached the age of 30.

We also know that LeBron James doesn’t care about chasing a regular season win record. He understands the ultimate prize is winning another title, and he knows the most important thing is to be healthy and strong in April, May, and June.

We should have learned by now that comparing LeBron James to other athletes doesn’t make sense. He is a freak of nature. As someone once said about guarding him, “if you are big enough, you aren’t quick enough, and if you are quick enough, you aren’t big enough”.

We also believe the Cavs will have the first overall seed in the East wrapped up sooner than they did this year, which should mean a lesser load for James toward the end of the year.

That should get James some fresher legs heading into the post-season.

If James appears tired in the playoffs, then the Cavaliers will have to adjust their plan going into next season. However, if he is dominant through the last game of the season, then it will be even more evidence that The King is incomparable.

2016: Memories Of A Winning Year in NE Ohio.

It is easy to be upbeat about sports in the city of Cleveland and throughout northeast Ohio these days, a contrast from, oh, let’s say the last half century.

That’s what a professional sports championship does for an area. Instead of talking and writing about what a team needs to do to win, we can celebrate and bask in the glow of having that feeling a fan can have when the squad they follow has already won.

That’s why June 19, 2016 will forever be a special date to a Cleveland sports fan. It’s the date 52 years of waiting for a winner ended.

And to think, just 4-1/2 months later, we almost got to experience that kind of joy again, when Rajai Davis tied Game 7 of the World Series with a home run. Unfortunately, a rain delay got in the way of the Indians attempt to copy the Cavaliers’ title, and they fell one inning short of winning the World Series.

That’s what 2016 was all about in a nutshell.

We doubt that 20 years from now, we will remember the Browns going 1-15 (maybe). But we will forever remember Kyrie Irving’s three pointer to give the wine and gold the lead they would never relinquish.

We will not forget the Golden State shot missing and LeBron James and Kevin Love looking at each other under the basket, realizing they were NBA Champions.

It still gives us a chill when we hear the words “NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers”.

For many years to come, James, Irving, Love and the rest of the Cavs will be heroes in this area. And when they are all retired and they come back in 2026 for the 10th anniversary of the title, they will still get a standing ovation.

And it was very cool when the newly crowned Cavs jumped on board the Tribe train throughout the playoffs and World Series, showing a bunch of younger sports fans that the Indians can be cool too. If LeBron and the Cavs thought so, then it was alright.

The Tribe started developing their own heroes too. People started recognizing the play of the city’s next superstar in Francisco Lindor and fell in love with Jose Ramirez. And don’t forget the impact Adam Miller had either.

Suddenly, folks started realizing that the only name they knew on the local baseball team wasn’t the manager. Although, Tito has one name status along the shores of Lake Erie.

After the Cavs victory, the area was in party mode all week. We finally had a victory parade downtown and many people who grew up here returned for that event, something they thought might never happen in their lifetime.

The Lake Erie Monsters won the AHL Calder Cup for the first time since 1964. Stipe Miocic won the UFC heavyweight championship and defended his title for the first time right here in Cleveland.

LeBron James was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year for 2016, and is also AP’s Male Athlete of the Year.

The Indians signed a big, big time free agent in slugger Edwin Encarnacion, arguably the best power hitter in baseball over the last five years.

And although the Browns’ season was forgettable, with just one victory to date (and hopefully no more), they may emerge with the chance to have the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Hopefully, we will never experience this kind of drought when in comes to winning again. 52 years is way too long.

Let’s hope this is the beginning of a new era in Cleveland sports. One where we win a bunch of times. We can all get used to that feeling.

Legacy Of LeBron Vs. Jordan

It is almost universally recognized that Michael Jordan is the greatest professional basketball player ever because of the six titles he won with the Chicago Bulls in eight years.

There are some who consider Bill Russell because of the Celtics’ dominance in the 60’s, and others who will name Oscar Robertson’s all-around game, Wilt Chamberlain’s unbelievable numbers, and those who will talk about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as well.

Jordan’s rep comes from elevating those teams to championships without other great players on his team. Yes, Scottie Pippen was a perfect compliment to him, but if let’s say Larry Nance replaced Pippen on those teams, would they still have won? We would say yes.

This brings us to LeBron James. Can James pass Jordan as the greatest player ever?

Right now, James has been in seven Finals, one more than His Airness. The difference, of course, is that the Bulls never lost when they got that far, while James’ teams have suffered four defeats, two each with the Cavaliers and Heat.

One argument used against Jordan is he never defeated another great team in The Finals. The Bulls first title was against a Laker team on its last legs. They didn’t win the Western Conference again with this group, led by Magic Johnson and James Worthy.

Probably the closest foe to Chicago were the Utah teams they won their last two titles against. The Jazz were led by two all-time greats in Karl Malone and John Stockton and repeating elevates that squad.

James’ team lost twice to the Spurs dynasty team (’07 with the Cavs, ’14 with the Heat) led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. They also defeated that same group in 2013.

And, of course, LeBron led the Cavs over the team with the all-time best regular season record this past summer, beating the 73 win Golden State team.

So, let’s say James takes the Cavaliers back to the Finals the next three seasons. That will give him ten appearances in the championship series. The most by any player who never played for the Celtics or Lakers (Bill Russell played in 12, Magic and Jerry West played in 9), and second most all-time.

And let’s say he wins two of those seasons, giving him five titles. Could we then say he surpasses Jordan? We say yes.

The main reason is the victory over the Warriors in June, and we presume one of those other wins will also come against Golden State, the 73 win team that also added another at least top 25 player of all-time in Kevin Durant.

As for Russell, the playoffs weren’t as tough then. Basically, if the Celtics defeated Chamberlain’s team they were in the championship round. Like Russell, James is surrounded by better talent than Jordan was with the Bulls, but getting to the title round four more times would tilt the scales in James’ direction in our opinion.

So, that’s what James is chasing now. He’s universally recognized as a top ten player in NBA history, probably top five.

Can he get to #1? Getting to more Finals will insure that chance, as well as moving up the lists in scoring and assists. He may very well be the all-time leading scorer or be second by the time he hangs up his sneakers.

The fact he has help from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love doesn’t hurt his chances one bit.

Cavs Allow Fans Some Relaxation

Usually for a Cleveland sports fan, there is worry, concern, and angst in following your team.

Maybe the lack of that worries you, because you are a product of following sports in northeast Ohio, but this NBA basketball has an odd sense of calm to it.

Right now, the Cavaliers are off to a great start, winning 13 of their first 15 games, and already are four games ahead in the loss column in the NBA Eastern Conference standing.

Barring any sort of health related problems, probably the next time any basketball fan will have any concern is when the playoffs get underway, and even then, perhaps not until the Eastern Conference finals.

That’s how good this Cavs team is, and winning that title last spring and experiencing that run together has freed them up to play seemingly even better to this point in the season.

A full training camp with Tyronn Lue has the wine and gold ticking like a Swiss watch. Kevin Love, the reigning Eastern Conference player of the week, is playing like he did with the Timberwolves, averaging more than 20 points per night and grabbing more than 10 rebounds.

The other thing that has to strike fans is the closeness of this group and the fun they seem to have together.

They attended the Indians’ post-season games together, they have an annual Halloween party, they stopped off to watch the Ohio State-Michigan game a few days ago.

Maybe all of that is done because LeBron James says it needs to happen, but the rest of the squad is following their leader, and that has to help when it comes down to crunch time in games. They trust each other and they trust their coach.

Yes, LeBron is playing more minutes than we all expected, but Lue has told us the plan is to give James more rest when the schedule gets heavy in January and February. His minutes will go down then, and there will probably be some days off as well.

There is no doubt or handwringing from the fans and sports talk hosts around town. The Cavs won, so we believe in what they tell us.

Outside of the game they lost in Indiana when James sat out, this team rolls on even if they are missing some of it’s cogs.

Channing Frye has tragically missed time due to deaths in his family. JR Smith missed some games with a sprained ankle. Last Sunday, both Frye and Iman Shumpert were out, the Cavs still won on the road.

Lue has also made everyone a part of the early success. Rookie Kay Felder has contributed. Jordan McRae has seen more time lately and played the entire fourth quarter of a game against Washington that was still in doubt.

Sunday, without Frye and Smith in a slump, Lue turned to veteran James Jones, who came in and knocked down two three pointers.

It is true that the Cavs have been home a lot thus far (10 of their 15 games have been at Quicken Loans Arena), so the schedule will get a little tougher coming up. However, that still doesn’t provide great concern.

And by the way, let the media keep chasing Golden State and the continuously preening Warriors. The Cavaliers will keep quietly going about their business, which is winning.

While their fans just sit back and enjoy the ride.