Hopefully, Kyrie Learned While He Observed

A couple of weeks ago, Kyrie Irving injured his bicep and there was speculation that he would miss the balance of the season. The prevailing thought was the Cavaliers’ slim playoff chance went out the window.

Then, the team started winning and currently sit just three games out of the #8 spot in the Eastern Conference with the team sitting in that spot, the Atlanta Hawks, in a free fall.

Now, Irving is ready to return and the hope here is he learned while he has been sitting and watching his teammates win four of the last five games.

What has been clear to everyone watching the wine and gold over the past week is that the offense has better ball movement. No longer is the ball dominated by one player eating up the shot clock, instead everyone is getting involved.

And players who were thought to be underachieving are getting more results.

Jarrett Jack has been a whipping post most of the season by fans, but suddenly, he been very productive, averaging 15.0 points and 5.8 assists per game since Irving went down.

Luol Deng, another veteran who fans have felt hasn’t been as good as advertised, is shooting 48% in the last six games (he missed two games with a sprained ankle), compared to the 42% field goal percentage he has compiled since coming to Cleveland.

The simple answer is that suddenly the Cavs are a better team without Kyrie Irving, but that’s ridiculous.

Irving is most definitely a talent. He’s made two All-Star teams and was the MVP of the game this year.

However, at times, talented players need to understand that he has to trust his teammates. The biggest thing Phil Jackson accomplished in Chicago was getting Michael Jordan to understand this.

When Irving arrived here as the first overall pick, he was without question the only true offensive player wearing the wine and gold. If he didn’t make things happen when the Cavs had the ball, then no one did.

Now, Cleveland has some other options to score. Dion Waiters is showing he is capable of running the team and can certainly score. Jack can put the ball in the basket, and Deng is an all-star talent as well.

Newly acquired Spencer Hawes is a threat from behind the three-point line.

Irving has some players to run with and he has to make sure they get the ball where they need it to be effective and he has to understand that it is a hindrance to the success of the team to dominate the basketball. He has to get everyone involved.

When he takes the court this week, he needs to show his teammates that he wants to be part of the recent success the wine and gold has had.

That means showing that he and Waiters can not only co-exist, but start forming a very formidable backcourt tandem for the organization.

It also means deferring to Jack at times, and making sure that not only do Deng and Hawes get shots, they get the ball where they feel comfortable.

That’s called being a point guard and a team leader.

If Kyrie Irving does that for the rest of the season, it will go a long way toward the ultimate success of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and also show he is willing to pay the price it takes to be a winner in the NBA.

Now, On to The Cavs’ Mess

Two weeks ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded a suspended Andrew Bynum for two-time all-star Luol Deng and basketball fans on the north coast were optimistic.

Deng started playing with the wine and gold at the beginning of a five game trip to the west coast, and although they took a horrible blowout loss at the hands of the Sacramento Kings, they went 3-2 on the road (despite going into the trek with just two wins away from The Q), and basketball fans here were optimistic.

Then the Cavs came home for a five game homestand, and promptly lost the first two games, both with disappointing efforts.

That slapped fans of the wine and gold back into reality.

Why this basketball feels it can just show up and win games despite the fact they are 15-27 on the season is baffling. Yet, night after night, they appear to be lackadaisical, fall behind, and then lose to teams they should beat, especially at home.

Something needs to change and quickly, because the season is more than halfway complete.

If the Browns are considered a mess, the Cavs aren’t very far behind.

The playoffs can still be attained, but it is very clear at this point that the roster GM Chris Grant put together and the coach Grant hired do not mix well.

And since the Cavs had the same problems last year under Byron Scott, it looks to be a more player related issue. Although we didn’t like the Brown rehire when it was made, and his offensive concepts are deplorable, it doesn’t seem to be on the coach.

The ridiculous notion that it would be more beneficial to miss the playoffs and re-enter the draft lottery makes you shake your head. It is typical of the “we’ll be good in the future” attitude that surrounds the Browns and permeates the city.

What you will get in the lottery is another player who will need time to develop his game. Yes, it’s a deeper draft, but how many players projected to come out can be expected to start on an NBA team, particularly the Cavaliers, next season?

There will be a couple for sure, so you could make the comment that unless you get a top three pick, you will get another project. And isn’t the Cleveland roster full of guys who need to develop and play better?

That’s another reason Grant should have considered another coach, because Brown has no track record of developing and finishing off players. Have any of the young Cavs improved over last season?

You can’t make a case for any of them.

And the young players don’t seem to be showing a great deal of respect for Brown either, because they clearly aren’t working hard, particularly on the defensive end, which is the coach’s forte.

Look at the way Cleveland’s opponent last night, the Bulls, played. Granted, their roster isn’t filled with young players like the Cavs, but they went out and played hard, played defense, and won even though they were without two starters, and had traded Deng here two weeks ago.

Grant and Brown need to take a good look at the roster and see who fits what they are trying to do, and who doesn’t.

The players who don’t should be moved elsewhere for players who will fit the system. And this needs to be done quickly.

The Cavs aren’t playing any rookies this season. Everyone has been in the league now for at least a year and a half, so the front office should be able to identify whom they can build with.

We understand that with young teams comes inconsistency. But that shouldn’t pertain to effort and defense.

That message isn’t getting through to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Something has to change to make sure it does.

Deng’s Professionalism Makes Him Best Cav

When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded for two-time all star Luol Deng a little over a week ago, we proclaimed our love for the trade and said Deng steps in as the second best player on the team immediately.

We were wrong.

Deng is the best player wearing the wine and gold uniform right now.

You are probably reading this saying we are out of our mind, surely Kyrie Irving, the much-publicized young point guard is the best player. After all, he is the face of the franchise.

After watching four games with Deng in uniform, it is clear he is the alpha dog.

Why? Not to be too simplistic, but he’s a basketball player.

He makes open jump shots, he moves without the basketball, he plays solid defense. Isn’t that what you want out of a basketball player?

We have been campaigning for some sort of veteran presence on the Cavaliers, and getting the all-star small forward from the Bulls, is the first step in the right direction.

Instantly, Deng has developed a chemistry with fellow vet Anderson Varejao, communicating with him on defense and moving without the ball to get good looks at the hoop when the “Wild Thing” has the ball at the elbow.

This is because they know how to play professional basketball, something the younger Cavs like Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters have yet to grasp.

However, these two players and the rest of the players who are new to the league should be watching Deng and Varejao with an eye toward being the professional both of these players are.

It’s why it is clear, if you know basketball, that Luol Deng is now the Cavaliers’ best player.

It appears to have surprised the newcomer when his new teammates didn’t communicate on the floor. To be sure, the Bulls must do it quite a bit, and talking makes teams better particularly on the defensive end of the floor.

The younger players have ability, but they seem to have “SportsCenter” games, meaning they do things that show up on highlight reels, but don’t necessarily contribute to winning basketball games.

Irving, in particular, seems to be struggling since the arrival of Deng, shooting just 37.5% from the floor and his assists are down as well in the four games Deng has played. Perhaps, Irving is having difficulty converting from being in total control of the offense to Deng’s more disciplined approach.

And Deng’s contribution on the defensive end definitely tips the scales in his favor. He may not be on the all-defensive team, but he gets in his man’s way consistently.

Watch the younger players on the defensive end, opponents flash to the basket all the time and you will see the Cavalier defender trailing his man quite a bit.

This isn’t to say Luol Deng is a special player, but he appears to be the epitome of a professional basketball player. He plays the game the correct way.

GM Chris Grant would be well served to obtain another veteran player to go with Deng and Varejao to help the Cavaliers move forward.

The more players guys like Irving, Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller can learn the game from the better off the future of the Cavaliers will be.

Young Cavs Need to Toughen Up, Get Some Grit

The Cleveland Cavaliers opened their trip out west with good feelings. They started their new acquisition, two-time all-star Luol Deng, and defeated the Utah Jazz.

However, things took a sharp turn south as the Sacramento Kings, a team with a similar record as Cleveland’s, hammered the wine and gold. The 44 point loss was the largest margin of defeat in the NBA this season.

During the game, the Cavs’ young guards, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters seemed upset at being taken out of the game by head coach Mike Brown. Whether they were dismayed by the fact their team was getting shredded or because they were losing playing time is up for debate. Whatever the reason, it seems like there is a problem behind the scenes.

Yes, the Cavaliers are a relatively young basketball team, but the only rookie getting regular playing time is free agent Matthew Dellavedova, a gritty, energy type of player.

The rest of the team is in their second or third years in the league, so they’ve been around long enough to know the NBA. And they do have veterans like Anderson Varejao, Jarrett Jack, and now Deng, along with a veteran coaching staff to tell them the work that is needed on a daily basis to win in the league.

So, why isn’t it taking?

The Cavs look disinterested in too many games, and they get blown out far too frequently for a team that has four top five picks in the draft on the roster.

It doesn’t seem like the players are learning from the experience. A loss like the one to the Kings shouldn’t be acceptable to anyone in the organization.

When Jack signed with the Cavs last summer, he made a statement about how there are two types of players, those who love the lifestyle and those who love the game.

Right now, it looks like the young players with the Cavaliers are more about the former, and it spells trouble for the franchise unless that changes.

Look, every player likes to win. The crowds are with you and it makes it easy to show up at the gym every day to practice.

What are needed for this organization to move forward are players who hate to lose. Those men are stung by every loss, and they will do anything to prevent defeat.

Our contention is that Michael Jordan’s greatest attribute as a player was his competitive streak. The man simply hated to lose at anything. Most of the great players in any sport have the same trait.

It doesn’t appear that the Cavaliers have many players who have the “competitiveness” gene. They are happy to be professional basketball players, but they don’t want to do whatever it takes to win basketball games.

You would like to think the veterans on the team could communicate this to Irving, Waiters, and the rest, but it hasn’t taken yet and the season is almost halfway through. GM Chris Grant added another veteran voice in bringing Deng over.

Hopefully, bringing a guy who has been on playoff teams the past few years makes a difference.

That’s the risk of having a team made up of a majority of young players. Sometimes, they learn to win together like the Cavs of the 80’s with Brad Daugherty, Ron Harper, and Mark Price.

These Cavs need to develop some toughness and grit. If winning doesn’t start soon then Grant will need to make changes with the roster to bring in players who are sick of losing.

The time to make the playoffs is now and the time to start demanding victories is also now. The players need to get on board or move elsewhere.