Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James and Kevin Love Lead Cavs Over Hornets
By Austin Remo
The Cleveland Cavaliers stopped their losing streak at two games on Monday at The Q, beating the Charlotte Hornets by a score of 97-88 for their sixth straight win at home. They started the game on fire, jumping out to a 21-0 lead.
It was the largest lead by a team since 2004 while holding an opponent scoreless to begin a game. LeBron James and Kevin Love were outstanding, connecting on multiple touchdown passes for easy buckets.
Perhaps the most important thing for this team and their success, as well as David Blatt’s success, is their ability to move and share the ball.
His schemes are predicated on passing and movement in the half-court set, using a number of different screens and cuts to get players open for good shots. They have to be unselfish for Blatt’s offense to come to fruition, and that’s exactly what they were on Monday night.
The Cavs came out with great ball and player movement on their way to the huge lead. Their first 11 made field goals to start the game came on 11 assists, a taste of what could come if they can continue to learn and master the formerMaccabi Tel Aviv coach’s offense.
LeBron was once again in a facilitating mindset, tying his season-high with 13 assists. He also finished with 27 points on 11-of-19 from the field to go along with 7 rebounds.
Kevin Love looked dominant Monday night. He was a monster on the glass, pulling in a season-high 18 rebounds, while adding 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 4-of-9 from deep. His four steals on the night turned into a couple of beautiful full-court passes on a line to King James who finished with a dunk or layup.
Kyrie Irving was a little quiet last night, scoring a quiet 16 points with five assists.
After the Cavs got off to a scorching start, the Hornets stormed their way back into the game, despite missing their first ten shots.
On a 25-9 run at the end of the first and into the second quarter, Kemba Walker brought his team to within three points about midway through the second.
The game got even closer in the third quarter when the Cavs came out a little flat, letting Charlotte creep within two at 59-57 midway through the quarter.
Kevin Love took matters into his own hands, knocking down a couple of threes to help Cleveland finish the third on a 21-9 run and an 80-68 advantage. He also had this TD pass to LeBron in the third that led to a thundering dunk to get the crowd going.
The Cavs live commentators Austin Carr and Fred McLeod make those calls that much better.
BIG MINUTES CONTINUE FOR BIG THREE
Despite the win, the performance still wasn’t perfect.
The talented troika of James, Irving and Love played too many minutes against a team they shouldn’t have to.
Kyrie and LeBron both reached 40 minutes in the game, and Kevin Love was just behind them at 39 minutes on the night.
The minutes being played by the three best players has to come down for the Cavs to have sustained success and a chance at a title come June. Remember when James stressed the need for these minutes to come down in mid November?
His coach should highly consider listening to him and start getting the bench a few more minutes so that his stars can rest.
Another thing to note for the Cavs was yet again on the defensive end.
The defense was good for the most part, aside from the run at the end of the first half and to begin the third quarter where it seemed like the Hornets just couldn’t miss. That wasn’t all luck. They were getting open shots and easy lanes through the paint. Kemba Walker seemed to have a free pass on a few occasions.
Once again confirming their need for a defensive presence who can block shots in the middle, the Cavs were outscored in the paint 42-32. And, after the horrid start to the game, the Hornets still finished the game hitting 46% of their shots.
The number isn’t extremely high, but against a struggling team with an offense with seemingly no cohesion? They have to perform better defensively, especially against a team that averages 94.2 points per game that ranks 24th in the league, and an offensive rating of just 100.3 which ranks 28th.
These are teams the Cavaliers have to impose their dominance over offensively, as well as using them to improve defensively by gaining confidence and enthusiasm with a strong effort.
However, it was a nice win for Cleveland overall and they will look to start a new winning streak on their current five-game home stand.
Mike Miller missed his sixth consecutive game on Monday with a concussion that he suffered back on December 4th against the New York Knicks. David Blatt hopes to have him back in the lineup on Wednesday when the Cavs host the surging Atlanta Hawks.
All stats via Basketball-Reference and NBA.com.