The Cleveland Cavaliers’ greatest foe continues to be themselves, not the magnificent Warriors.
Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost on Christmas Day. Then they followed that up by losing 105-76 to a lesser Portland Trail Blazers team on Saturday. Therefore, some fans might be tempted to hit that big red button labeled “PANIC!” that everyone has been told not to press.
And for the time being, that sentiment continues to hold true. Don’t press the button. Seriously.
Let’s look at the facts: the Cavs have only been entirely healthy for a few full games this season. Kyrie Irving especially still needs time to gain his groove back. Even Iman Shumpert has shown rust at times. This team’s best lineups have either barely been on or have yet to take the floor.
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The Christmas Day game was another example of the Golden State Warriors’ dominating play, sure, but the Cavs also shot themselves in the foot several times.
First, it must be noted that LeBron James missed five of his nine free throw attempts, with two of those misses coming late in the fourth quarter. That’s an area James has never been spectacular in, but it’s still surprising when he misses them in clutch moments. The Cavs lost by just six points, so those missed free throws look even more appalling now.
Second, David Blatt decided to play a lineup of Matthew Dellavedova, Kyrie, Shumpert, LeBron and Kevin Love down the stretch. It’s by no means a terrible choice, but many were scratching their heads as to why Love was put at the center spot. It gives the club more offensive power from another position, but Love simply can’t defend centers (or quicker players such as Draymond Green).
When you’re playing from behind, that might not be the best option.
Yeahhhh Kevin Love gonna need you to rotate over occasionally.
— conrad kaz (@conradkaz) December 26, 2015
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Needless to say, it didn’t work. Strangely, Tristan Thompson sat on the bench during this period. He would have been much more effective than Love at center for his defensive abilities and fantastic mobility. Stick him in that lineup instead of Love and Cleveland might have been able to get a few more stops.
Perhaps Blatt thought the situation demanded he play his All-Star power forward. Or maybe he legitimately thought offense over defense benefitted the situation the best. Who knows.
Finally, and perhaps the most strange thing that the Cavs did, was how they chose to ride out the final few plays.
With 20 seconds left in the game and the Cavs trailing by four, they fouled Andre Iguodala, who is only a 65.5 percent free throw shooter on the season. Luckily for Cleveland, he missed both attempts at the line and the Cavs called timeout to set up a play.
Being down four with 19 seconds remaining, the smart thing (and what I was certain they were going to do) would be to draw up a play for a lightning-quick two, then foul Iggy again. Then, depending on whether or not he makes his free throws, take an appropriate shot the following possession.
Simple, right? Teams do it all the time.
Well, Cleveland came out of the timeout, managed to get the ball to LeBron and with 12 seconds left he jacked up a three-pointer that clanged off the rim, effectively sealing the game.
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Uh, why? I still get annoyed thinking about it. Did Blatt really draw up a three-point play for James, who is shooting 25 percent from deep this season? Or did LeBron take matters into his own hands and pick heroics over the safer play?
Either way, it failed and the Cavs lost out. All of these things could have been avoided, save the lack of playing time the full team has spent together. It was one of those games where, as a fan, all you can do is scream into a pillow for a couple of hours.
Yet, these are all things Cleveland can fix and by the end of the regular season, likely will have fixed to at least some degree. Patience, Padawan.
Now, I would be remiss to ignore Golden State’s own woes. They are still playing without Harrison Barnes, meaning that their supernova lineup is unavailable for use. Also, Stephen Curry re-aggravated his calf in the game and had to leave the floor for a little bit. When he returned, he did play, but his movement wasn’t quite as agile as usual.
Admittedly, we didn’t get to see both of these teams at their best. Not yet. But we will, it’s inevitable, even if that meeting only comes in The Finals.
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For now, however, just keep your quivering fingers away from the big red button. It won’t do you any good.