Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 Media Day
5. Ball movement is key
One of the biggest issues with the Cavaliers last season was consistent ball movement. Players would either go one-on-one, or become indecisive when making a pass–which would lead to a turnover.
The departure of Irving should help with that.
Rose already mentioned during Media Day with Cavs.com, that it’s his job to get his guys open, and that he wants to be more of a facilitator at this point in his career instead of a scorer as in years past. That is something that has been missing at the point guard position for the Cavs since Andre Miller.
Rose is one of the top passers out of the pick-and-roll in the NBA, and it should pay dividends for the team in the long run.
Everybody knows that James is the one who sets up the plays, but it would help if there were another player that could do that. The addition of Dwyane Wade will help with that as well.
Any time the Cavaliers had ball movement last season, they got their shot, or were able to hit the cutter for an easy layup or dunk. However, when movement stopped, there were numerous turnovers and uncertainty on plays.
I would run out of fingers and toes on how many times Irving would get the ball, take his man one-on-one, and get met at the whole by defenders. Instead of passing on the penetration and finding a better opportunity on the floor, the ball would usually go up.
It was also the reason that J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver struggled late in the season. They took much tougher shots than they should have. No movement led to bad spacing, and it gave the defense time to set up.
If Rose, Thomas and Calderon can keep the ball moving, along with James and others, it will make it much easier on the offense, and opposing defenses will have no answers.
The reason teams such as the San Antonio Spurs, and yes the Golden State Warriors ( I wish I didn’t constantly have to reference them) have so much success is because of this. It’s a thing of beauty when they pass the ball and get the best shot available. The ball doesn’t even touch the floor sometimes!
The Cavs have the talent to be just as good, and potentially better if they learn to share the ball this season.