Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 major differences following coaching change

2. Added half-court sets

In his short time as the Cavaliers head man, Lue noticeably pushed the team’s pace of play. During their championship season, they finished 28th in the league in pace. The following year, the squad finished 16th. Last season, they played faster than all but eight other teams.

When handed over the head coaching job, Lue stressed increased speed more than anything else.

Through six games, the Cavs were near the bottom in speed of play at 25th. Without Lue pressing the pedal, that’s about where Cleveland will probably stay under a new coach.

Lue wasn’t always one for order, enjoying the Cavs’ uptempo, school-yard style transition play more than anything else. His offensive sets were often simple, usually revolving around the pick-and-roll. He was certainly no master tactician.

Drew likes order, offensive sets and more detailed schemes. After he took over for Mike Woodson in Atlanta in 2010, the offense played a touch slower, but ran more screens and motion. Now Drew is no dummy and understands that the best teams usually play fast in today’s NBA. But he will value half-court sets more than Lue, as made evident by this recent interview with FOX Sports Ohio:

The Cavs will still get up and down the floor. They took 90 shots against Atlanta, their third-most of the season. But maybe we can expect them to pump the brakes a bit more often too.