The Cleveland Cavaliers took revenge on the Oklahoma City Thunder after the devastating defeat with 148 points and won convincingly in a foreign arena. The Cavs presented themselves in a retouched condition and showed a performance reminiscent of old glory days.
Yes, it’s only two games so far, but as Cleveland played the Boston Celtics and now the Oklahoma City Thunder after the Trade Deadline and dominated over much of it was impressive. It was not only Jordan Clarkson (14 points, 6/10 FG), Rodney Hood (14,4/8 threesome) or Larry Nance Jr. (13,9 Rebounds, 3 Blocks) who influenced the game, but also a J. R. Jr. Smith, who seemed to be transformed and immediately scuttled his first five threesomes (6/9 triples at the end).
There is a fresh breeze blowing through the organisation after 13 out of 20 games went into rushes before the trade deadline, partly in the most embarrassing way. The body language of all actors is improved, the sequences are over when the protagonists accused each other and trotted comfortably backwards in transition, for example when there were misunderstandings and senseless ball losses.
Cleveland appeared concentrated in Oklahoma City, and the highly acclaimed Thunder-Defense (although without Andre Roberson) only managed to lose 7 balls. LeBron James had some phases in which he held the ball for a very long time, but otherwise the offense of the Cavs ran smoothly, although simply – which makes sense for four players who want to be integrated. Thus, 51 percent of the field and 44 percent of downtown (16/36) can be seen.
The almost legendary bad defense of the Cavs was also improved and disciplined. Just a few weeks ago, Russell Westbrook did what he wanted to do, but this time Cleveland significantly reduced the circles of the current MVP much better. Westbrook ended up with 21 points and 12 assists, but he also had to work hard (7/19 FG).
The great weakness was once again revealed underneath the basket. Steven Adams uncovered this relentlessly and picked up one miscarriage after the other. 12 offensive rebounds were even a new career high for a specialist like him (previously 9). Tristan Thompson, himself an expert in this discipline, was hopelessly outnumbered and seemed to be quite old again.
So it was only logical that the energetic Nance played through the last 16 minutes of the game in the center position. He, too, was unable to eliminate Adam’s attacking glass entirely, but he effectively defeated the infamous Pick’ n’ Roll with Westbrook and was thus one of the guarantors that Cleveland established a double-digit lead at the end of the third quarter, which won the game.
It didn’t matter any more that James remained inconspicuous in the final section and couldn’t tie in with his outstanding first 30 minutes. Nevertheless, the end result was a strong 37 points (14/23 FG), of which 14 were scored in the first five minutes of the third quarter alone. Here a wisdom was confirmed:’ When LeBron hits his jumpers, he can’t be stopped’ – not even by an elite defender like Paul George.
“We were everywhere and helped each other today,”James said happily after the game at TNT,”Even though there were times when we weren’t so good, we fixed it during the game. This is very important,” LeBron can make it easy for his new team-mates to integrate, especially in the attack. Whether Hood or Hill, the King will find his shooters, even if they are only a fraction of a second away.
“Everyone plays for the other, it doesn’t matter who scorts. We penetrate, make plays. That’s how basketball is supposed to be.”
At the moment Hill is the only new part of the Starting Five, which also consists of Smith, Rookie Cedi Osman and Thompson. Eventually Kevin Love will also return, presumably he will replace the Turk. The current formation is certainly not the best line-up in terms of talent, but coach Tyronn Lue was not as stubborn as in the past, and in the crunch time he rewarded the bankers (Clarkson, Nance, Jeff Green) who earned these minutes with good performances.
Of the five reservists that Lue appointed, each other than Kyle Korver scored double-digit points. The Bank Unit alone is also working very well and outscorte Boston and OKC with 12 points in only 19 minutes. In OKC, this lineup gave LeBron an extended break, allowing them to extend their lead to 10 points.
One reason to fall into euphoria is not yet. Basketball has only been played for 96 minutes, although the opponents were anything but falling fruit. Nevertheless, first conclusions can be drawn: The cavs are more athletic, deeper and can react more flexibly to lineups of the opponent. Most importantly, however, the component that Cleveland can now switch more switches without causing serious disadvantages.
The difference from Hill to Derrick Rose/Isaiah Thomas or Hood to Dwyane Wade should not have escaped anyone’s notice. It’s no coincidence that elitist defences (Warriors, Rockets, Raptors, Heat) maintain a style where there is a lot of switch.
It’s crazy to look back less than two weeks and see a quasi dead team without life and joy. Now a grinning LeBron can be enraptured by the following statement:”The worst thing for us is the All-Star Break,” which would have been unthinkable not so long ago when the King was talking about “Strugglesville” when it came to his team. That Isaiah Thomas stings against the Cavs in almost every interview, he will only notice with a tired smile, there are finally more important things.
The East has to dress warmly, the cards in the race for the crown of the Eastern Conference seem to be newly mixed. An anonymous enemy officer never got out of rapture when asked about GM Koby Altman and his activities around the deadline:”We should all bow before him,”the executive told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin,”This was an incredible day. It wasn’t a homerun, these trades were a Grand Slam.”