It looks like the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers have shaken off some early rust. Here are 5 early takeaways from the first quarter of the season.
Nov 15, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers looked like a team that wasn’t itself when they were on a three-game losing streak to start the month of December. But they’re back to their winning ways as they’ve won five of their last six games.
The Cavaliers remain atop the Eastern Conference with an 18-6 record.
They still remain one of the NBA’s best teams on offense but defensively, they are still trying to figure things out. They rank 12th in opponents points per game, allowing 102.8 per contest.
Last season, Cleveland ranked fourth in the NBA in opponents points per game allowing just 98.3 points a contest.
This season, the Cavaliers rank fourth in points per game (111.1) on offense and 10th in assists (22.7) per game. They’ve let their offense do much of their winning in the early going. But as we all know, defense wins championships.
After all, it is what helped the Cavaliers win their first NBA championship last season. Holding Golden State to less than 100 points in two of the last three games proved more than helpful in coming back from a 3-1 deficit.
They can still get back to the NBA Finals, but there’s work to be done. They have some roster moves to solve if they want things go as smooth as last season.
Here are five takeaways for the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first quarter of the season.
Mar 31, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
5. Mo Williams buyout means a possible addition sooner rather than later
Point guard Mo Williams is still listed on the roster but has yet to report to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Williams’ agent let Cleveland officials know the morning of media day that the 33-year-old planned on retiring.
Now, a looming issue for the Cavaliers is replacing backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova, who joined the Milwaukee Bucks in the offseason.
The Cavaliers current backup point guard is 5-foot-9 rookie Kay Felder. The point guard was selected 54th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Oakland University by the Atlanta Hawks. He was traded to Cleveland over the summer for cash considerations.
Felder is currently averaging 4.2 points and 1.9 assists in 9.8 minutes per game. He is shooting 41 percent from the floor and has appeared in only 11 games.
The Cavaliers may need to go shopping for a backup point guard soon or go all-in and see what Felder can do in extended minutes.
In his most recent appearance on Wednesday, Felder scored 14 points, dished out four assists, grabbed three rebounds and two steals in 23 minutes of playing time.
Dec 14, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
4. Where is Mike Dunleavy?
Head coach Tyronn Lue has got to find minutes for newly acquired forward Mike Dunleavy.
Dunleavy is still serviceable at 36 years of age. He averaged 7.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 22.7 minutes per game for the Chicago Bulls last season.
Dunleavy has appeared in 18 games for the Cavaliers, playing 15.4 minutes per game. He is averaging just 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, both career lows.
The Cavaliers depth still needs work, so working Dunleavy into the rotation isn’t such a bad idea. The 16th-year forward out of Duke shoots a career 37.5 percent from three and 44.1 percent from the floor. Surely Cleveland can find some minutes for him.
They split games with the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday and Wednesday while LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving sat out to rest the back end of the home-and-home. Dunleavy had 11 points, six rebounds and a steal in 23 minutes of work.
They face the upstart Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Then the following week, they face the Milwaukee Bucks twice in a back-to-back on Dec. 20-21. With some tough games coming up, it could serve Lue to work Dunleavy into the rotation in some capacity.
Dec 13, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
3. J.R. Smith needs to find his rhythm.
Since winning the NBA championship, Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith has seen his stock rise as one of the better three-point shooters in the NBA. But, he’s still a streaky shooter searching to find his rhythm this season.
He is averaging just 8.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 29.4 minutes per game. His scoring average is the second-lowest in his 13-year career. Smith is shooting a career-low 32.4 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from the three-point line.
He shot just better than 40 percent from the floor last season.
Smith did score a season-high 23 points on 8-for-17 shooting from the floor, making six three pointers in their game against Memphis on Tuesday. But other than that, Smith has had a relatively quiet season to date.
If the Cavaliers want to make a deep run in the playoffs, they’ll need Smith at his best. We’ll see if he can find his rhythm sooner rather than later.
Dec 13, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
2. Kevin Love has finally found his form.
Some of J.R. Smith’s drop in production could be attributed to the emergence of power forward Kevin Love. Love has started this season on a tear, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10.4 rebounds per game. They are his highest averages since arriving in Cleveland two seasons ago.
He is shooting a career-high 47 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent from three-point, his second-highest average for the 18-6 Cleveland Cavaliers. Love has 15 double-doubles and has scored more than 20 points in 13 games this season.
He scored 40 points and snagged eight rebounds in the team’s victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 23. Love shot 12-for-20 from the floor and made eight three pointers in the game, tying his career-high.
He scored 34 points in a quarter to set the Cavaliers’ franchise record for points in a single quarter.
Not too bad shabby when you’re the defending NBA champions. It’s look like Love is prime to come on strong this season for Cleveland.
Nov 15, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
1. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are becoming a scary sight.
The Cavaliers have won five of their last six games. A lot of that has to do with the play of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in the backcourt.
In their last five games, James is averaging 29.8 points, 8.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals for Cleveland. He is shooting 61.6 percent from the floor along the same stretch.
Irving is averaging 20.7 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds in the Cavaliers last five games. He’s been a great duo with James on the court. Irving is shooting 48.9 percent from the floor and 61.5 percent from three.
It helps the Cavaliers rested the Big Three this past game against Memphis on Wednesday as well. Granted they lost, but only by eight points to a good defensive Grizzlies team. Things are setting up beautifully for their Christmas Day game with the Golden State Warriors.
It’s just 10 days away.
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