Cavs Continue Winning Ways

(Photo from: ftw.usatoday.com)

It was a complete team effort by the Cavaliers which saw them cruise to a 110-88 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on the road.

With the royal couple watching sideline and Lebron James calling it a "huge honor" to play before the royal couple, signs were pointing to a king size performance from one King James but the Cavs didn't need it.

After going into the half only up one, the Cavs would turn it on in the third quarter outscoring the Nets by 17 and remaining in control from that point on.

The Cavs as a team got off to a slow start in the Barclays Center. Lebron and Kevin Love were the only two to score for the Cavs in the first period. Kevin Love carried most of the load, scoring 15 of the 22 points the Cavs would end up with at the end of the period.

Anderson Varejao would end up as the lone Cavs starter with a field goal in the second quarter. While this would usually be problematic for the Cavs most nights, tonight was different. Led by Dion Waiters' 13 points, the Cavs bench would end up scoring 26 points in the quarter, beating their season average. James Jones was a marksman from downtown, connecting on all three of his three-point attempts in the quarter, and hitting four of five for the game.

Three Things
1. Good Dion
For Cavs fans, Dion Waiters serves as one of the most polarizing players on the teams. The talent has always been there for Waiters, the patience, poise, and level-headness it takes to be a consistent player in the league is not always there. Tonight, he put all those things together and was the best player on the court.

2. James Jones
The veteran came in for the second game in a row making it rain from downtown. For the season he is 8-for-12 from deep making the loss of Mike Miller who has only connected on five threes out of 20 for year, a little bit easier to swallow.

3. Welcome back Delly
Monday night saw the the return of Matthew Dellavedova back into the lineup. While he only scored two points tonight, anybody who watches the Cavs know that his real impact can't be found in the box score. Always proving toughness and playing his heart out, his return gives coach Blatt another permitter option to close the game and allows Dion Waiters to focus solely on scoring when the second unit comes in the game.

Statline of the night:
Dion Waiters: 26 points, 4 assists, 2 steals

Dion stole the show Monday and was in a grove all night. This was the Dion, Lebron envisioned when he said that Dion would be best suited for the team coming off the bench. If Dion can serve as a Jamal Crawford type off the bench, look out!

What's next:
Dec. 9 against the Toronto Raptors in the Q

Mike Miller sparks Cavs to a gritty win over the Bucks

(Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)

This was a win the Cavaliers have been looking for all season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers extended their winning streak to four, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 111-108.

Trailing by double digits in the middle of the third quarter, the Cavaliers looked all out of sorts on both ends of the court; the ball was stopped on offense and were giving up plenty of open looks to the Bucks on defense.

Two guys specifically were tough for the Cavaliers: guard Brandon Knight and rookie Jabari Parker. In tonight's game, they each finished with 20-plus points, with Parker showing glimpses of the potential that has been placed on him over the last two years. When the Bucks were building their lead in the third quarter, Parker showed plenty of flash, including a baseline dunk where he blew past Kevin Love and finished with his off-hand.

Previous games would dictate a loss for the Cavaliers. However, this game would not end as those ones did, and it was led by a guy has had more DNP's than 3-pointers this season.

Mike Miller, who hasn't played in the last three games, got his first minutes of the night with 6:45 left in the third quarter with the Cavaliers trailing by nine. After a LeBron James turnover with the Cavaliers trailing by 11, the Bucks came down and had chance to extend their lead, but couldn't capitalize after Larry Sanders missed a wide open dunk. Kyrie Irving would rebound the miss and outlet the pass to Miller, who would pull-up and nail 3-pointer off the break. Following that make, Irving would get a steal on the following Bucks possession and finish an and-one on the break to cut the deficit to five.

By the end of the third, the game would be tied heading into the final quarter, and Miller's work would not be finished.

With the game tied at 89 in the middle of the fourth, Miller was matched up on Giannis Antetokounmpo, also known as the Greek Freak for his unnatural size and length. A mismatch by all accounts, Antetokounmpo drove to the basket against Miller, expecting to get an easy bucket against the bad defense of Miller. However, Miller did what no one would expect: he blocked the 6-11 guard's shot, grabbed the loose ball and threw it out to Irving, who would finish at the other end with another and-one, giving the Cavaliers a 92-89 lead with just under four minutes left in the game. Just under a minute later, Miller would hit his second 3-pointer of the game, giving the Cavaliers a six-point lead that they would not relinquish.

Miller would finish the game with six points, seven rebounds and one huge block.

You may say that Kevin Love (27 points and 10 rebounds) or Irving had the better games (28 points and 6 assists), but it was Miller that was the difference in the game. Last year (and even so far this year) this game would have been lost. Miller has changed the mindset of many of the Cavaliers who have endured losing for almost three years.

He's been in this spot before. He's hit big shots in multiple playoff games, helping the Miami Heat win two NBA championships. With a Cavaliers bench that has been the worst in the league, his spark tonight was exactly what Cleveland needed in order to extend their winning streak to four.

Three Things:

1. Kyrie has been the Cavaliers best player this season.

It's hard to argue just how good Irving has looked this entire season. Coming into tonight's game, the fourth-year guard has averaged 21.1 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game, all while shooting a career-high 46.7 percent from the field. Tonight was no different, scoring 28 points (10-of-15 shooting) and dishing out six assists. No one expected Irving to look this good, this early, but that appears to be the case. But it's not just his offense that's been impressive, his defense has been dramatically different from what he had been doing in his first three years. LeBron has looked great, but not in every game. If there is anyone on the Cavaliers who shields virtually no blame for their start to their season, that one would be Kyrie Irving.

2. The Bucks are NOT bad.

Casual NBA fans see the Milwaukee Bucks as an easy win for their team, considering they won a whopping 19 games last year, and outside of drafting Jabari Parker, didn't get much better this year. Well, they didn't add much in free agency, but they did gain something they didn't have last year: health. Last year, Larry Sanders and Ersan Ilyasova missed a combined 97 games, a big part of why they were so bad. This year, they both have played in every game, and have been a big factor in the Bucks winning ways. Combine that with Giannis Antetokounmpo's growth and Parker's ability to be a star, like he showed tonight, you'll see they're not as bad many think they are, and could sneak into the playoffs at the end of the year.

3. The bench.

Outside of Mike Miller and Tristan Thompson, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Statline of the night:

Kyrie Irving - 27 points, 6 assists, 1 turnover, 10-of-15 shooting.

Another game, another solid outing from Kyrie Irving. For the ninth time in 11 games, Irving scored 20 points, and once again played solid defense. Although he let Brandon Knight scored 27 points on him, he made a key steal with the Cavaliers trailing and nearly cut the lead in half at the other end. Is he the Cavaliers MVP so far? Hard to go against him.

What's next:

Dec. 4, on the road against the New York Knicks, 8 p.m.

Sloppy offense leads to third straight loss for Cleveland

With their poorest offensive performs of the year, the Cleveland Cavaliers (5-6) drop their third straight game, falling to the Washington Wizards (8-3) on the road 91-78.

Credit goes to the Wizards, who were able to hold the league's second-best offense to a minuscule 78 points, thanks in part to the 19 turnovers they forced. Most of them were due to their backcourt duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal, who combined for seven steals, but the rest was more self-inflicted by the Cavaliers. Multiple times throughout the game, Cleveland had fast break opportunities ruined by bad passes and miscommunication. In the first quarter, Anderson Varejao tried to play point guard on a two-on-one fast break with LeBron James, but made a bad pass leading to a turnover and two points for Washington on the other end. Washington was able to capitalize all night on Cleveland's miscues, scoring 24 points off of turnovers.

When the Cavs didn't turnover the ball over, they still made bad decisions shooting the ball, making only 36.0 percent of their shots tonight. Ball movement, which is a staple of head coach David Blatt's offense, was as nonexistent as it has been all season. The Cavs finished with 13 assists, and ended way too many possessions with zero passes or one-on-one isolation. Plenty of shots were taken with at least 15 seconds on the shot clock, most of them coming from LeBron. If the offense wants to be as good as they can be, they must eliminate these mistakes.

This is more than just losing games for the Cavs right now, as it seems that LeBron's message isn't getting across to everyone. Communication is mum, both on AND off the court, leading to problems that could easily be avoided. It's early, but if things don't change quickly, it will be long season in Cleveland.

Oh, and if things weren't as bad as they were now, the Cavs play the best team in the Eastern Conference tomorrow. But hey, all it takes is a few wins and this will all go away.

Three Things

1. LeBron is not helping.

Well, his play is (kind of), but his body language is definitely not. More times than not, he looks disgruntled and it's been rubbing off on his teammates, specifically to Kevin Love. At times, him and LeBron look as if they don't want to even share the court together. Look, LeBron knew it would take time for this team to gel, and even said that in his letter announcing his return to Cleveland. He shouldn't be the guy being frustrated, he should the guy be trying to calm everyone down when something goes wrong, and not making comments as if he is surprised at the situation the Cavs are in. Leaders are supposed to set good examples for others, not compound an issue when it arises. If and when things start to change in Cleveland, it will begin with LeBron showing the leadership he learned from Dwyane Wade and Pat Riley.

2. It's hard to be good when your bench isn't.

Just as important as having two or three star players are in order to win a championship, you need two or three bench players that can come in and make an impact on the game when the starters need a rest. Right now, there is no one on the Cavs bench that has constantly played well. Waiters and Thompson were supposed to be the go-to guys off the bench, but their play has been spotty to say the least. Joe Harris showed signs earlier, but since the Atlanta game his play has fell off. Mike Miller has been the Jason Giambi of this team: the old veteran who is more of a locker room guy than anything, and only does the one thing he does well good every once in awhile. There's plenty of time in the season for these guys to step up, but right now, it's gonna be hard for them to win games with no bench production.

3. Dear NBA Gods, let Varejao stay healthy.

You're not technically an NBA writer/blogger if you have not yet talked about the Cavs defense or lack of interior depth. Flat out, they're not good at defense, and no matter how much better they get, they're ceiling is no higher than 15th in defensive rating. As of now, Varejao has been the Cavs best interior defender while also providing some spark on the offensive end. I'm not a fan of him taking 10 shots in three quarters (as he did tonight), but he can score when given an open shot. If Varejao goes down, you're looking at Haywood as your backup big (barring any trades) with Thompson as the starting center. As bad as things have went so far, the last thing the Cavs need is for the Brazilian big man to go down with an injury.

Statline of the night: John Wall. 28 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals. 12-of-20 shooting.

I noted in the preview that Wall was one of the best two-way guards in the league, and he definitely showed that tonight. He was unstoppable on offense, but even more impressive on defensive, snagging four steals in what would be a turnover fest for Cleveland.

What's next: Nov. 22, at home against the Toronto Raptors. 7:30 p.m.

Irving and Waiters look to show who has the better backcourt

After captivating off-seasons for both of these teams, there are two things that have remained constant for both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards: the backcourts. Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiter are downsizing their roles for newer players in Cleveland, while John Wall and Bradley Beal look to be the reason they go far in the playoffs for Washington.

Washington Wizards

Record: 7-3, third in the Eastern Conference

Offense: 102.8 (20th)

Defense: 100.3 (6th)

The Good

- So far this season, the Wizards bread and butter comes on the defensive end. As you can see above, they rank sixth in the NBA in defensive rating, and they are there because of the amount of turnovers they force. So far this season, Washington ranks fourth in both turnovers forced and opponent's turnover percentage. They also defend the basket extremely well, allowing the third fewest points in the paint this year. The towering combination of Nene and Marcin Gortat, combined with the quickness off John Wall have made life tough for opposing offenses.

- They may not have a top-ranked offense, but they do one thing well that is comparable to the previous team the Cavs played: ball movement. The Wizards 65.2 percent of field goals assisted on is currently third in the NBA, and just 0.7 percent behind the top-ranked Spurs. The Cavs have given up the second most assists per game, and could see some problems with All-Star point guard John Wall commanding the offense.

- Speaking of Wall, he has lived up to all the hype he received coming out of the University of Kentucky, where he has been one of the best two-way guards in the league. He leads the league with 2.3 steals per game and is third in assists, averaging 9.3 per game. And by the way, he does all that while averaging close to 19 points per game. At 6-5, he possess both a height AND speed advantage, which could be a nightmare for Kyrie Irving.

The Bad

- Normally the "Let it Fly" moniker is used for a player who has an unnatural ability to shoot 3-pointers (hello Mike Miller), but when playing the Wizards, you can basically "Let Them Let it Fly" for how bad they are behind the arc. They don't necessarily shoot a bad percentage, but they don't take (29th in 3-point attempts) or make (29th in 3-point makes) a lot of 3-pointers. Considering Wall likes to use his quickness to get the basket, and the fact he also has some terrible shooting percentages, we might see the Cavs play zone for 48 minutes (very unlikely though).

- For as big as they are down low, the Wizards don't too much damage in terms of second chance points, where they rank 28th with 10.3 second chance points per game. Part of that problem is that they aren't a good offensive rebounding team, only bringing in 9.3 per game. Because they are a one-and-done offense, they will need an effective shooting night in order to score points, which they have shown so far this season they have trouble doing (18th in effective shooting percentage).

The Matchup to Watch

Kyrie Irving/Dion Waiters vs. John Wall/Bradley Beal

Shots were being fired left and right from both sides about who has the best backcourt in the NBA (which is neither for those wondering), promptly reviving the Cavs-Wizards rivalry of the mid-2000s. Beal led things off by saying the Wizards "definitely the best backcourt in the league", which then led to Waiters saying that Beal's claim was "nonsense" and sent one of the greatest tweets the internet has ever seen. Being that this is the first time these two teams have met since these comments, this could be a bloodbath (probably not though).

The Playlist

There is no one in the music industry who is more attached to a certain city than Wale and Washington D.C. are He's a huge Wizards and Redskins fan, and sort likes the Nationals. He likes to hoop too and is good friends with plenty of NBA players, specifically Kevin Durant, who is from Maryland. Not only is he the rapper who appreciates his roots, he's also one of the only well-known rappers from this area (sorry Logic, King Los and Black Cobain). Let us listen: 

Why Cleveland will win

The Cavs just came off of a game against the Spurs where they didn't play one of their best games and still had a chance to win the game at the end, until LeBron pulled an Earnest Byner (sorry Browns fans), costing them the game. This offense has been as good as advertised over the last few games, and not even a stout Washington defense could stop them.

Why Washington will win

We noted how well the Wizards are at forcing turnovers, and if Cleveland begins to cough up the ball, Washington will capitalize. The difference for Cleveland in their wins and losses have been turnovers, averaging 4.4 more in losses than in wins. All it takes is for Wall to have a couple of steals to change the outcome and the momentum of the game.

The Prediction

Cavs 102, Wizards 100

A lot will have to go wrong for this to be a blowout. Both of these backcourts are eager to prove which one is better, battling each other until the end. I think the difference will be LeBron and his ability to bounce back after poor games this year. Although he and Paul Pierce have had a solid rivalry against each other, Pierce is older and not as good as his younger self was. Expect a prototypical LeBron night, leading the Cavs to victory in the nation's capital.