Love Shines in Offensive Struggle

Photo by Brock Smith/NBAE via Getty Images

In their first game of two-week stretch without their star player LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-14) ended a three-game losing streak, defeating the Charlotte Hornets in an offensive struggle, 91-87.

The final score doesn't do enough justice to how bad of a game this was, as both teams struggled mightily from all aspects of the court. Both teams shot below 40 percent from the field, 30 percent on 3-pointers and 70 percent from the free throw line. The vanguard of this struggle for both sides were led by the back courts; Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Matthew Dellavedova for Cleveland; Kemba Walker, Gerald Henderson and Gary Neal for Charlotte. Each trio had more shots than points (43 points on 51 shots for Cleveland, 35 points on 49 shots for Charlotte) and seemingly fired up brick after brick.

However for Cleveland, they did have Kevin Love back and playing the way he did in the beginning of the year. Love had 27 points (9-of-15 shooting) and five rebounds, and seemingly looked like the only player that provided any consistency, along with his front-court partner Tristan Thompson, who had another double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Three Things:

1. Kevin Love, he's (kind of) alive!

For seemingly the entire season, one of the main story lines this season has been getting Love involved in the offense. Tonight, he was finally given his touches and took advantage, scoring 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting. But 23 of those points and 12 of those shots came in the first three quarters, again showing a theme of Love getting no touches in the fourth quarter. It's a good sign to see Love have a bounce back game, but it still is discouraging that they refuse to go to him in crunch time. 

2. Are there serious concerns with the offense?

For all the talk of how great of an offensive-minded genius he was overseas, head coach David Blatt has yet to translate that to the NBA. Although they rank fourth in the league in offensive rating, they have struggled mightily. In three of the last four games, the Cavaliers have shot below 40 percent from the field and haven't scored more than 91 points in those games. Excuses could be made that they were without LeBron James, but they still were with two other All-Stars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Even with them, it was mostly isolation and pick-and-rolls, with very few off-ball screens and cuts towards the baskets. Injuries haven't helped the cause, but these poor shooting percentages are certainly something to keep an eye on going forward. 

3. Could the Cavaliers be .500 when LeBron comes back?

He's projected to be out for two weeks, meaning he'll miss eight games if that holds true. After tonight's win, they are 19-14, meaning they would have to go 2-6 over that stretch to be .500 (or at least close to it). In that eight game stretch, they play five of the top eight teams in the West, with three of them coming on the road. They do play Philadelphia and the Lakers, two very winnable games, but that looks like it. With they way they played tonight, it's not hard to see why there isn't a good chance that this could happen.

Statline of the Night:

Tristan Thompson: 14 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks, 5-of-10 shooting.

Although Love had the better game, Thompson was a much bigger impact. He provided the interior presence that the Cavaliers have desperately needed, both cleaning the glass and protecting the paint.

What's next:

Jan. 4, at home against the Dallas Mavericks, 1:00 p.m.

Cavaliers End Losing Streak

After jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, the Cavaliers never looked back and beat the Charlotte Hornets 97-88.

(Photo from: Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer)

It's always interesting to see what Lebron comes out to start the game. Will it be the attacking, aggressive Lebron or the facilitating Lebron who lets the game come to him?  Monday night it was the facilitating Lebron who came to play as he had six of his 13 assists in the first quarter. His teammates would follow suite as the Cavs ended the quarter with 11 assists on 11 made shots.

The ball would continue moving the entire night and while Charlotte remained in the game, the Cavs remained in control on their way to victory.

In addition to his 11 assists, Lebron James would finish the night with 27 points and seven rebounds. Helping lead the way for the Cavs was Kevin Love who finished the game with 22 points and 18 rebounds. Kemba Walker would pace the Hornets with a team-high 24 points.

Three Things:

1. Lebron on the decline?

Coming into the game, Lebron was only averaging 5.5 rebounds per game, his lowest since his rookie year. While some may look at this as a sign of concern, it is better to look at it as a sacrifice. The reality is, playing with Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Anderson Varejao not too many rebounds are going to be available. Anybody looking at Lebron's rebounding numbers as a reason he is on the decline would be sadly mistaken given the circumstances.  

2. Magic Jordan

Lebron can score, that's a fact. After scoring 41 points against the Pelicans last game and a career high 61 points against Charlotte last year, Lebron decided to this time dominate the game with his passing.  Even though he finished the game with 27 points, his assists seemed to be much louder than his points scored. Lebron can always channel his best Michael Jordan impression but thats not what this team needs with scoring threats like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Instead the Cavs seem to be at their best when Lebron decides to do his best Magic Johnson impression, evident by tonight's game versus the game against the Pelicans.

3. The Hornets who have no Buzz

Coming into the season, I picked the Hornets as the team I thought would give the Cavs most trouble come postseason, and boy I could not have been more wrong. While the talent is there, this team struggles to space the floor and score effectively. The organization reportedly is ready to move on from the Lance Stephenson experiment and if he is traded, the experiment becomes another chapter added to Michaael Jordan's failures as a GM. 

Statline of the night: 

Lebron James: 27 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds.

While Kevin Love's monster double-double was a candidate, Lebron takes the honor of having the best stats because of how his passing became contagious to the entire team. With Lebron setting the style of play, the team would finish with 28 assists on 38 field goals. 

What's next:

Cavs take on the Atlanta Hawks at the Q, Wednesday Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. EST.