Cleveland Cavaliers Must Build on Historic Shooting, Not Rest on It

As Game 3 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks approaches, feathers may still be smoldering inside Quicken Loans Arena.

After the red-hot Cavs demolished the Hawks 123-98 behind a barrage of three-pointers, it would be easy for them to coast. Already up 2-0 and having just set an NBA all-time record of 25 made three-pointers in a game, how much better can Cleveland get?

The only team left unbeaten this postseason, the Cavaliers have to stay hungry despite going relatively unchallenged to this point. This historic three-point performance was nice but can't be relied upon as a typical strategy; before Wednesday, only six teams had ever even reached 22 treys or more in a game (regular and postseason) in league history.

Cleveland should by no means give up shooting threes in bunches but must continue to build on other successful habits that haven't gained as much attention.

Keep Letting It Fly

In the regular season the Cavs finished second in the league with 10.7 makes per game on 29.6 attempts and ranked seventh with a 36.3 percent success rate. Placing second in total conversions this year was good for a spot in league history, per Victor Mather of the New York Times:

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The Cavaliers' 3-point marksmanship has been overlooked this season in the shadow of the [Golden State] Warriors. While Golden State made 1,077 3-pointers, a record, Cleveland made 880 of its own, the fifth-highest total of all time. J. R. Smith led the way with 204, but Kevin Love, Matthew Dellavedova, LeBron James and many others had 3-point punch, as well.

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Outside shooting has become a staple of Cleveland's offense and a main part of its identity. A whopping 30.9 percent of its scoring came via the three-ball, second only to Golden State's 34.3 percent, per NBA.com.

This isn't by mistake. James needs to be surrounded by shooters. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, as his ability to draw double-teams creates open looks for others, while their presence and spacing in turn open up driving lanes for him.

Of course, the style of these three-pointers matters a great deal as well.

Players such as Dellavedova, Love, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye struggle to create open looks for themselves from beyond the arc but excel when spotting up and waiting for the ball to arrive. Because of this, the Cavaliers are quickly mastering the art of the catch-and-shoot three.

They rank first among all playoff teams in makes (12.3), attempts (25.5) and success (48.4 percent) on catch-and-shoot triples. This is due to strong efforts by Love (44.1 percent), Jefferson (53.8), Smith (55.0) and Kyrie Irving (an otherworldly 63.2 percent). Even James, who shot just 33.7 percent in the regular season on catch-and-shoot opportunities from three-point range, is converting 41.2 percent in the postseason, per NBA.com.

Cleveland must keeping firing rhythm threes and avoid less efficient pull-ups but not become too reliant on the deep ball.

Expand Other Areas as Well

All of these three-point attempts (45 in Game 2!) don't just spontaneously appear, of course.

Many open looks are brought on by double-teams attached to James, Love and Irving. Their mere presence can improve the team's offense and has jump-started this three-point movement.

"We're making the right play," head coach Tyronn Lue said after Game 2, per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin:

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Kevin posts up, they double-team, we make the right pass out of the double team: swing [pass], swing [pass], shot. Or they double-team LeBron in the post. Or we drive the basketball in transition, LeBron's driving seams, Kyrie's driving seams and guys are open. If we're open we want to shoot those shots.

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This kind of movement draws so much attention that defenders have to help out. If they don't, leaving a single man to defend James at the rim is a recipe for disaster. It doesn't matter if Cleveland attempts a single shot from mid-range, but to have an effective outside attack, work must be done in the paint.

This kind of inside-outside game is suited perfectly for the Cavaliers' strengths but is unfortunately utilized far too seldom.

The Cavs have averaged just 11.8 post touches these playoffs, a mark that ranks 14th of the 16 teams, per NBA.com. The San Antonio Spurs (23.0) and Warriors (18.9), naturally, lead all squads in these post opportunities.

While Love has been more aggressive in his calls for the ball, the Cavaliers are still finding him just 3.0 times per game. This is less than fellow teammate Tristan Thompson (3.5, per NBA.com), whose offensive deficiencies should mean he never calls for anything.

Using Love in the paint and spreading shooters outside is a win-win situation—one Cleveland needs to exploit far more often.

Revamped Defense

Despite sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the opening round, the Cavaliers were pretty awful defensively. The Pistons, without a real offensive star (sorry, Reggie Jackson), shot 47.8 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from three. Cleveland's defensive rating in the series was 107.4, far above its regular-season mark of 102.3, against a team that's far from an offensive juggernaut.

"I think our identity has to be defense," Lue said shortly before the playoffs began. "We have to continue to try and get stops because if we have a defensive identity we can get out and run in transition. That kind of opens everything for us. For us, we have to get back to our defensive mindset."

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Atlanta finished the regular season second in assists and just about every other passing metric. Its ball movement gave opponents fits and helped to compensate for its lack of individual stars. This was surely going to be a greater test than Detroit.

Thus far, Cleveland has met the challenge.

The Cavs' defensive rating has dropped to 103.0, as they've held the Hawks to just 95.5 points on 39.9 percent shooting. These are the second-lowest and worst marks, respectively, of any remaining playoff team.

The kicker? Nothing tactical appears to have changed. Instead, a better overall effort of contesting shots and communication has helped Cleveland force Atlanta's best players into tough, out-of-rhythm attempts.

The Cavaliers need this kind of spirited effort to balance out their record-breaking offensive success. This is a team that can shoot three-pointers with anybody, but despite all this talk of scoring, there's no way Cleveland wins a championship without playing its brand of D.

Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @CavsGregBR.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless cited. Stats via Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.