Winners, Losers from Week 2 of Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA Preseason
We knew the Cleveland Cavaliers would be good. We just didn't know how good or how fast.
In the past week, we've developed some sort of an idea. Cleveland has pushed its preseason record to a perfect 4-0, beating the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers. Those wins follow a super-impressive rout of Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv in the opener.
Of course, the key word here is "preseason." This time of year, every team hopes to narrow in on a final 15-man roster and develop some sort of continuity, but all is well if everyone escapes in one piece.
With that in mind, we examine the winners and losers from the past seven days of professional basketball in #TheLand.
Winner: LeBron James
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It must be cool to be LeBron James.
After a pedestrian performance against his former team in Rio de Janeiro and a night off vs. Milwaukee on Oct. 14, LeBron reminded the basketball world why he's the top dog.
Against an Indiana defense minus Paul George, James tallied 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 24 minutes. The Cavs outscored the Pacers by 18 points while James was on the floor.
A year after shooting close to 57 percent from the field, James started the preseason a combined 6-of-19 against Maccabi and Miami. James was primarily a facilitator, dishing out 12 assists in 41 minutes of play. In the Indiana game, with Kyrie Irving out and Kevin Love playing limited minutes, James morphed into a super-scorer.
It's that balance that makes these Cavaliers so dangerous. One night, James could get you; the next, any one of Irving, Love or Dion Waiters could go off. LeBron's a perfect leader for this group because of his unselfishness. Now, he just needs to pick up the effort level a bit defensively.
In non-basketball news, Starz has renewed Survivor's Remorse for a second season. LeBron and business partner Maverick Carter are executive producers on the comedy. My read after watching two episodes: It probably won't win any acting awards, but it's fresh and topical; the second episode focused on child abuse, a month or so after Adrian Peterson's indictment.
Winner: Kevin Love
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It didn't take long for Kevin Love to find his place in this system.
After struggling in the preseason opener against Maccabi, Love bounced back magnificently against Miami and Milwaukee. He was the beneficiary of some gorgeous ball movement in Rio, finishing with 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 26 minutes. A few nights later, with LeBron on the sideline, he dropped 25 more on 8-of-11 shooting in 21 minutes. In those two games, he made 75 percent of his 12 three-point attempts.
Consider this: He was the best player on the floor in each of those two games.
Love is the elite power forward the Cavaliers dreamed of acquiring during LeBron's first stop. Carlos Boozer left for Utah after James' rookie year, and Antawn Jamison, traded from Washington, was only around for a few dozen games of the 2009-10 season.
The former Minnesota Timberwolves star is a dead-eye shooter, but also a creative passer from anywhere on the floor. Fans rave about his outlets, which have produced more turnovers than layups or dunks so far, but he's also a quality secondary facilitator in the offensive set. He has already found Waiters and LeBron cutting off the ball for buckets.
In other words, he's fitting in just fine.
Winner: Cavs' Backcourt Depth
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No Kyrie Irving? No problem.
OK, maybe that's a stretch, even as the Cavs won three straight without the All-Star MVP in the lineup. But this team has an embarrassment of riches in the backcourt. You almost wonder where Ray Allen, a future Hall of Famer, even fits, should he decide to delay retirement another year.
Irving and Waiters (more on him in a second) are entrenched as starters. From there, positions get a little murky, depending on lineups. Mike Miller, who played all 82 games a season ago and was Memphis' only legitimate deep threat, will see plenty of minutes behind Waiters. Matthew Dellavedova is a scrappy defender—one of the league's toughest, according to Bradley Beal—with an improving floater.
Coach David Blatt could go big with Shawn Marion or LeBron James here. If shooting is in order, he could call on James Jones or rookie Joe Harris. The former has only played 28 minutes this preseason and probably won't see consistent playing time. Harris, who played for the Virginia Cavaliers in college, is not gun-shy; he's already attempted 22 three-pointers this preseason. He's deceptively athletic and has shown flashes as an off-the-bounce scorer.
Perhaps most surprising, though, is A.J. Price. The 28-year-old was drafted No. 52 overall by Indiana in 2009, but hasn't quite caught on. He's been dynamite as a perimeter scorer this preseason, though, and has likely played himself onto the 15-man roster, like the undrafted Dellavedova did last year.
Price has scored 35 points over the past three games, functioning as the go-to guy on late-game units that have closed out three straight wins. Against Milwaukee and Indiana, that was against five rotation players. If he's cut by Cleveland, other general managers will likely be calling.
Loser: Cavs' Frontcourt Depth
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As good as the Cavaliers' backcourt has looked, I'm not so sure about the frontcourt.
Love is fantastic. Tristan Thompson (again, more on him in a second) is motivated, playing for a big-money contract extension. If healthy, Anderson Varejao is an above-average screen-and-roll big and floppy-haired handful for any opponent.
From there, your guess is as good as mine. The Cavs have Brendan Haywood, Lou Amundson and undrafted free agent Alex Kirk on the roster. Each has a tangible skill—Haywood's a big body in a league getting smaller, Amundson's a crazy train full of energy and Kirk's shown flashes as an interior presence defensively. I kid you not!
That said, no Cleveland fan wants to see any of these three guys receiving regular minutes. Haywood and Kirk are slow and could be terrorized by just about any inside-out big. Haywood turns 35 next month and didn't play at all last year due to a stress fracture in his left foot. Kirk's 13.6 percent body fat ranked second highest among rookies at the scouting combine, according to DraftExpress.
You've got to admire Amundson for his hustle—he chased C.J. Watson out past the three-point line in the waning seconds to contest a potential game-tying attempt—but he's put the ball in the basket twice all preseason. Of the three, I'd guess he's the most likely contributor.
Of course, much of this depends on Blatt. He could easily move LeBron or the 6'7" Shawn Marion to the 4 in small-ball lineups, with some combination of Irving, Waiters and Miller or Irving, Waiters and Dellavedova in the backcourt.
Winner: Chris Grant
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He hired Byron Scott. He hired Mike Brown. He drafted Anthony Bennett No. 1 overall. He signed Andrew Bynum. He signed Jarrett Jack for four years.
In hindsight, the much-maligned former Cavaliers general manager, who was fired in February, made some questionable moves. But give Grant a little credit for the emergence this summer of Tristan Thompson, the No. 4 pick in 2011, and Dion Waiters, No. 4 in 2012.
Thompson was drafted a spot ahead of Lithuanian 7-footer Jonas Valanciunas; Waiters was selected before Harrison Barnes and Connecticut center Andre Drummond. Valanciunas and Drummond may ultimately enjoy better careers, but that doesn't mean Grant failed on either pick.
I mean, would you rather have Barnes or Waiters right now?
As for their play this preseason, both have excelled. Thompson didn't play against Milwaukee and was limited against Indiana, but posted a killer 14-point, 13-rebound stat line opposite Chris Bosh and Chris Andersen in a mere 19 minutes in Rio. Aside from a peculiar push shot, Thompson's offensive game is still limited, but he's a worker defensively and a very effective rebounder for his 6'9" frame. He'll finish on a number of easy dunks created by LeBron and Kyrie drives.
Waiters was mediocre in Indiana, but plenty good vs. Miami (16 points on 7-of-12 field goals) and Milwaukee (23 on 8-of-13). The ex-Syracuse guard still occasionally over-dribbles and forces perimeter jumpers with double digits on the shot clock, but he's improving here. His field-goal percentage should climb substantially with open catch-and-shoot looks.
Dion's an underrated facilitator and probably Cleveland's third-best point guard, behind Irving and James. We'll see if his renewed effort on the defensive end continues into the season.
Loser: Paying Fans
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Ah, the preseason! You want to showcase your best product to your paying customers, but you also can't risk adverse long-term effects, like an injury to a star player. This will always be a conversation topic as long as preseason games are played, whether it's the NBA, NFL or any other pro league. No one is at fault, and I'm not sure there's a plausible solution.
Of course, there are scenarios the league could avoid, like an overtime preseason game, which the Cavs played against Miami, or a back-to-back, like Cleveland just had with Milwaukee and Indiana. For the purpose of rest, LeBron didn't play against Milwaukee. Thompson also sat out against the Bucks, while Jones and Varejao were scratches against Indiana. Irving missed both, despite saying last week he was "pretty sure" he would have played against Miami days earlier if it were the regular season.
Again, you can't blame Blatt here for emphasizing rest for his veterans. Just this week, LeBron has spoken openly about how an 82-game season "takes a toll" on players' bodies. That goes without mentioning the preseason, two-month-long playoffs and any international play over the summer.
But you also can't help but feel sorry for the fans, some of whom may not be able to financially justify regular-season Cavs tickets now that the team's a likely title contender. For them, this may be their one chance to see the LeBron-Love-Kyrie trio live.
Cleveland "hosted" Indiana at Xavier University in Cincinnati, which is, according to Google Maps, a 244-mile drive from Quicken Loans Arena. On Oct. 20, the Cavs will "host" the Chicago Bulls at Ohio State University in Columbus. Ideally, you'd suit up all your stars for the one chance these fans may have to see these guys in person all season.
But, you know, it's just the preseason.
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