Friday NBA Roundup: Cleveland Cavaliers Look Like Eastern Conference Alpha Dogs
At long last, the Cleveland Cavaliers are who we thought they were.
Making a statement following a week-long layoff, Cleveland positively torched the Washington Wizards 127-89. LeBron James totaled 28 points, six assists and five rebounds while Kyrie Irving added 25 points and seven assists.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, it was one of Cleveland's most convincing victories of the season:
All of a sudden, the Eastern Conference is becoming Cleveland's playground. With Friday night's win, Cleveland (34-22) leap-frogged Washington to occupy the No. 4 seed and is a half-game back of the Chicago Bulls, who fell to the Detroit Pistons, 100-91, at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
And since James' return to action on Jan. 13, no team has recorded more wins than the Cavaliers. Amassing 15 victories in that span, Cleveland has positively ravaged opponents thanks to an offense that's cranked out more than 112 points per 100 possessions. According to NBA.com, that's also the league's top mark over the last month-plus.
"I'm the leader of this team and I set the tempo. I set the pace," James told reporters following the win, according to The Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I set the aggressiveness and I just wanted the guys to follow me."
But this is about more than a healthy James facilitating a rapid turnaround.
General manager David Griffin quickly transformed the composition of Cleveland's roster, and the results have been nothing short of sensational.
During the Cavaliers' seismic heel turn, Cleveland's reserves—bolstered by the addition of Iman Shumpert—have recorded the league's top offensive rating. Friday night, Shumpert paced the Cavaliers' bench with 12 points, including three triples.
Then there's Timofey Mozgov, who has arguably been Cleveland's third-most important player behind Irving and James since his arrival on Jan. 9. In that span, Mozgov has posted a net rating of 10.2 points per 100 possessions, with Cleveland's defense operating as top-10 unit when he's on the floor, according to NBA.com.
For a defense that's occupied a spot among the league's bottom 10 all season long, that sort of wicked transformation should send shivers down the spines of Eastern Conference title hopefuls.
To exemplify just how profound Mozgov's impact has been, the Cavaliers were plus-42 (!) during his 29 minutes on the floor against Washington.
And he scored just eight points.
By comparison, Cleveland was plus-30, plus-20 and plus-14 with LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin Love on the floor, respectively.
J.R. Smith (15 points) has also comfortably nestled into a niche as a supplementary outside scorer. During his tenure with the Cavaliers, Smith is hitting more than 36 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes, according to SportVU player-tracking data.
In other words, this is a team finding its footing at the perfect time. The Cavaliers burst out of the post-All-Star gates with an incredible sense of urgency, and their play over the past five weeks should be striking fear into the hearts of the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors.
Especially since the Hawks have encountered a surprising rough patch of late, dropping four of their last seven games dating back to Feb. 2.
However, James has remained adamant that the team's most direct route to prosperity revolves around health, not top billing in the standings.
"Health. Health is way more important than seeding," James said, according to The Washington Post's Jason Reid. "Seeding is, obviously, a huge thing. Sure, you want to try to get home court. But if you don’t have your guns going into the playoffs, you’re not going to be able to compete for the long haul, for the whole playoffs."
With continuity established, the Cavaliers' ascent is set to continue in the coming weeks.
Sunday afternoon they'll clash with the New York Knicks before squaring off against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Then, in a true acid test of their championship credentials, the Cavs will host the Western Conference-leading Golden State Warriors on Thursday evening.
Around the Association
It's Stephen Curry's World, We're Just Living In It
There aren't many words that can adequately describe what Stephen Curry does on a night-to-night basis, so we're just going to show you some of the moves that catapulted the Golden State Warriors to a 110-99 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
His 25-point, 11-assist performance began with his absurd behind-the-back dime to Klay Thompson:
And it was punctuated by some transition wizardry:
At this point, it’s a mortal lock that during each game, Curry will break out a grip of breathtaking maneuvers that take advantage of his wicked handle in tight space.
As a team, the Warriors shot 51.5 percent from beyond the arc, with Curry and Andre Iguodala each hitting four treys. Klay Thompson, who scored 20 points, made three triples.
Given their inability to contain Golden State’s scorers, the Spurs have extra incentive to hold off the charging Oklahoma City Thunder and avoid a first-round clash with the projected No. 1-seeded Warriors.
The Hawks Are Suddenly in a Miniature Slump
For just the third time this season, the Atlanta Hawks have dropped back-to-back games. Granted, the losses were separated by a nine-day layoff, but it's a rare sight nonetheless.
Proving that they are, in fact, fallible, Atlanta shot 33 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from three in a 105-80 shellacking at the hands of the Toronto Raptors.
Kyle Korver was particularly off kilter, scoring 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-11 from three. In the 27 minutes Korver was on the floor, Atlanta was a team-worst minus-24.
DeMar DeRozan (21 points) and Lou Williams (26 points) propelled the Raptors and their Eastern Conference-best offense to a fourth straight win. Williams' shooting display, in particular, was of great personal significance, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
Although it's been an overlooked development during Atlanta's dominance, the Raptors trail only the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks in offensive rating.
Rose Struggles in Loss to Roster-Strapped Pistons
Derrick Rose missed the Chicago Bulls' practice on Wednesday and, apparently, forgot to show up for their first post-All-Star game, too.
The Bulls' star guard had nearly as many turnovers (six) as missed shots (seven) during a 100-91 loss to the short-handed Detroit Pistons on Friday. Rose finished the evening with just eight points and two assists in 31 minutes—a sharp drop-off from the 20.8 points and 7.3 assists he averaged during Chicago's four-game pre-break winning streak.
Worse still, Rose was badly outplayed by Spencer Dinwiddie, Detroit's rookie point guard. Dinwiddie directed a steady, balanced Detroit offense with 12 points and nine assists against just two turnovers.
Pretty good for a guy who will probably be on his way to the D-League once Reggie Jackson, the newest Piston, is ready to dress for action. (Then again, if Dinwiddie is going to play this well and Jackson is going to show up in such slick duds, perhaps the Pistons keep things status quo for a spell.)
To be sure, Rose wasn't the only Bull who struggled on Friday. Pau Gasol failed to rack up a double-double for the first time in 15 games. Rose didn't account for all of Chicago's 20 turnovers, and he wasn't solely responsible for Detroit's 52 paint points.
Still, Rose had a bad game, as all players do from time to time. Don't expect the Bulls to make a mountain out of this particular molehill, troubling as it may seem right now.
-Contributed by Josh Martin
Without Bosh, Heat Band Together to Maul Melo-Less Knicks
Things aren't looking so good off the court for the Miami Heat right now, but for one night at least, everything looked perfect on it.
Dwyane Wade, in his return from a seven-game hamstring-related absence, was one of eight Heat players—of the nine available to head coach Erik Spoelstra—to score in double figures during a 111-87 domination of the D-League-ready New York Knicks on Friday.
The Heat were led by the stat-sheet-stuffing trio of Luol Deng (13 points, eight rebounds, eight assists), rookie Shabazz Napier (career-high 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Mario Chalmers (13 points, six rebounds, seven assists, eight steals), who fell one theft shy of his career and franchise high.
And to think, Miami managed to spread the wealth without the services of Goran Dragic, who's en route from Phoenix after a deadline-day blockbuster with the Suns.
Of course, the Knicks weren't exactly in great position to spoil the Heat's night, not with Carmelo Anthony done for the year. Still, with all the scary uncertainty surrounding Chris Bosh right now, Miami will probably take whatever good feelings it can muster.
-Contributed by Josh Martin
Kings Crown George Karl in Sacramento Debut
If George Karl's debut as head coach of the Sacramento Kings was any indication, the long-suffering basketball fans in California's capital could be in for a fun time.
With Darren Collison sidelined by a hip injury, the Kings banded together for a 109-101 win over the scrappy Boston Celtics at a noisy Sleep Train Arena on Friday. Any early concerns about how well Karl would work with DeMarcus Cousins seemed to melt away with each of the 31 points and 15 rebounds that Boogie piled up.
They'll need Cousins to keep the good times rolling, with a trip to L.A. to play the Clippers—led by Chris Paul, one of Boogies' nemeses—on tap for Saturday.
-Contributed by Josh Martin
JaVale McGee, Jason Richardson and Nerlens Noel, Oh My
The Indiana Pacers romped the Philadelphia 76ers, 106-95, at Wells Fargo Center, but this game was consumed by anomalies.
To kick things off, Jason Richardson (seven points, seven rebounds) returned to action for the first time since January 2013, after undergoing left knee surgery and nursing a stress fracture in his right foot.
Here's how drastically times have changed since Richardson last took the floor:
"Sixers starters the last time Jason Richardson played: Jrue Holiday Thad Young Evan Turner Lavoy Allen Jason Richardson 6th man: Swaggy P
— Adam Reisinger (@AdamReisinger) February 20, 2015"
Then, JaVale McGee hammered home an audacious dunk reminiscent of Dwight Howard's "Superman" slam in the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest.
Finally, Nerlens Noel finished with a near-triple-double consisting of 12 points, nine rebounds, a career-high nine blocks and four steals. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the only players to meet those benchmarks in a game since 1985 are Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Tyrus Thomas.
Welcome to Shaqtin' A Fool, Kevin Love
Hey, if JaVale McGee isn't going to provide hilarity now that he's back in a regular rotational role, someone is going to have to fill the void.
Enter Kevin Love.
Brendan Haywood's reaction says it all.
In More Productive Dunking News...
Say hello to DeMarcus Cousins, transition nightmare and destroyer of Jae Crowder's dreams.
Andrew Wiggins (20 points) also got in on the fun during the Minnesota Timberwolves' 111-109 win over the Phoenix Suns.
Quote of the Night
The Wizards have lost seven of their last nine games, and head coach Randy Wittman is searching for answers.
So much so, that he asked some of his more vocal players to seize the day following Friday night's loss, according to Hoop District:
In other, not-so-happy Wizards news, Paul Pierce and Marcin Gortat appear to be in disagreement over fundamental defensive principles, according to The Washington Post's Jorge Castillo:
