Decimated Cavs Supporting Cast Is Doing Just Enough to Let LeBron James Lead
All around LeBron James sits a Cleveland Cavaliers roster full of players who are injured, have never been to the playoffs before or both.
The list of injuries seemingly grows by the day. Kevin Love, who received a personal phone call from James about joining the team after James returned to Cleveland, will be out until training camp following shoulder surgery. Kyrie Irving is battling left-knee tendinitis, a result of overcompensating for a strained right foot. Iman Shumpert is recovering from a groin strain, while James himself deals with a sore ankle.
Still, somehow, someway, the Cavs keep winning.
This is first and foremost a testament to James, who was brilliant in a Game 5 win over the Chicago Bulls. A great deal of credit also goes out to his supporting cast, a once strong and healthy group who now must push through pain in this meat grinder of a series.
Even without Love and with a plethora of injuries, the Cavaliers are doing just enough to give James the support he needs and keep Cleveland rolling along.
Kyrie Irving
Irving actually injured his right foot during Game 2 against the Boston Celtics, even before Love was lost for the postseason.
Now, with Love out, the pressure on Irving has increased even more.
For someone who struggled to stay healthy his first three years, Irving played in a career-high 75 games during 2014-15. The willingness to push through pain now is extremely admirable. It's a sign that Irving recognizes his importance to the Cavs, who need his scoring more than ever.
Irving's relationship with James has no doubt played a role in his acceptance of pain, as Irving knows he can't leave his superstar teammate to shoulder all of the offensive load. After battling through back-to-back 11- and 12-point outings, Irving dropped 25 on an efficient 9-of-16 shooting in Game 5. As he told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group after the gutsy performance:
"[I'm] trying to take as much pressure off of him. Some of the looks that we give each other during the game, we've built this dynamic of me and him, especially in the fourth quarter running screen-and-rolls. I can't necessarily push off and get around like I'm used to. So I just commend him for putting us on his back and us feeding off his energy and his drives and being ready to shoot every time he's driving.
"
Irving is far from 100 percent. He's probably not even at 75. Cleveland simply can't use him as an effective primary defender on Derrick Rose or Jimmy Butler anymore. He's used as more of a decoy at times, knowing full well that defenses still need to honor his three-point shooting and driving abilities.
Still, Irving is finding a way to make an impact. He and James are running more pick-and-roll sets together than at any point during the regular season. This unique combination is particularly tough to defend, since either one can get to the basket or knock down an outside shot. Irving, despite his ailments, is shooting a cool 40.0 percent from three in the series.
James needs Irving to be that secondary scorer he can rely on to spread the defense, much like Dwyane Wade and Mo Williams earlier in his career.
Tristan Thompson
Thompson owns the highest plus/minus rating on the Cavaliers against the Bulls (plus-4.6) a testament to just how many ways he contributes.
Given the starting job in Game 2, Thompson has filled Love's rebounding vacancy beautifully while doing all the little things that not even Love used to provide.
Thompson is giving the Cavs 8.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on a team-best 60.7 percent shooting from the field. Even his free-throw accuracy, once a major liability, is up to 75 percent in the series.
Often the primary screen-setter for James, Thompson revitalizes offensive positions with his relentlessness on the glass. Among all players still alive in the postseason, Thompson is second with 3.7 offensive rebounds per game.
As James told Brendan Bowers of SLAM Online. it's all about effort, a high motor and rebounding for the man known as Double-T:
"Tristan’s been unbelievable. Through five games, I give him an A+. It’s all effort with Double-T. Can’t coach a motor. When a guy has a motor, you can’t coach it. You put him on the floor, he’s going to make things happen. He has a knack for rebounding, he has a high motor and he really, really cares. And obviously, we wouldn’t be sitting here with a 3-2 lead without Double-T."
Unlike Irving, Thompson isn't going to drop 20 points a night or provide an offensive threat next to James. Instead, he makes his star teammate better in other ways.
Be it finishing an alley-oop, providing extra possessions or setting a devastating screen, Thompson helps makes James' life on the court easier.
Timofey Mozgov
Offensively speaking, Mozgov has been pretty dreadful against the Bulls. He's averaging just 7.8 points on 37.8 percent shooting from the field.
So why is the 7'1" Russian key to helping James?
It all has to do with the defensive end.
Throughout the series, James' defensive assignment has changed on almost every possession. He began Game 1 on Joakim Noah when the Cavs went small, while spending most of the past three contests on Butler and Mike Dunleavy. With Irving struggling to defend, we may see more of James on Rose before the series is over, as well.
Having Mozgov on the court allows James to be more aggressive defensively, regardless of whom he's checking. James can overcompensate on Butler and Rose, knowing Mozgov is lurking in the paint behind him.
Chicago is shooting just 32.3 percent from within six feet with Mozgov as the primary defender, or a drop of 22.2 percent from its normal success rate. His 2.3 blocks per game in the playoffs are second among remaining players only to Dwight Howard (2.8).
While the numbers show Cleveland has actually been better offensively with Mozgov out of the game, his defensive presence has more than made up the difference. The Cavaliers allow 18.5 fewer points per 100 possessions with Mozgov on the court.
Like Thompson, Mozgov gives James an alley-oop target near the rim. As Joe Mags of Fox Sports writes, "In Mozgov, LeBron has a big man he trusts, someone he clicks with on the floor. He won’t make Cleveland fans forget Love this spring, but Mozgov might be the difference between a run at the Finals or dropping this series with Chicago."
With Mozgov, James has the defensive protection he needs to stay aggressive no matter whom he happens to be guarding.
Iman Shumpert/J.R. Smith
Pairing these two has little to do with the New York Knicks connection and everything to do with their crossover talents.
Preconceived notions be darned, we've witnessed an offensive burst from Shumpert and some notable defense from Smith. In this previously considered bizarro world, both are helping to take pressure off James in a number of ways.
With Smith suspended for the first two games of the series, Shumpert was inserted into the starting lineup between James and Irving. He's responded beautifully with 12.6 points and 4.0 rebounds after averaging 7.2 and 3.8 during the regular season. With Irving limited, Shumpert has done a strong job guarding Rose, forcing the former MVP into a 7-of-24 shooting performance in Game 5.
As James told Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, "Offensively, he's very athletic. When he catches and shoots or when he catches and drives, he's very, very good. That's what he's doing for our team right now. He's not waiting. He's putting pressure on the defense, and that's when he's at his best."
Since returning in Game 3, Smith has hit numerous big shots that have helped keep the Cavaliers alive at times. Smith played the entire fourth quarter in Game 4, converting all four of his shots to keep the Cavs within striking distance before James won the game with a last-second jumper.
James, naturally, gets the credit, but Cleveland wouldn't have even been in a position to win the game without Smith's hot shooting.
Smith's impressive net rating of plus-13.3 is second on the Cavaliers this postseason to Love, even besting those of Irving (plus-6.8) and James (plus-7.3).
While not at the defensive level of Shumpert, Smith can still be very, very good when he's locked in and focused. We've seen what a disaster players like Mike Miller have been defensively on the wing, highlighting the importance of Smith's two-way ability.
Both Shumpert and Smith can play either shooting guard or small forward while guarding up to three positions as well. This kind of versatility and skill set helps Cleveland on both sides of the ball and allows James to receive easier defensive assignments in the process.
All of the Cavaliers' supporting players, from Irving and Thompson to Mozgov, Smith and Shumpert, are giving James exactly what he needs.
For Cleveland to finish up its series with the Bulls, they'll need James' hobbled, but talented, cast to bring everything they've got.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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