Cavaliers' Offensive Juggernaut Starts with Decision No Defense Can Handle

LeBron James doesn't want you to label his Cleveland Cavaliers as a three-point shooting team, despite their historic numbers this postseason.

He's not willing to call the Cavs a paint-oriented squad either, even though they toasted the Toronto Raptors for a postseason-high 56 interior points in a 115-84 beatdown in Game 1 of their series.

"I keep telling you guys every single day, we're not a jump-shooting team," James said after Game 1. "You guys kept looking at me crazy about it. We're not a jump-shooting team. We're a balanced team, and whatever the game dictates, we adjust to that."

Now a franchise-best 9-0 to start the postseason, the Cavaliers are proving impossible to stop with their No. 1-ranked offense and newfound balance.

Getting Downhill

Cleveland's entire offense is predicated on paint penetration, primarily accomplished by James and Kyrie Irving.

Getting downhill, as head coach Tyronn Lue often calls it, means a drive by one of his star players that results in an easy two points at the rim or an open outside opportunity.

"I think we always want to play inside-out, and when Kyrie and LeBron and Kevin [Love], those guys are attacking the basket, it opens up the three-point shot for us because guys are helping," Lue said.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

James and Irving represent two of the NBA's most difficult covers, and both require extra attention when they get into the paint.

James is averaging 23.6 points and 6.9 assists this postseason while converting 59.1 percent of his shots from inside the arc. Irving leads the Cavs with 24.7 points to go along with 5.4 assists and a scorching 52.7 percent success rate from three.

Stopping both is the dilemma the Raptors now face, one the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks failed to accomplish in the first and second rounds.

"We want to push the tempo. We want to move the ball from side to side and attack," James said. "With myself and Ky, we love to live in the paint. We love to attack, and then when the defense collapses, we’re going to spread out to our shooters."

Pack the Paint...

...and the Cavs will fire away endlessly from the three-point line.

This was the strategy attempted by Detroit and Atlanta, who dared Cleveland to make an open three-pointer rather than leave a big on the island with Irving or James.

The Cavaliers responded with a four-game series record of 77 made threes in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Atlanta, just two shy of the seven-game record, according to ESPN Stats & Info. They rank first in three-point makes (15.7), attempts (34.4) and conversion rate (45.5 percent) this postseason.

After finishing seventh in the regular season at 36.3 percent, Cleveland didn't just magically improve its shooting. Instead, ball movement and downhill penetration by James and Irving have led to an incredible number of open looks.

Of their 34.4 three-point attempts per game, a whopping 12.9 are classified as open, with the nearest defender being four to six feet away. This is the highest total of open shots for any playoff team and nearly twice as high as that of the now-knocked out San Antonio Spurs (6.8 per game).

This abundance of free looks at the hoop has led to ridiculous individual and team success rates. Beyond Irving's 52.7 percent shooting, Kevin Love (44.8), Richard Jefferson (47.1), J.R. Smith (48.4), Iman Shumpert (50.0) and Channing Frye (58.3) are maximizing their open attempts.

Defend the Arc...

...and the paint is wide open for James and Irving to work in.

They operate in different ways, as James uses his size to shield off opponents' flailing arms while Irving pulls off acrobatic double-clutches from all angles.

Cleveland made over half of its three-point attempts (50.7 percent) against Atlanta and appeared ready to do the same against Toronto. Instead, the Raptors decided to force the Cavaliers off the line, even if it meant not being able to double-team penetration.

"You want to take away one thing, but you don't want to open up a whole can of worms to give them layups," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey noted after Game 1. "You take away the three, but if you're not careful, you're giving up layups, and that's where we got to get that balance, and I think that's the key for the whole series."

While the Cavs made just seven three-pointers in Game 1 on Tuesday, James went 11-of-12 in the paint (with just one additional missed three-point attempt), leading to the highest field-goal percentage (84.6) of his postseason career. Irving led the Cavaliers with 27 points, going a cool 11-of-17 overall.

"We were able to get downhill and get to the basket and get a lot of layups, and they didn't collapse as much as the previous teams have," said Lue. "We just take what the defense gives us."

"We knew their three-ball was big, but we left the paint too open tonight," Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry said. "They attacked the paint and it’s something we need to adjust to."

But how?

If Toronto goes back to helping in the post, James and Irving will just throw it out to the open hands of Love, Smith, Frye or others. Stay home and guard the shooters, and James will continue to feast on DeMarre Carroll and others down low.

This is a great matchup for James, as the Raptors' wing crew of DeRozan, Norman Powell and Terrence Ross are far too small to attempt to body him up. James Johnson has the size but hasn't been in the rotation for months and looks a bit out of shape. Carroll is the Raptors' best hope, but he got torched in Game 1 and can't dig into James when the latter posts up.

"I don't predetermine what is going on or how they're going to defend me. I read and react," James said. "They played me straight up in the post. I just tried to make quick, solid moves to get into the paint. If they brought help, I was still going to be able to find my guys. I've seen every coverage."

This is a pick-your-poison situation for Toronto, with no clear answer in sight.

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

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