Cleveland Cavaliers Chucking 3s at Historic Pace, with No Plans to Change Course
CLEVELAND — When the Big Three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love was formed in 2014, a barrage of three-point shooting wasn't what most pictured from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Now, the Cavs' outside shooting is quietly reaching historic levels.
During Sunday's 100-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland's 14 made three-pointers gave it at least 10 in each of the first nine games of the season, passing the 2014-15 Houston Rockets for the longest streak to begin a season.
It also bumped their overall team average to 13.2, tied with the current Rockets for tops in the league. If sustained, it would mean the best average in NBA history, topping the Golden State Warriors' 13.1 makes per game set during their 73-9 campaign from 2015-16.
When told his team had reached this historic pace, head coach Tyronn Lue didn't seem all that thrilled.
"I guess," Lue said when asked if he was happy with Cleveland's outside success. "I think we can shoot better, though."
Better than any team has ever shot since the inception of the arc in 1979?
"We even have a chance to make way more threes, just looking at the tapes from the last eight games," Lue said. "We’re getting wide-open shots that we normally make that we have to start to make. When we do that, we’ll really take off offensively."
Some would argue the 8-1 Cavaliers have already begun their ascent to such scoring excellence. They rank third in the league at 109.4 points a contest and hold an identical 109.4 offensive rating, also third among NBA teams. Only the Rockets attempt more three-pointers per game (36.2 to 35.7), although Cleveland connects at a higher clip (37.1 percent, fifth in NBA).
"Let’s stay on that. Keep letting them things fly," Irving said after Bleacher Report notified him of Cleveland's creeping above Golden State's record pace.
"I know we’re not necessarily going to shoot well every single night, but when you have the lineups that we have and the players that we have, myself, LeBron (James), Kev (Kevin Love), we’re drawing so much attention as well as other guys coming off pick-and-rolls, those other guys on the back side have to be ready to shoot. That’s what we pay them for. Whether they’re making plays, not only for themselves, but for our team, it makes us better."
Getting better may be asking a lot of a defending champion with just a single loss three weeks into the season, especially one that's setting three-point records.
Of course, Lue is probably right.
While the Cavaliers' volume from the outside is at an all-time high (albeit a small sample), their efficiency has room for improvement.
Stephen Curry's Warriors set the record last year with remarkable accuracy, shooting 41.6 percent from deep on their 13.1 makes per game. Only the 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets have converted a better rate (42.8 percent), although making roughly half as many (7.2). That team was led by Glen Rice and, you guessed it, Dell Curry.
Cleveland's 37.1 percent success rate would be the highest since James' return, but probably a bit lower than what it's actually capable of.
The Cavaliers first demonstrated their lethal outside shooting this past postseason. Fueled by an NBA record 25 three-pointers in a 123-98 win over the Atlanta Hawks on May 4, Cleveland averaged 12.3 makes over its 21 playoff games. During that stretch, the Cavs shot 40.6 percent from outside the arc, perhaps a sign of what they're truly capable of now.
"Think about how many shooters we have," said Channing Frye, Cleveland's 6'11" three-point specialist. "Ten’s cool (referring to the new record). I think we should be making more than that. We have very unselfish guys. Once we really get into a rhythm, get used to each other, get used to the play calls and rotations, I think it’s going to be better than that."
Of course, Frye is a huge part of Cleveland's offensive surge.
Acquired at last year's trade deadline from the Orlando Magic, Frye has allowed the Cavs to explore a new lineup dimension. With him capable of playing the center position, the Cavaliers are now able to put four shooters on the court to surround James. This kind of mismatch is invaluable in preventing opposing bigs from helping out on one of the Cavs' Big Three.
"Big guys like the paint. I make them allergic to it," Frye said.
"That’s just kind of how it is. When you have that train down there (LeBron James) or when Kevin (Love) is going or Kyrie (Irving) is going, that big guy is usually the biggest guy on the court, so he wants to help. But he can’t help. He’s got to come to Frye Island—just sit out there with me."
Cleveland was averaging 10.1 made threes on 35.8 percent shooting in 54 games before Frye was acquired last year. With him, these numbers jumped to 12.0 makes on 37.0 percent shooting.
"He makes us better because he’s 7-foot. He can guard centers and then centers have to guard him," said Lue.
"Centers aren’t going to be able to get out and show, and they’re not going to be able to rotate to him. Centers at the 5 position, they’re used to helping around the rim. When guys are penetrating, they’re coming in to help, and now you have a 7-foot guy (Frye) out there shooting threes. So, it’s unfamiliar territory for big men and that’s why he’s so valuable to us."
Almost all of Frye's threes come via catch-and-shoot opportunities, something that Cleveland as a team has yet to truly excel at. After shooting a scorching 44.1 percent on such opportunities during the postseason, they've fallen back down to 37.6 percent, tied for just 10th in the league.
Individually, some slow starts have hurt the team's percentage as well.
Richard Jefferson is sitting at 23.5 percent, down from his 38.2 mark just a year ago. Newcomer Mike Dunleavy is making just 26.9 percent, compared to his career average of 37.5. Love is converting at a 33.3 percent clip from downtown, and J.R. Smith has watched his 40.0 percent success rate from last year (second to Matthew Dellavedova's 41.0) fall to 36.4 percent to begin this season.
If anything, the Cavaliers' record pace should only improve if these shooters can climb back around their career averages. Of course, so many of these looks are caused by the Big Three themselves.
"It starts with controlling the ball in the pick-and-roll and trying to limit how deep they get into the paint, which is easier said than done," Hornets head coach Steve Clifford told Bleacher Report.
"You have two guys that can make every play in LeBron and Kyrie in the pick-and-roll and they surround them with three-point shooting everywhere. They have some lineups where they have five guys that can shoot threes. They have great spacing mixed with pick-and-roll players."
"It’s a blessing for our team," James said. "Sometimes it can be a curse because we can fall into the three-point line a little bit too much, like during our one loss this year. So it’s a fine line, but that’s part of our game—to shoot the ball when the ball is moving and guys are open. So they’ve got to take the looks."
Fueled by James, Irving, Frye and others, Cleveland's three-point reign may just be starting.
Cavaliers Insider Notebook
Kyrie Schwarzenegger?
Irving was late getting to the locker room following the Hornets win, and appeared as if he had just gotten out of the gym at a time when most players have already showered and begun to dress.
When asked if he has been getting extra shots up, Irving deadpanned: "I actually lifted, got my buff on. I look good all the time, but hey, I eat iron for a living," he proclaimed before cracking up.
Aggressive Love
Love's scoring has jumped back to near-Minnesota levels early this season. He's averaging 20.6 points after just 16.2 during Years 1 and 2 in Cleveland.
One noticeable spike has been his free-throw attempts, which have nearly doubled from 4.1 a season ago to a team-best 7.6 now.
When asked if this was him being more aggressive or the coaching staff putting him in better position, Love told Bleacher Report, "Maybe a little bit of both. We’ve been getting to the bonus quite a bit. I’ve been getting to the basket, trying to offensive rebound a little bit more. It’s just a product of us being comfortable with how we play, and I’m not the only one."
Move the Three-Point Line?
With the increased success that teams like Cleveland and Golden State are having from beyond the arc, is making a three-pointer actually becoming too easy?
Maybe, although James doesn't want to see any changes made regarding the court anytime soon.
"Every decade the game kind of changes," James said. "Right now it’s a point guard and three-point-driven league. Spacing is key. Tempo is key. You don’t want to mess with the rules too much. The game is great as it is. It’s great for a reason."
Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @CavsGregBR.
Stats via Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate as of November 13. All quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
