Tuesday NBA Roundup: LeBron James, Cavs Leave No Doubt They Still Rule the East
Since dismantling an alleged "superteam" to open their season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have left little doubt they're the squad to beat in the Eastern Conference. Tuesday night's 121-117 victory over the Toronto Raptors, an outing that often displayed an intensity and level of play typically reserved for postseason basketball, served as the latest confirmation.
Just about every apparent Eastern contender has taken its shot at the Cavaliers, and only the Hawks—a team Cleveland swept out of the playoffs each of the last two years—emerged unscathed.
This also makes two victories in two attempts against the Raptors, with the wins coming in both Quicken Loans Arena and at the Air Canada Centre. You can add those to the successful outings against the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets—though neither came in enemy territory.
Cleveland still has plenty of tests remaining on its schedule, even if we discount marquee contests against Western Conference foes—the Christmas Day showdown with the Golden State Warriors, for example. It'll have to play a motived Raptors squad twice more, and you can make an (unconvincing) argument that the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers—neither of whom have challenged the champs yet—pose modest threats.
But three weeks into the NBA season, the Cavaliers remain in a class of their own.
Cleveland's margins of victory might not always indicate as much, but it should be more telling that the team has sprinted out to a conference-best 9-1 record. Only the revamped Hawks remain within a single game. All this while the Cavs try to "figure out" some of their defensive issues.
A few flaws were exposed early on in this fight with the Raptors.
DeMar DeRozan got off to another smoking start by draining one fallaway mid-range jumper after another. But Cleveland was ultimately content to let him attack its relatively weak wing defense in isolation, knowing full well that regression would eventually come.
Ditto for the Raptors' reliance on three-point marksmanship; the Cavaliers tried to shut down the interior and forced Toronto into plenty of skip passes. The Raps made 13 treys on 29 attempts, but that wasn't enough.
Cleveland's defense doesn't have to be perfect. After all, the Cavs possess one of the league's best offenses—by rating, they (112.7) entered Tuesday night trailing only the Golden State Warriors (115.5)—and the ultimate trump card in LeBron James.
Sometimes, those elements mesh together to create basketball perfection, as they did in this out-of-timeout sequence near the end of the fourth quarter:
What's particularly amazing isn't just Kevin Love's feed or James' finish. Kyrie Irving was also wide open at the top of the key, demonstrating the plethora of options these defending champions always seem to have at their disposal.
But even when we're not watching Tyronn Lue put on a coaching clinic, the Cavaliers are capable of stomping any defense. Keep in mind that the Raptors aren't pushovers; they entered this affair ranked No. 11 in defensive rating.
James was again brilliant Tuesday night, perhaps motivated by a certain New York Knicks executive for whom he no longer holds respect. Shooting 10-of-15 from the field, he recorded a staggering 28 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds, highlighted by this dunk:
Cleveland is nearly unstoppable when the four-time MVP's orchestrating the show. That much more so when Irving is clicking (24 points, five rebounds and four assists on 10-of-20 from the field), Love is providing tertiary contributions (19 points and 13 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass) and Channing Frye is looking like the perfect complementary center (21 points on 10 shots).
The next team to test that theory of infallible offense? The Indiana Pacers, whose head coach is already explicitly referring to the Cavaliers' supremacy.
"The world champs are coming in here, and that's always a big game," Nate McMillan said about the Wednesday night contest, per Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star. "It's exciting for the fans and for us with those guys coming in here for the first time. It's kind of a game where you measure yourself. They're considered the best in the world right now and, for us, it's a good opportunity to see where we are."
Nine teams have now measured themselves against the Cavaliers. Eight have come up short. And if James, Irving, Love, Tristan Thompson and the rest of the troops continue playing like they have, plenty more will soon join the club.
Overlooked Alert: Mike Muscala
Paul Millsap remains the Atlanta Hawks' best player, though his lack of scoring sometimes belies his on-court impact. Dwight Howard and Dennis Schroder always generate plenty of headlines.
But the Atlanta bench has quietly keyed the team's red-hot start to 2016-17.
With Tim Hardaway Jr. looking vastly improved, Thabo Sefolosha flashing two-way ability and Malcolm Delaney playing like a competent backup point guard, the second unit has played a crucial part in the Hawks' 8-2 opening to the season.
Tuesday night, a hidden name was on display during Atlanta's 93-90 nail-biter over the Miami Heat. Mike Muscala continued his excellent start to the year, justifying NBA Math's take on his improved play as he thrived in the first half and helped replace Howard by committee after the starting center left with a calf contusion:
Muscala finished with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and a steal. He never turned the ball over and made six of his seven shots from the field—none bigger than the pair of lead-extending triples he drilled at the end of the third quarter. And this doesn't feel like a fluke.
The fourth-year big man will inevitably see his shooting percentages regress. But after this showcase against Hassan Whiteside and Co., he's now averaging 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 65.5 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from downtown and 78.6 percent at the charity stripe.
And as Chris Herbert explains for Peachtree Hoops, he's been more than a floor-stretching weapon:
"Muscala has played more, been involved more in the offense, and scored at his most efficient rate yet. Those statistical increases illustrate a significant step forward in Muscala’s development.
On the defensive end of the court, Muscala continues to develop showing increased awareness during off ball situations and rotations. His strength will always be his length and versatility to cover both forwards and centers.
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Will Muscala win Sixth Man of the Year? Of course not.
But as Atlanta continues to prove it has staying power near the top of the East behind the strength of its starters and its vastly improved depth, don't overlook the Bucknell product.
The Agony and Ecstasy of the 3rd Quarter
Sure, we could focus on Kemba Walker's excellence during the Charlotte Hornets' 115-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The point guard continued his stellar season with an efficient 30 points, five rebounds, six assists and five steals.
We could highlight Ricky Rubio, who flirted with a triple-double and made what can only be described as a perfect outlet pass:
Frank Kaminsky (20 points off the bench), Zach LaVine (five triples, dispelling any doubts about his knee tendinitis) and Andrew Wiggins (29 points) are all fair game as well.
But, as always seems to be the case for these two teams, the third quarter has to be the leading story.
There's been a stark contrast between, with Charlotte thriving as it comes out of halftime and Minnesota managing to blow one lead after another. Every game, it seems like the Hornets erase a third-quarter deficit, while the T-Wolves ruin a promising start. Tuesday night was Groundhog Day all over again: A young Minnesota squad exited the second quarter in possession of a 12-point advantage and then entered the final 12 minutes down by seven.
That makes nine times in 10 tries that Minnesota has lost the third quarter, and this was the third time it had been outscored by a whopping 19 points during those fateful 12 minutes. That's basically the only reason the 'Wolves have earned seven first-half leads—six of which were by double figures—but are still struggling to record their fourth victory.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are having no such issues:
Only the Cleveland Cavaliers have been able to win the third quarter against a 7-3 Charlotte squad, as the plucky Hornets have refused to let halftime deficits keep them down.
Now, we've all seen exactly what happens when the unstoppable third-quarter force takes on the very movable third-quarter object.
The Jimmy Butler Show Continues
Entering the Chicago Bulls' 113-88 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, Jimmy Butler had begun the season on a torrid pace. The 2-guard was averaging 24.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 48.0 percent from the field, 43.2 percent from downtown and 89.2 percent at the charity stripe.
But against Rip City, he turned the dial up to 11, putting together a passionate performance that sparked his teammates against Portland's hapless defense. As ESPN.com's Nick Friedell wrote, he was "making a case for player of the month honors in November...His teammates are feeding off the tone he is setting early in games."
Butler finished the night with 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. He knocked down 9-of-16 shots from the field, constantly attacked so he could draw whistles. He also managed to make a Marquette connection with Dwyane Wade on a massive highlight play:
Without Rajon Rondo in the lineup, Butler served as the de facto point guard. And it worked, especially because Jerian Grant had an impressive showing in support. From start to finish, the All-Star wing looked comfortable with the ball in his hands, even when he wasn't seeking out his own looks.
This is the Butler that the Bulls need if they're going to prove their 7-4 start to the season is sustainable. Even if his shooting regresses, they need him to remain in attack mode, looking to create for himself and his teammates. They need him to draw contact and advance to the free-throw line. They need him to lock down on defense, as he did while forcing Maurice Harkless and C.J. McCollum into slow shooting starts.
As Bleacher Report's Kelly Scaletta made clear, Butler is pretty darn good at everything:
Co-Lines of the Night
Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers feasted on a Brooklyn Nets squad that entered the night ranked No. 19 in defensive rating. But that's still enormous progress for one of last year's bottom-feeders as the Purple and Gold attempt to prove it can stay in the Western Conference playoff hunt.
Regardless of the opponent, it has to be thrilled with the exploits of two up-and-comers.
D'Angelo Russell caught fire during the first half of the Lakers' 125-118 victory, scoring 17 points in the opening quarter:
The young guard finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals while drilling seven triples. And he still might not have had his own team's line of the night.
No, we're not talking about Timofey Mozgov's 20-point outing or Tarik Black going for 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Julius Randle had the second triple-double of his career with 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Even more impressively, he did so while taking only eight shots from the field.
Since 1983, 67 other players have recorded at least 17/14/10, though Randle is the first to do so this season. (Last year, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, Stephen Curry, Pau Gasol, Draymond Green, James Harden and Russell Westbrook all joined the club.)
But let's add age into the equation.
Randle won't celebrate his 22nd birthday until just after Thanksgiving, which supplants Blake Griffin as the seventh-youngest member of the group, trailing only James, Jay Williams, Antetokounmpo, Lamar Odom, Antoine Walker and some guy named Michael Jordan.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @fromal09.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com or NBA Math and are current heading into games on Nov. 15.
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