5 Things Cavaliers Can Still Improve Despite Sweep over Pacers
Someday, somewhere, the Cleveland Cavaliers will participate in an NBA playoff game once again.
After completing a sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon, the Cavs have spent the week training and attending wing-filled playoff watch parties at head coach Tyronn Lue's house as their seven-day layoff continues.
Their next opponent? The Toronto Raptors, who finished with the same 51-31 regular-season record and was the only Eastern Conference team not to get swept by Cleveland in last years playoffs.
The Pacers, with only one true star, were formidable opponents, and the Cavaliers defeated them by just 16 total points in four games. Toronto has double the star power in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, a greater amount of playoff experience and three days off to prepare for Cleveland on Monday night.
If the Cavs want to make this another quick series, the following five suggestions should help.
Imposing Their Will Early
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The Cavaliers have been a brilliant second-half team this postseason.
And that whole first half? Not so much.
The difference between periods is night and day. Against the Pacers, Cleveland lost the first half by an average of 1.8 points before beating Indiana by 5.8 in the second.
This has little to do with the offense. The Cavs score more in the beginning half (59.0 points on 50.0 percent shooting) than they do in the second (53.8 points on 46.5 percent).
Their concerns all come defensively, where Cleveland has shown the ability to turn it on when needed.
They mostly cruised in the first halves against the Pacers, allowing them to score an NBA-playoff best 60.8 points on a blistering 50.6 percent shooting from the field and 48.2 percent from three. In the third and fourth quarters? The Cavs constricted Indiana to the tune of 48.0 points on respective 42.4 and 30.5 percent shooting.
This lack of killer instinct led to a 25-point halftime deficit in Game 3, one that LeBron James needed to play the entire second half to erase. Playing a 32-year-old James for an entire half without a break in a first-round series is something Cleveland needs to avoid at all costs.
Set to enjoy their first two games of the series at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs should ride the hometown crowd's energy and be far more aggressive early on.
Consider Blitzing Pick-and-Rolls
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Putting together 48 minutes of consistent, aggressive defense is important but may not be enough to limit Lowry and DeRozan from manhandling Kyrie Irving this series.
Against Indiana, point guard Jeff Teague essentially did whatever he wanted, finishing the four games with 17.0 points and 6.3 assists on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 52.9 percent from deep. As Indiana's primary pick-and-roll facilitator, Teague would either find himself on an island with Irving or slip into an easy jump shot or three-pointer off a screen.
It can't be this easy for Lowry and DeRozan.
Cleveland is allowing 1.08 points per possession to opposing ball-handlers in the pick-and-roll, dead last among all playoff teams, per NBA.com. Is it a misleading stat based upon sample size? Not likely considering they ranked 26th out of 30 teams during the regular season.
The Cavs may have to resort to blitzing the ball-handler in this series, meaning the screener's man steps out and double-teams the handler in an attempt to stop a shot or easy pass from being made.
The trade-off is trusting all three other members to rotate properly, something not seen in Cleveland all season.
Tristan Thompson was genetically engineered to blitz pick-and-rolls, however, and he should be utilized as such. Leaving Irving to fight through screens by himself against an All-Star backcourt seems like a recipe for disaster, and Lue shouldn't allowed it.
Continue Going to Kevin Love
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Stop me if you've heard this one before.
The Cavs come out the gates moving the ball, finding Kevin Love on the elbow, in the paint and on the perimeter for some pre-designed plays. All is well. All is good. And then? Crickets.
Love's production and looks have dropped off considerably as games have gone on for three years now, and no one on the Cavaliers seems upset enough to do anything about it.
It's unfair to call Love a third wheel, as his overall game is arguably more important than Irving's in a traditional matchup. Against Indiana, Love posted an on/off rating of plus-13.9, second only to LeBron James. The Cavs were better with Irving on the bench, as he registered a rating of minus-4.8.
Love is dependent on Irving and James' willingness to get him the ball in the second half, when his production has fallen off a cliff.
In four first halves against the Pacers, Love averaged 9.5 points on 6.8 shot attempts. In the second? Just 6.0 points on 3.5 shots. By comparison, James and Irving combined for 24.5 field-goal attempts in the second half alone. This isn't a playing time issue, either, as Love averages 16.5 minutes in both halves of play.
It goes back to the message Lue gave Love around this time last year, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin: "And I said, 'Kevin, you've got to be more aggressive. Tell LeBron, I'm a bad motherf--ker too, so throw me the ball.' Be aggressive. Run the floor. If you're open, we've got to throw you the ball. You've got to demand the basketball, and I said, 'Score the ball and be aggressive.'"
First-half Love has been great, but a complete game may eventually be needed.
Playmaking Outside of LeBron
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With James on the floor against Indiana, the Cavs assisted on nearly half of the team's baskets. When James went to the bench, this figure plunged to just 16.7 percent.
Of Cleveland's 79 total assists in the series, James collected nearly half (36).
Clearly, some better playmaking is needed.
This responsibility falls primarily on Irving, who remains a dynamic scorer and terrible offensive facilitator. He averaged just 3.0 assists and 6.0 potential helpers in 34.3 minutes. That's not a good enough effort to support James.
For all the star power this team possesses, they still perform much better when they move the ball. When Cleveland assisted on 65.0 percent or more of its baskets in the regular season, it was an impressive 12-3 overall.
General manager David Griffin assembled a supporting cast (J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver and Channing Frye) of men blessed with the ability to shoot the three. If Irving goes into hero-ball mode, most of these players' value is deemed useless, as they sit around waiting for a pass that never comes.
James will always lead this team in assists, but Irving needs to close the gap.
Go Big Again
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Cleveland's magical 6'7"-and-over lineup of February seems like an aberration now.
The combination of James, Korver, Frye, Richard Jefferson and Derrick Williams was mysterious and magical on their way to posting a plus-35.0 net rating in 39 total minutes together.
James would handle the ball as Korver and Frye spaced the floor. Jefferson and Williams were excellent screen-setters who could slip to the rim for easy dunks and get out and run in transition.
So what happened?
"It was really just a coaching decision," Williams told Bleacher Report. "I don't necessarily think we're not going to go back to it.
"I guess it's one of those hidden gems where other teams may not be able to match up so quickly. With the size we have on our team, we have a lot of guys who can play two or three positions. It makes the game easier when you can put guys who normally play the 2, put them at the 4 or have a guy who plays the 1 and put him at the 3. We have a lot of guys who can play a lot of different roles, and that's the best thing about it."
Lue shouldn't be afraid to go big again, as it gives the Cavaliers the combination of size, shooting, rebounding and athleticism that could help propel them to a third straight NBA Finals.
"I like that lineup," one Eastern Conference scout told B/R. "I love the ability for same-side switches. Before you get to the West, it will work in the East. I think Cleveland will end up with that lineup a lot."
Even with Williams out of the rotation, Lue could easily switch him with the 6'6" J.R. Smith or 6'4" Iman Shumpert.
We can only hope that Lue is saving this ultra-tall lineup for a special occasion and hasn't just abandonded it entirely.
Stats via Basketball Reference and NBA.com and are accurate through April 27.
Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report.
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