5 Takeaways from Cavs' Early 2nd-Round Showing vs. Toronto Raptors
The Cleveland Cavaliers are marching toward the NBA Finals, where they are likely to meet the Golden State Warriors for the third straight season.
First, they swept the Indiana Pacers as unimpressively as the feat can be done. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the 16-point differential in the series was the smallest for a four-game sweep in NBA history.
A sweep by any other name is still a sweep, though.
However, there were concerns left over from the regular season that appeared during the first round, such as whether the defense would perform sufficiently or if the Cavaliers had enough firepower on their bench.
The first two games of their second-round series with the Toronto Raptors seemed to address those concerns. The Cavs outscored the Raptors by a total of 33 points, and neither contest was in doubt.
While it's just a two-game sample, some things indicate the Cavaliers could be getting back into championship form at the right time.
5. The Bench Is Finding Its Way
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The Cavaliers faced a weakened bench during the regular season. With J.R. Smith and Kevin Love hurt, key backups stepped into starting roles, further weakening the performance of the reserves.
According to NBA.com, Cleveland's bench was minus-0.6 during the campaign.
In the first round of the playoffs, the unit was plus-1.6.
During the second round, the bench has also been better than in the regular season; however, that's a bit harder to see.
Over the course of the series, the group is actually getting outscored by 7.3 points, but that's misleading because the Cavs have had the games in hand late, and the reserves are playing a lot of garbage minutes. The bench is minus-8.5 in the fourth quarter, which works out to plus-1.2 points in the more meaningful first three frames.
And the unit is doing better while LeBron James catches his breath. Through the first two contests, Cleveland has outscored Toronto by four points in five minutes in the first half with James out, and four points in four minutes in the third quarter with James out.
If the Cavs bench can hold the lead while LeBron sits, or even build on it, there's not much more you can ask.
4. Do You Like Your Raptors Deep Fryed?
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If I were a Cavaliers announcer, every time Channing Frye hit a three, my signature call would be "You have been deep-Fryed!" And I would be using a lot of that during this series.
Through two contests, he's hit six treys on 10 attempts, tying him with the Kyrie Irving for the team lead in made threes.
The squad is averaging 16 three-point makes on 47.8 percent shooting against the Raptors and 14.3 makes on 42.8 percent on the postseason, which would shatter the record the Golden State Warriors set last year for threes in a postseason at 12.8.
What's also impressive is that in tight coverage (the closest defender is between two and four feet away), they're shooting 45.5 percent from deep, best among the teams still in the playoffs. When the defender is between four and six feet away, the Cavs are shooting 37.6 percent, third-best of the remaining teams. And when the opponent is more than six feet away, they're shooting 50.8 percent.
So what all this means is that they're not just hot. They're good shooters. And that has an impact.
The Cavaliers are leading the playoffs with a 116.9 offensive rating and a 61.2 true shooting percentage as a result of their smoldering three-point barrage. And as long as they're doing that, there will be no shortage of deep-fried dinosaur.
3. The Defense Has Flipped the Switch
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The Cavaliers were a bad defensive team this year. They ranked just 22nd in defensive rating (108.0). That wasn't a trick of the stats, either.
Putting a pair of eyeballs on the team revealed why.
The Cavs didn't follow through on rotations, didn't close out on shooters, didn't stay in front of ball-handlers and didn't aggressively protect the rim. They seemed to be playing at a different speed than their opponents much of the time, and not in a good way.
Even Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue made that observation after a loss to the Washington Wizards in March, per Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan: "It seemed like they were just so much faster than us. In transition, to the basketball, getting into the paint. For me we didn't have it tonight. I thought the guys got tired. They were at a faster pace, faster speed than we were tonight."
And that seemed to be the theme for much of the second half of the season. Between fatigue and boredom, it was a question of whether the Cavs couldn't play defense or just wouldn't play it. After the first round, even with the sweep, there was still adequate cause for concern.
Cleveland's defensive rating was still just 111.0—the lowest of any team that won its series. But after a week off between series, the Cavs seem to be on track. They are giving up 101.8 points per 100 possessions to the Raptors.
The team is sealing off penetration, protecting the rim, forcing long twos and closing out on three-point shooters. The Cavs are following through on their switches, and they're cleaner in their rotations.
They're actually playing defense.
As a result, they're holding the Raptors below the league average from every area of the court, per the basic shot chart at NBA.com.
2. There May Be Trouble with Kyrie Irving
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While there's a lot of good news happening during the second round, there's one troubling trend: Kyrie Irving doesn't seem to be himself.
His raw numbers don't indicate that, though. He's scoring 24.5 points per game and averaging 5.5 assists during the postseason. Those numbers aren't all that different from his regular-season averages of 25.2 points and 5.8 dimes—particularly when you factor in he's averaging about two fewer minutes in the playoffs.
However, the shooting percentages are troublesome. Irving shot 47.3 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from deep in the regular season. He's only 40.6 percent overall and 28.3 percent from deep in the playoffs.
Back on April 7, Irving had soreness in his surgically repaired left knee.
Irving told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com after the game: "It just, I don't want it to feel sore anymore but it's just the realization of it. I'm doing everything possible to take care of my body, I've got a clear conscience with that. But also understand that sometimes it's gonna hurt. And I gotta be able to deal with it. So the next few days are pretty important. Tomorrow and then playing in Atlanta and Miami, and then just doing everything possible to prepare."
You have to wonder if that knee is sore and if it's affecting his shot. His true shooting percentage for the postseason is only 51.4, which is significantly lower than his playoff career average before this season of 57.4. It's worth pointing out that in the Raptors series, he's had 21 assists, so he's finding other ways to be effective.
However, if we're looking at the Finals, Irving will need to be at his best for the Cavaliers to have a fighting chance against the Warriors.
1. LeBron James Is Still the King
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This is the time of year that LeBron James likes to remind everyone that whoever you had for the MVP, he is still the king of the NBA, and he will be for the foreseeable future. He is the best player in the Eastern Conference, period.
In Game 2, he became the second-leading scorer in playoff history, behind Michael Jordan. He is also third in assists, seventh in rebounds, third in steals (needs six more to tie Jordan), 21st in blocks and fifth in wins.
So, yeah, he's pretty solid.
And what's scary is he could be on his way to his best postseason yet. He's averaging 34.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
He's bested his current 31.5 player efficiency rating just one other time (2008-09 at 37.4), but he didn't have the same level of defense, understanding or maturity then.
His 64.7 true shooting percentage is the second-best of his career as well.
On top of all that, his defense seems to be keying everything for the Cavaliers. Their defensive rating for the playoffs is 16.9 points per 100 possessions better when he is in the game.
The real majesty of this monarch, though, is watching him reign over the court, whether it's setting up the play with the perfect pass (if he gets the assist or not, it sets a series in motion that ends in points), or guiding the defense, LeBron anchors this team.
The Warriors might be coming for him, but until they dethrone him, he remains the king.
