Cavs Vs Bucks: 3 Keys to the Victory

The Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Milwaukee Bucks last night in a rematch of the Cavs loss just a few days prior on the road. Cavs Vs Bucks proved to be entertaining. The Bucks have a lot of young, long talent that is a shooter or three away from being a difficult team in the Playoffs. The Cavs are the Cavs, a team that is playing for an NBA Title or bust this season.

The Cavs were down another guard in this game as Mo Williams, starting in place of Kyrie Irving, was out with a sore leg. Down their top 3 guards against a team that is long, athletic and attacks the ball on defense, and yet somehow the Cavs still pulled out a surprisingly easy victory.

So what were the 3 Keys to Victory in Cavs Vs Bucks?

1. Passing Wins

In their two game losing streak, the Cavs stopped moving the basketball. Even some of their early motion off high hand offs had gone out the window. The Cavs went back to simple isolation or pick and roll plays that allows the defense to load up one side of the court and key in on the ball.

Not last night. Last night the Cavs got back to movement oriented basketball where ball and player movement allowed the Cavs to get the Bucks out of position and take advantage of their aggressive nature on defense. Without Williams, the Cavs were down to LeBron James as a creator with the ball. Instead of overly relying on him, they allowed the offense to do the work for them.

This led to 29 assists on 40 made shots. Matthew Dellavedova, the 3rd string point guard, led the Cavs with 13 assists with LeBron chipping in 6. Only Timofey Mozgov did not have an assist of the Cavs that played last night.

Team basketball wins in the NBA, even when you have superstars.

2. Depth Is Key, Real

The Cavs lost to the Golden State Warriors because of injuries and the lack of depth. To that team the Cavs have added Williams, Richard Jefferson, Jared Cunningham, Sasha Kaun and Anderson Varejao. They replaced players that either couldn’t or didn’t play with players who can contribute, who have real roles.

That proved out last night.

Varejao, in only 11 minutes, contributed 9 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Jefferson had a +5 plus/minus while only contributing 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. James Jones added 9 points, stretching the floor hitting two 3 pointers in 11 minutes. Delly started and played 39 minutes as the team’s 3rd point guard. Cunningham, the Cavs 5th or 6th guard, played 17 minutes scoring 7 points, with 5 free throws, along with 4 assists and 3 rebounds.

That is some impressive depth. HC David Blatt was able to play Kevin Love and LeBron James each 35 minutes, instead of needing to ride his stars. Even with Mozgov only playing 11 minutes, the Cavs had the depth to outlast the younger, more athletic Bucks.

Depth is a big deal, both in the Regular Season and in the Playoffs.

The Cavs have real depth!

3. Rebounding Wins

Passing wins. So does rebounding. The Cavs almost doubled up the Bucks, 43-22, in rebounding last night. It was a team effort. Love led with 15 boards, including 5 offensive. Tristan Thompson had 11 coming off the bench, 4 offensive. LeBron, as usual, had a well rounded game with 9 boards, 3 on the offensive end. The Cavs had 21 second chance points Thursday night.

More from King James Gospel

In their loss to the Bucks the previous weekend, the Cavs had 54 boards compared to the Bucks 51. Those numbers are much higher due to the double overtime but illuminates the importance of rebounding. The Cavs kept the Bucks off the boards, especially on the offensive end where they only had 6 offensive boards.

Without their top 3 guards, the Cavs needed to show this kind of effort on the boards. Getting a body on defenders, going after offensive boards with tenacity and not giving up on loose balls. Without Irving, Williams and Iman Shumpert, the Cavs effort had to be top level, much like the NBA Finals version. It was, it won.

Rebounding wins!

Passing Wins. Depth is Key, Real. Rebounding Wins.

What were your keys to Cavs Vs Bucks?