Cavs Vs. Timberwolves: 3 Things We Learned

After a disappointing debut against the Chicago Bulls, Tyronn Lue notched his first in the win column as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Head Coach with a 114-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

While Coach Lue’s coaching debut against the Chicago Bulls was much anticipated, ultimately the Cavaliers fell short. However, in their second outing under the new Head Coach, the Cavs looked much improved, especially on the offensive end as they were made to work by a gallant Timberwolves squad.

Here’s what we learned from the Cavaliers’ 31st win of the season.

Ball movement a staple of the Lue offense.

Upon taking over as Head Coach following Blatt’s dismissal, Lue preached ball movement. There wasn’t much improvement in Lue’s first game against Chicago, as the Cavaliers passed for just 17 assists on their 35 made field goals. However, the story was different against the lowly Timberwolves. The Cavs passed the ball with purpose, as they piled up 30 assists on 45 made field goals. Save for Timofey Mozgov, every single player who was in Lue’s rotation had at least 2 assists, with LeBron James leading the way with 9 assists.

The effective ball movement, as well as players moving well off the ball, allowed the Cavs offense to generate several open looks, leading to a field goal percentage of 50.6% for the game. The Cavaliers currently rank 11th in the league in assists per game with 22.1 per game and will look to improve on that ranking as the season progresses.

Kyrie Irving not quite back to top form.

After understandably struggling a little bit early on in his return from the fractured kneecap he sustained in the NBA Finals, Kyrie Irving seemed to get back to his 2014-15 form with scintillating performances against the Toronto Raptors and the Washington Wizards.

However, since those two explosions, Irving has been extremely patchy, showing glimpses of his old self, but ultimately struggling with his outside shot as well as his patented finishes at the rim.

The game against the Timberwolves was another example of Irving not quite being all the way back yet as he missed 11 of his 18 shots en route to finishing with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

Irving is now shooting just 41% from the field and 28.2% from long distance, both career lows if he was to finish with those numbers. However, it is likely that Irving will get better as the season progresses and he gets more match practice into his legs.

Cavaliers need to improve on their fitness to play faster pace.

Following the loss to the Bulls, Coach Lue stressed that the Cavaliers needed to get “in shape” in order to play at a faster pace more consistently. Until Lue’s appointment, the Cavaliers had been one of the slowest teams in terms of pace in the NBA, averaging just 95.03 possessions per game.

Playing at a faster pace is not something that the Cavaliers, and especially LeBron James have been accustomed to. James’ teams have always played at a slower pace, with his teams ranking no higher than 15th in pace dating back to his first season as a member of the Miami Heat.

In order to play at a faster pace, the Cavaliers will have to get fitter to execute down the stretch.

Kyrie Irving admitted following the loss to the Bulls that his “chest felt like it was about to cave in” early on in the game due to the up and down nature. The lack of fitness was evident as the Big Three all asked to be subbed out early in the first quarter, throwing a spanner into Lue’s rotations.

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The Cavaliers certainly looked more sprightly in the first half against the Timberwolves as they piled up 59 points in the first half. However, as the game wore on, the Cavaliers’ offense and pace noticeably became more stagnant, a sign that they are yet to reach an optimal level of fitness in order to execute Lue’s offensive strategy.

The slower pace led to more isolation basketball reminiscent of the Blatt era and it allowed the Timberwolves to get back into the game after the Cavaliers had built a 15 point lead early on in the fourth quarter. Despite the slow finish, the Cavaliers’ pace for the game was 98.96, over 3 possessions higher than their season average.

The Cavs are still very clearly adjusting to the faster pace after playing at a slower pace for a year and a half under David Blatt. Once they get accustomed to running up and down the court, they should be able to finish off games much like they start them.

Despite the close scoreline, the Cavaliers were pretty much in control of this one from the outset and it was good to see the progress made from their previous game. LeBron and friends will hope to continue the ball movement and fast pace as they take on the Phoenix Suns next.

What did you see in the Cavs first win under Tyronn Lue?