May 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Cleveland Cavaliers celebrate beating the Atlanta Hawks in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers are back in the NBA Finals and the natural comparison is to their previous attempt at an NBA Title with LeBron James. LeBron took the Cavs to the title game back in 2007 but was sadly swept out of the Finals by the San Antonio Spurs. A lot has changed since then, even though the same Spurs team took LeBron out last year.
So lets take a look at both teams and who played what role for each before we get into the comparison:
What an interesting look back. One thing that really jumps out is the Cavs lack of a backup big in the role of Anderson Varejao. He is not returning from his Achilles injury but the Cavs have gone small more often to make up for that. Marion plays very limited minutes in that role as well while Kendrick Perkins has seen very little time since coming over.
Lets now evaluate the most important positions, and the bench, against their counterparts from 8 years ago. (Wow! In some ways it doesn’t seem that long ago in others it seems like longer than that since the Cavs have been back.
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Next: Starting PG
May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) controls the ball against the Atlanta Hawks during the first quarter of game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Starting Point Guard
In ’07 Larry Hughes was starting at point guard due to any other better options. Eric Snow was limited and on his last legs. With Point LeBron also playing back then, no one else really had to handle the ball much. Hughes averaged 12.2 points during the season and 11.3 in the post season. He had 3.7 assists per game in the regular season but only 1.0 in the post season, showing how much LBJ shouldered the load.
With Kyrie Irving, LeBron has the best point guard he has ever played with on his team. Even hobbled, Irving is much better than Hughes in every way besides defense. Irving averaged 21.6 PPG and 18.7 while struggling through injuries in the post season. His assists are down from 5.2 to 3.7 in the post season but he is still providing LeBron help in creating the offense.
Advantage: Irving. Not only can Irving score better than Hughes but he is also a better distributor, creator and shooter than Larry. Hughes was a long active defender, the one area he is better than Irving. Besides that, just this advantage puts the ’15 Cavs in a much better position than the ’07 Cavs in the NBA Finals.
Next: Starting SG
May 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert (4) shoots the ball against Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) during the second quarter in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Starting Shooting Guard
In ’07 Sasha Pavlovic, Mr. “My Offense is my Defense”, took the starting SG role in between Hughes and James. His job was to be the shooting for the team to spread the floor. During the season Sasha averaged 9 points a game on 41% from 3 point territory. He took a little over 2 a night. In the playoffs he still averaged 9.2 points but only shot 35% from deep on almost 3 attempts a game. His production, in the category he was needed most for, fell off.
Iman Shumpert is the Cavs starting shooting guard, since taking over the role when J.R. Smith got suspended for 2 games. Shumpert missed a lot of time during the season, and took awhile getting going. He is a defensive specialist whose shooting has improved greatly as the season went on. In the season he averaged 7.2 PPG and only 34% from deep on 3.4 attempts a game. In the Playoffs, Shump is up to 10.1 PPG and is shooting 37% on almost 5 attempts from 3 point range a game. An improvement to go along with his stellar defense.
Advantage: Shumpert. Not only has Shump been shooting better and producing more, he actually plays defense. Pavlovic was not a big fan of that side of the court. Not only does Shumpert play defense, he plays it extremely well. He will be needed against Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and would have been helpful against Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli in ’07.
Next: LeBron James Vs LeBron James
May 26, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts on the bench during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
LeBron James
LeBron versus LeBron, 8 years a part. The Cavs superstar is a far different player than he was in ’07. He is still an athletic freak, just not as much. He is still a great defender, just not as often. Besides that he is much wiser, better shooter and more in control of the game than he was in his 1st go around in the NBA Finals. In ’07 he couldn’t figure out how to beat the Spurs defense and struggled, understandably so, trusting his teammates. Not so in 2015.
Advantage: ’15 LBJ. He can break down the defense and find open shooters, he understands angles better and is a far better shooter than he was, though this post season hasn’t shown it. He also added a post game which was not around in ’07.
Next: Starting PF
May 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) reacts during the third quarter in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Starting Power Forward
Drew Gooden was a player that fans liked even though his bone head plays often caused problems. He was a focused rebounder and on the ball defender but fell asleep as a help defender and got bored when not involved with an offensive play. He averaged 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds a game during the season and was similarly consistent in the post season with 11.4 PPG and 8 rebounds. His air headed nature was not a positive and his inconsistent motor was frustrating.
Tristan Thompson is the opposite of Gooden in those last two struggles. Double T is always involved, always making smart plays and his motor is always on high. Thompson took over for the injured Kevin Love and has played excellent. If Love were still on the team, Thompson would compare to what Varejao gave the ’07 Cavs, just a better version. He still compares well here but Love’s injury hurts the depth. TT put up 8.5 points and 8 rebounds as a bench player for most of the regular season. In the playoffs those numbers have risen to 9.4 PPG and 9.9 rebounds.
Advantage: Thompson. Tristan is the heart of the Cavs and plays an important role on both ends of the floor. Gooden was helpful but didn’t know his limits the way TT does. Thompson rarely tries to do too much on the offensive end and is always engaged defensively.
Next: Starting C
Mar 8, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers former center Zydrunas Ilgauskas speaks during his jersey retirement ceremony at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Starting Center
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Big Z, was LeBron’s #2 player. A player with historical significance for the Cavs organization and fans. Big Z had his number retired and was reportedly a part of the Cavs recruitment of LeBron James this summer. In ’07 he averaged 11.9 PPG with 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. His scoring and rebound went up to 12.6 and 9.7 while his blocks went down to 0.8 in the Playoffs. Ilgauskas spaced the floor for LeBron with his great baseline shot. He was a deterrent as a rim protector based on his size but didn’t have the athleticism to get to many shots from the weakside.
Timofey Mozgov was a big, literally, addition for the Cavaliers. Timo had an inconsistent role with the Denver Nuggets and improved when finding a role with the Cavs during the regular season. Timo averaged 10.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game with the Cavs. He alters even more shots with his length and ability to jump. During the post season, Timo’s time on the floor has gone down as the Cavs have gone small more often. He is still putting up 9.1 points, 7.2 boards and almost 2 blocks a game. His addition changed the Cavs defense.
Advantage: As much as we like what Timo has done for the team, Big Z was the Cavs #2 guy and a constant for LeBron. His shooting was on point from the baseline which was the only spacing the Cavs really had.
Next: Bench Bunch
Mar 25, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guards Matthew Dellavedova (8) and J.R. Smith (5) defends against Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11) in the second half at FedExForum. Cleveland defeated Memphis 111-89. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Bench
In ’07 Anderson Varejao was starting to find his niche in the NBA. He averaged almost 7 points and 7 boards a game. In the post season those numbers dropped down to 6 and 6. He was still vital. Eric Snow started 45 games fro the Cavs but was nothing more than a heady veteran guard averaging around 4 points and 4 assists a game. By the time the playoffs came around he was relegated to 13 minutes a game.
Daniel Gibson, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones were the other guys who got minutes off the bench, primarily for their shooting. With no real deep threat in their starting lineup, the Cavs bench provided that spark. This was Gibson’s coming out playoffs where he averaged 8 points a game. Marshall only averaged 10 minutes and 3.5 points and Jones played almost 13 minutes but only averaged 2.4 PPG in the Playoffs. Not exactly an impressive bench of scorers.
While no one plays the Varejao role for this Cavs team, they have gone small to makeup for the size that is missing. The Cavs now are bringing J.R. Smith off the bench and he has been outstanding. He missed two games but is averaging 13.5 points, almost 5 rebounds and even a steal and a assist per game in the Playoffs. He is hitting 40% of his 3 point shots, and taking 7.6 a game. Matthew Dellavedova plays the Snow role, but much better. He is getting 22 minutes a game, putting in 7 points on 36% shooting with 2.6 assists per game. His feisty defense has frustrated opponents all off-season.
James Jones is providing similar production as what the Cavs were getting from Marshall and Damon Jones. JJ is a consummate pro and knows where to be, works hard on defense and hits his open shots. Jones is averaging almost 5 points per game and evening getting 1.5 rebounds as the Cavs bench “Stretch 4.” He is only shooting 35% from deep but must be accounted for at all times by the defense. Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, Kendrick Perkins, Brendan Haywood and Joe Harris get very little time on the floor, although Marion’s time seems to be increasing. Their impact is minimal at this point.
Advantage: ’15 bench. J.R. Smith alone provides more than the Cavs bench combined. He is a threat at all times on offense but also defends at a high level. Throw in Delly’s hard working defense, smart passing and timely shooting and the Cavs have two bench guys that make a big impact. Jones, Marion and Miller all could have a game or two left where they breakout for a big performance.
Next: Concluding Thoughts
May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shakes hands with head coach David Blatt during the fourth quarter of game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. Cleveland won 97-89. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Overall
Overall, the ’15 Cavs are much better than the unit that was with LeBron James in ’07, and were swept by the Spurs. Even LBJ himself is better. One clear difference, besides overall talent level, is the amount of shooting LeBron gets to work with. Irving, Shumpert, Smith, Jones and even Delly are good to great shooters to space the floor. With Hughes, a struggling Pavlovic and the trio off the bench getting limited time, the ’07 Cavs didn’t have that spacing.
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Big Z at center is the one area where the Cavs of 8 years ago had the advantage. The lack of big men bench depth has been limited by the style of play of the modern NBA. Mozgov is no slouch though and plays his role well for the Cavs on both ends of the floor.
We didn’t get into coaching at all but David Blatt and his staff seem to clearly have the edge over Mike Brown and his.
So what say you? Are we just a victim of the moment with our belief that this year’s NBA Finals version of the Cleveland Cavaliers is better in almost every respects than the one that made it there last in ’07? Or could it be that this team, even without the best Stretch 4 and D player in the game, is a much better fitting version of the team 8 years ago?
Where do you agree, where do you disagree?