Cavs Control Rockets: 5 Things We Learned

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished their long road trip with a win over the Houston Rockets. Cavs kept the Rockets from liftoff.

The Cavs finished off their 2 week, 6 game road trip with a win last night. A 5 – 1 record in those 6 games, including the Texas Three Step versus the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs and Rockets, is a very good sign for the team.

The Cavs were led by Kyrie Irving‘s 23 points, even though he only shot 1 of 5 from behind the 3 point line. Kevin Love put in a double-double and LeBron James had his solid all-around game with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks.

Here are 5 Things We Learned from the Cavs win last night:

1. Cavs Don’t Get Down, When They Get Down Early

At one point, the Cavs had an early deficit of 13 – 4. The 9 point lead ended up being the Rockets biggest lead of the game. The Cavs didn’t get down even as they turned the ball over, weren’t making shots and the Rockets were hitting at a high rate.

In fact, once the Cavs took the lead they didn’t relinquish it.

This was not a case of the Cavs giving minimal effort against a lesser team. The Cavs effort was fine but they never showed panic. They stayed comfortable, kept the ball moving and made sure to keep up the pressure on defense.

2. The Cavs Depth Changes Things

On the second night of a back to back, at the end of the 6 game road trip, the Cavs needed their bench to play important minutes. Specifically, Anderson Varejao‘s early time on the court in the 1st quarter was vital for the team. Wild Thing had 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal for a game-high +15.

While the Cavs Big 3 all played 30 or more minutes, with LeBron James leading the way at 36, the Cavs still needed their depth. J.R. Smith struggled shooting, 2 of 12 from behind the arc, leading to him only playing 26 minutes. Tired legs often impact shooters the most, as seen by the Cavs 23% from deep.

Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova and Richard Jefferson filled in important minutes even though they only scored 9 combined.

3. Defense Can Be Their Calling Card

One of the benefits of not having Irving and Love in the NBA Finals is the defensive identity the team had to adopt. The Rockets had won 5 straight, including Wednesday at home, yet the tired Cavs locked them down to a season-low 77 points.

After going down 9 in the 1st, the Cavs were quickly up 8 early in the 2nd quarter as they held the Rockets to only 10 points in a full 12-minute span between the 1st and 2nd quarters. With James Harden, Dwight Howard, Ty Lawson and good depth, the Rockets are the 6th highest scoring team in the league. The Cavs held them 26 points below their season average.

Their defense included aggressive on the ball defense, clogging the lane, quick rotations and getting the ball out of Harden’s hands quick. It worked.

Credit assistant coach Tyronn Lue for his work on that end of the court. Expect him to get head coaching interest next season.

4. James Harden Can Be Taken Out

Harden is one of the NBA’s best scorers. He is averaging 27.6 points per game, 2nd in the league behind Stephen Curry. He is averaging 20 shot attempts per game, including 8 three-pointers. He also gets to the foul line 10 times a game.

Against the Cavs, the quick hands of Iman Shumpert, quick feet of J.R. Smith, physical play of Matthew Dellavedova and the team’s help defense bothered Harden. He only took 10 shots, 5 from behind the arc (missing all 5), with 7 free throws.

The Cavs kept Harden from having a big impact on the game with their effort and desire. Harden looked like he had played 6 straight road games and was on the back end of a back to back.

He didn’t do much better on the defensive end:

5. In the Bonus:

• Irving is amazing handling the ball and shooting. Even though he seemed very tired, Irving controlled the game when he was in. He made Rockets defenders look silly time and time again. Including this amazing one:

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That is just silly amazing.

• Creativity and flexibility – Tristan Thompson has been starting for almost a month but, with Dwight Howard on the other side, HC David Blatt went back to Timofey Mozgov in the starting lineup. The Cavs can mix and match their centers based on the opponent. Timo still only played 18 minutes but Thompson only got 22 minutes. Able to rotate starters and play rotations based on the opponents is huge.
• The Cavs were willing to move the ball with passing all night. Often the Cavs struggle moving the ball when tired but tonight they were making the extra passes even though they only had 19 assists. Was a great sign of their desire, even as shots were not falling.
• At one point last year, the Cavs were 19 – 20. Now they have half as many losses with 9 more vicotries. Their adjustments since the trades last year is amazingly impressive.
• Feels like GM David Griffin and the Cavs are talking about adding someone at the NBA Trade Deadline. Luke looked at twelve different wing options to fill those needs.
  • The Cavs could actually have a roster full of players who would be in the rotatio of most/all teams in the NBA if they make a trade.

  What did you see from the Cavs win last night?