Cavs Vs Suns: 3 Things We Learned

The Cleveland Cavaliers got the tempo moving in a commanding 115-93 victory over the struggling Phoenix Suns.

The Cavs needed an easy win to settle and relax everyone down and the Suns provided the correct medicine.

Phoenix, who have now lost 19 of their past 22 ballgames, kept things interesting in the first half at the Quicken Loans Arena. Heading into the break, the Cavs held a slender 55-50 lead but coming out of halftime, the floodgates opened.

Cleveland outscored the Suns 60-43 in the second half, which was bolstered by a 12-0 run to open up the third quarter. The fourth quarter presented itself as extended garbage time for both teams reserves.

The second half onslaught by the Cavaliers had this little fan fired up.

LeBron James had another dominating performance, as he looks scarier and scarier in Tyronn Lue’s fast-paced tempo by the game. James finished with 21 points, nine assists and three rebounds in 31 minutes of work. James was extremely effective from the floor, missing only one shot on the night, which was a three-pointer. James was 7-of-8 from the floor and was a +16.

Kevin Love also had himself a ballgame, as he stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals. Love shot 8-of-17 from the field, all of which were quality looks.

J.R. Smith had one of his better games against the Suns, as he heated up with 18 points on 7-of-11 from the floor. More impressively though was Smith’s four steals on the night, as he was active and energetic on the defensive end all night long.

Richard Jefferson and Timofey Mozgov both scored double figures off the bench, as Jefferson was perfect from the floor to finish with 14 points, while Mozgov threw down some big dunks to finish with 10 points.

For the stumbling Suns, rookie Devin Booker led the scoring with 16 points. Booker possesses an excellent shooting stroke and basketball IQ for his age.

Here are three things we learned from the Cavs win.

Second Half Fun

The Cavaliers have been known as a second-half team this season, which coincides with their slow starts. Wednesday Night’s contest followed the same narrative, as the Cavs seemingly sleepwalked through the first half and flipped the switch in the second half.

The first half was an inconsistent one for Cleveland, despite their five-point lead heading into the break. Yes, the Cavs were impressive on the offensive end, as they had 17 assists on 21 made field goals in the half. That is a number that should make Cleveland fans smile everywhere. Although, there was a slight period at the start of the second quarter where the Cavaliers reverted back to their isolation, stagnant ways. Coach Lue will be trying to remove all evidence of this offense moving forward.

The defense was the issue in the first half though, as the Suns were getting whatever they wanted, on their way to a 50.0% shooting percentage in the first half. The first half was almost a copy of the Cavs game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The offense was firing on all cylinders but the defense was the opposite.

Things changed in the second half though.

Not only did the Cavs lock down on the defensive end, as they held the Suns to just 43 points on 43.8% shooting from the floor. Cleveland just seemed to have a lot more fun playing the game of basketball in the second half.

This was highlighted by some incredible plays pulled off from the Cavs, who put on their own personal All-Star game, in front of Eastern Conference All-Star Coach Lue.

"J.R. SMITH OFF THE BACKBOARD TO KING JAMES"

Lue has stressed the point that the Cavs need to get back to enjoying the game of basketball and it looked like they did against the Suns. Late in the fourth quarter, James was spotted dancing with his teammates on the bench. If the Cavs can get back to enjoying themselves like they did against the Suns, look out, as they become a much more dangerous team.

Offense Is Clicking

Lue has consistently asserted that he would get the Cavaliers back to playing an up-tempo style of ball, which yields better ball and player movement. The results showed against the Suns.

Cleveland finished with 34 assists on the night, tying their season high. The Cavs failed to assist on just 11 of their made shots. The Cavaliers ball movement was tremendous on the night, as the ball had energy and players were passing up good shots for great shots.

Whether it was via pick and roll action, transition or off-ball cuts and screens, Cleveland was able to get the ball moving in a variety of different ways against Phoenix and it was a sign of just how deadly they can be when everyone is clicking. All of this occurred with Kyrie Irving shooting just 4-of-11 from the floor as well, so one can just imagine how much better the Cavs offense will be when he regains his shooting stroke.

Under David Blatt, Cleveland would fall back into isolation basketball way too much. This hasn’t been the case under Lue for his first three games and if the Cavs can routinely move the ball at an elite pace, they become a much more effective offensive unit.

Creating Turnovers Is A Key

One of the main concerns that many had when Lue planned out his idea for the Cavs to play more of an up-tempo offense was what affect that would have on the defensive end of the floor.

The second half against the Suns was able to give us a glimpse of how Cleveland must defend while transiting to this style and that is to create turnovers.

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The Cavs forced the Suns into 22 turnovers on the night, as they consistently got their hands into passing lanes and forced Phoenix into a disjointed offense. By forcing these turnovers, it allows the Cavaliers to start running the break and getting into their offense quicker.

Cleveland are planning to play a more up-tempo style and a result of this more be higher scoring games. Although, if the Cavs are able to force turnovers, it will allow them to get easy scoring opportunities and still be a suffocating defensive team.