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Cavs: Three Things We Learned As Celtics Swipe Win

By Andrew Rysta

Feb 5, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Boston Celtics celebrate after guard Avery Bradley (0) reacts after hitting a three-point shot to end the game and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Celtics won 104-103. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; The Boston Celtics celebrate after guard Avery Bradley (0) reacts after hitting a three-point shot to end the game and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Celtics won 104-103. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled losing out of what seemed to be a clear win as the Boston Celtics got the W.

It looked to be all but over, as Kyrie Irving went to the foul line and buried two free throws to make it a 4 point game in the Quicken Loans Arena. An Evan Turner layup and foul, and a clutch Avery Bradley three later, Cleveland walked off with its 13th loss of the season as Celtics players mobbed Bradley. There were positive and negative things that happened during the game, but the question arises: What can be taken away from this one? Here are three things we learned from Cleveland in its 4th home loss of the season.

Here are three things we learned from Cleveland in its 4th home loss of the season.

First of all, Cleveland is a poor shooting team. The Cavs rank 9th in FG% and 12th in 3pt. % shooting at a 45/35 clip. The Cavs had an even worse shooting performance on this night in particular, getting just 42% of their shots to go from the field. The Cavs also shot 26% from the 3pt. line and a measly 60% from the free throw stripe. In many games, unless hack-a-shaq is being employed, missed free throws can hurt your team. However, the Wine & Gold attempted 35 free throws and hit a total of 21. The Cavs must improve their shooting ability before the playoffs because a lack of shooting also causes a lack of floor spacing for Kyrie and LeBron’s drives to the hoop.

Even with the team full of “shooters” with Irving, J.R. Smith, Kevin Love, Mo Williams and James Jones, the team has overall struggled shooting. Adding another “shooter” doesn’t seem like it will fix the problem.

Second, the Cavs must buy into Tyronn Lue‘s offensive schemes. Lue has been stressing uptempo pace, and side-to-side ball movement which can be difficult for a team that is used to slowing it down and playing isolation basketball. The Wine & Gold had been passing much better and averaging about 27.1 assists under Lue’s new offense, however, the team tallied just 21 assists in the contest. If LeBron and Kyrie cannot get Love more involved (hopefully this thigh injury is not a big deal), and learn to use their teammates, the Cavs are in for another tough playoffs.

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This becomes especially bad when things get tough for the Cavs. Instead of turning to the offense to make things happens, James and Irving turn to their own skills. Is Lue able to get them to change any more than former HC David Blatt?

Third, I know we as Cleveland fans desperately want the Cavs to be good right now, but this is all a process, and we as well as the players on the Cavs must be patient. We cannot expect Lue to come in and change everything in two weeks. We must be patient and wait, the Celtics stole a win, however, the Cavs are still growing as a unit. We have three games before the All-Star Game, and plenty of time to solidify ourselves as the best in the East.

Yet we hear rumors that the Cavs are aggressively talking trades, will GM David Griffin be patient?

How are you feeling after the Cavs 2nd straight loss?