The Cleveland Cavaliers had one of their most impressive wins of the Tyronn Lue era – beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-92 – handing them their worst home loss of the season.
In a nationally televised contest at Oklahoma’s Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Cavaliers dominated the Thunder and walked away with five things that were positive.
The five things we learned in the Cavs vs. Thunder game:
1.) From the get-go J.R. Smith came out shooting well and played great defense against the Thunder.
Although only finishing 5-12 for 15 points, most of his point (5-8) came from the 3 point line.
He was very active defensively all afternoon, doing the little things that never show up in the box-score.
2.) LeBron James has struggled with his outside shot – that has been slowly returning as James has been shooting better – but today LeBron shot 2-5 outside the arc (40%). You can see the difference in his outside shot where he has been shooting just 27% from 3.
It would be nice to see him keep his outside shooting percentage above the 40% threshold for the remainder of the season. His inside shooting percentage this season has been efficient with almost 70% of his shots in the paint falling.
3.) With all the rumored trade talk going around you would think Kevin Love would be feeling a bit down, but the truth is he realizes that they were mostly rumors and he has come back from the All-Star break strong. In the last two games Love has been shooting 50%, with a 15 point/15 rebound performance vs. Chicago on Thursday and a 29 point/11 rebound game vs. Oklahoma City.
4.) Tristan Thompson has truly fit in as the Cavaliers starting center. In the last two games since the All-Star break Thompson has averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds, having a 14 point/14 rebound performance vs. the Thunder and their formidable bigs. In the last three games he has averaged a +/- of +14 when on the floor, proving head coach Tyronn Lue correct in starting him instead of the 7’ 2” Timofey Mozgov.
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5.) The Cavaliers played the first quarter tight, leading by just 1 at the end of the 1st, but increased the lead to 9 by the half. The Cavaliers came out in the second half and just dominated one of the top 3 teams in the league and ended up winning by 23 in probably the best 2nd half the Cavaliers have played against contenders this season. The Cavaliers played nearly flawless defense and showed the Thunder that they didn’t even need Kyrie Irving – who left in the first quarter with flu-like symptoms – to beat them. The bench also has been playing better (adding 30 points), with the addition of Channing Frye expected to bring even more scoring to the bench.
Will the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to improve and reach the level of the Golden State Warriors, who have dominated the NBA with a historical season?