Cavs Vs. Hornets: 3 Things We Learned

The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to exact revenge on the Charlotte Hornets for their loss at the Hive with an impressive 114-103 win in Cleveland.

After a very disappointing loss to Central Division rival, the Detroit Pistons, the Cavaliers bounced back impressively against a gallant Hornets squad. Unlike the game against the Pistons, the Cavaliers came out of the gates with great energy on both ends, defending with a purpose and pushing the ball on misses and makes.

Here’s three things we learned:

1. Ball Movement, Ball Movement, Ball Movement

Actually, let me be honest. We didn’t just learn this today, it’s been blatantly apparent to anyone who watches the Cavs except for the players themselves. When the Cavaliers move the ball, good things happen. Right from the tip, the Cavaliers passed the ball crispy in order to find the best shot, and it resulted in 26 assists on 45 made field goals. The Cavs also took excellent care of the ball, finishing with just nine turnovers for the entire game, a major improvement over the Pistons game.

The passing isn’t just for the purpose of passing the eye test either, it actually works. In the Cavaliers’ 41 wins this season, they have averaged 23.7 assists. In their 15 losses that figure goes down a whopping 5 assists, to 18.7. Ball movement has been a real issue on the road where the Cavs tend to go into long shooting slumps, which results in their primary ball handlers and best players taking it all upon themselves to score. In their 28 games at the Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs average an impressive 24.4 assists per game.

It is clear that the Cavaliers aren’t the type of team to move the ball like the Spurs or Warriors, due to their personnel. In Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, they have two of the best isolation scorers in the NBA. However, moving the ball not only makes it easier for them, but for their team mates too.

2. Channing Frye and the Bench Spark

The Cavaliers’ bench scoring has been a major achilles heel for this team since it was put together last season. A look at lineup stats shows that the current Cavs’ starting five has a positive net rating of 12.8. Basically, the Cavs starters build up leads, only for the bench to let oppositions back into the game. The lack of a bench punch has been the reason why the Cavs aren’t able to make their 10 or 12 point leads into 20 point leads and finish inferior opponents. It was for this very reason that fan favourite Anderson Varejao was traded in order to acquire sharpshooter Channing Frye from the Orlando Magic.

In just his second game in a Cavs uniform, Frye was excellent. Frye logged a total of 18 minutes against the Hornets and started off impressively in the second quarter nailing a trademark three along with a two-point field goal. However, he really made his mark in the fourth quarter. With James having his customary rest at the start of the 4th, Frye erupted, hitting 3 shots from beyond the arc to stretch the three-quarter time lead of 12 out to a 20 point lead. Frye would finish with 15 points and six rebounds on the night, shooting an impressive 5 of 9, including 4 of 8 from long distance.

3. Jumpshots come and go

Want to know what makes the Golden State Warriors good? They are so consistent in making their outside shots. If the saying of teams living and dying by the jump shot rings true, the Warriors live and live lavishly. As for the Cavs, their roster is laden with streaky shooters, exemplified by LeBron and Kevin Love. James and Love had contrasting fortunes coming into the matchup with the Hornets. While James was disappointing, finishing with just 12 points on 5 of 18 shooting, including four missed threes, Love was fantastic, scoring 24 points to go along with his seven rebounds and three assists on an impressive 8 of 15 clip.

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However, against the Hornets, the script was flipped once again. Love got his early looks again against the Hornets, but unlike the games against the Thunder and Pistons, his shot wasn’t falling. As a result, Love scored just eight points on 4-11 shooting. Comparatively, LeBron had his much-maligned jumper falling. He hit two early threes, one from the corner where he has struggled massively this season. James finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and made 8 of his 13 shots. Had he played the final quarter, James would likely have finished with a more gaudy statline. Despite finishing with two made threes, James’ three-point percentage is still well below 30% and it is something to keep an eye on heading into the post season.

Up next is a vital match up against the Eastern Conference’s second best team, the Toronto Raptors. The Cavaliers will head into Canada once again looking to exact revenge after losing there earlier in the season. The Cavs will hope to also have Iman Shumpert back from a shoulder injury that has caused him to sit the past three games.