Cavs Win Proves LeBron At The 4 Is Fun For All

The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to get back on track with a blowout victory over the Washington Wizards, 108-83.

On a night where the Cavs celebrated the 1975/76 Miracle at Richfield team, the current day Cavaliers didn’t need any miracles or dramatics to run past Washington at The Q.

Kyrie Irving led Cleveland, who now sits at 43-17 on the season, with 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds. LeBron James, who got the start at the power forward position, tallied 19 points, a season-high 13 rebounds and seven assists in just 30 minutes of action.

Timofey Mozgov (14 points), Matthew Dellavedova (12 points), J.R. Smith (10 points) and Tristan Thompson (10 points) rounded out the Cavaliers who scored double-digits on the night.

Cleveland came into the contest after three days off but the storylines surrounding the team were at an all-time high. From James’ sabbatical to Miami to work out with Dwayne Wade, to his cryptic tweets, the constant ‘Irving wants out’ rumors and even LeBron helping Kendrick Lamar to drop a new album, the Cavs were in the news for everything but basketball. This win will silence the nonsense, for at least one night.

Washington had won seven of their last nine ballgames since the All-Star break but couldn’t get anything going against Cleveland, a team they knocked off not even a week ago. John Wall led the Wizards with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Here are three things we learned from the Cavalier victory.

LeBron at the 4 is fun for all

As aforementioned, coach Tyronn Lue made an adjustment in his starting line-up, moving James to the power forward spot for the resting Kevin Love, while Iman Shumpert slotted into the small forward position.

It worked like a charm.

James, historically, hasn’t been thrilled playing at the four. He has stated it isn’t his preference but is willing to do it if need be. If the Washington game is anything to go by, James better get used to playing power forward, as it worked to perfection, with LeBron controlling the game in the palm of his hand.

“I thought it was great for us.” Lue said about the line-up change, via cavs.com. “I thought the guys bought in to playing that style of basketball. LeBron did a great job of sprinting the floor, running and setting picks. (Playing) at the four, when he gets the rebound and takes it off the glass, it’s tough for teams to get back.”

Lue did admit the Cavs will go back to a traditional line-up against the Boston Celtics on Saturday but that doesn’t mean Cleveland has found a style of ball they can go to at any time and blitz teams.

The NBA is evolving towards line-ups based on length and speed, rather than height and traditional bigs holding down the paint. The Golden State Warriors are the epitome of this and the main reason for that is Draymond Green’s capability to do everything while playing at the four.

This is what the Cavaliers gain when playing James at the four.

LeBron is the smartest basketball player in this league and by putting him at the power forward spot, it allows him to grab the defensive rebounds and then set the pace, as Lue alluded to. This was evident against the Wizards, as James was able to grab the board and then run up the court, getting the Cavaliers into their early offense.

Not only does LeBron playing power forward help the Cavs get into their offense quicker and thus creating a greater quality of possessions, it also gives Cleveland the option to place James in the middle of the floor and let him create, a la Green.

“Our offense is a lot faster and a little more precise with me at the four.” James said, via cavs.com. “I’m going to be setting a lot more transition and half-court pick and rolls. I know that I can either get my guy open or if they put two on the ball, then maybe be a quarterback out of that situation. It definitely worked really well for us tonight.”

The pick and rolls that LeBron mentioned is yet another positive of playing him at the four. It has been mind-boggling that Cleveland has yet to use the Irving/James pick and roll on a consistent basis, as it is almost un-guardable. James playing more power forward may assist in making this option a staple of the Cavs offense.

LeBron playing at the four works on multiple levels and the Wizards were the first team to fall victim of it. Expect more of it to come in the future.

Active hands

Ever since Lue took over from David Blatt, the Cavs defense has taken a hit.

In the month of February, the Cavaliers gave up 103.5 points per 100 possessions and got destroyed by opposition point guards.

This wasn’t the case against Washington, as Shumpert contained Wall and the Wizards could only muster 83 points, shooting a dismal 39.5% from the field.

Cleveland’s stellar defensive effort was also a by-product of the line-up chance. With Shumpert in the starting five, it gives the Cavs an extra perimeter defender to start the game.

Subsequently, the Cavaliers were more active off-the ball, flying around and rotating, forcing the Wizards to play like a confused ball club on offense. Washington struggled with an energized Cleveland unit, as the Cavs communications seemed sharp all night long, which of course means the rotations will be on time and on point.

While the team defense was excellent, Shumpert deserves some individual credit.

Irving is a poor defender, so moving Shumpert onto Wall was a brilliant move by Lue and the Cavs high-topped wing responded.

Wall has killed Cleveland this season by getting to the rim and using dribble penetration to create easy looks for both himself and his teammates. Shumpert didn’t give Wall this freedom, as he forced him into shooting low percentage mid-range jumpers.

While Wall hit his fair share of jumpers, it is a shot the Cavs will live with. By being denied access into the teeth of the defense, Wall wasn’t able to get his teammates involved or get himself into a rhythm for the night.

Shumpert’s quick feet troubled Wall all night and additionally, it allowed Irving to hide on the defensive end. Putting Shumpert on the opposition point guard was a great move and should be used more frequently moving forward, especially to start the game. Could this led to moving Shumpert into the starting five for Smith? Possibly.

Mozgov finding form

For majority of the season, Mozgov has been a shell of himself but ever since the turn of the All-Star break, the Russian big man has began re-finding his footing with this Cavalier team.

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Against Washington, Mozgov was catching balls while cutting to the basket and then finishing strong at the basket with some monstrous jams, things he has struggled with immensely this season.

Mozgov was 7-of-11 from the field and wasn’t soft going to the basket. He is usually the biggest guy on the court but hasn’t played that way this season. That changed against the Wizards and quite frankly, it’s a necessary alteration Movgov has made since the All-Star break.

The Russian is averaging 7.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and is shooting 59.6% in his last eight outings and is finally becoming a positive for the Cavaliers on both ends of the floor. Mozgov is still critical to the success of this Cleveland team and it seems as if he is finally discovering that confidence and form he played with last season. Better late then never, right?