Cavaliers Starting to Click

After some drama-filled weeks, the Cleveland Cavaliers are finally starting to click and hit their stride.

The Cavaliers defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in LA and won their third game in a row, on the current road trip. LeBron James led all scorers with 27 points while shooting 9/15 from the floor, including 3/4 from downtown. Kyrie Irving added 17 points and five assists while Kevin Love had a solid outing, putting up 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

The Wine & Gold have played well in their last three contests scoring 120, 120, and 114 in back-to-back-to-back games. The 114-90 win against the Clips on Sunday afternoon was a much needed “W” for the Cavaliers who are currently 2.5 games ahead of Toronto in the Eastern Conference Standings. The Cavs impressed in many different areas, but here are the top three that were evident from the game.

Kyrie is trying to pass the ball. Even though he finished the game with just five assists, Irving played well, and was looking to set up his teammates much more that he normally does. This is something Irving must do, if the Clevelanders expect to contend for a championship in the NBA Finals come June.

Also, mid-way through the fourth quarter, as LeBron and most of the starters had migrated to the bench, Kyrie started to take over the game, and dazzled with consecutive jumpers.

Much to the chagrin of many different media outlets, who believe LeBron and Kyrie are enemies , LBJ was the first off of the bench to congratulate Kyrie. They exchanged words and smiles as the Cavs closed out the game.

The Cavs are dangerous from everywhere. At any given point, the Cavs can space the floor with five players able to shoot the three ball. Kyrie, J.R. Smith, and Matthew Dellavadova are probably the top three-point shooters on the team. However, Channing Frye, LeBron, Richard Jefferson, and Iman Shumpert, all have the ability to put the ball in the hoop from beyond the arc at a fairly good rate.

That three-point prowess was seen as the Cleveland shooters hit 18 three-pointers in the game, and shot 48.6% from beyond the three-point line. This shooting allowed Kevin Love to get the ball in the post-up fairly frequently, and provided driving lanes for Kyrie and LeBron, further dissecting the Clippers defense.

Channing Frye is looking like an intelligent addition. With five three’s against the Clips, the stretch-the-floor big man has 10 threes in his last two games. Frye also put up five threes in the game against the Lakers on Friday night.

Plain and simple, Frye adds even more depth to the Cavaliers bench, and becomes another shooting presence to space the floor. David Griffin has to be pleased with his team’s deadline day move, even if Frye has a meager out-put in his first couple games as a Cavalier.

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The Cavs still have much work to do in search for a title, but they are playing great basketball. The team is starting to shoot well, defend well, the bench is playing well, and most of all, it looks like the team is finally discovering the joy that comes when basketball is played well.

Interestingly enough, in the post-game interview LeBron was asked if his team were ready for the play-offs and the finals, LeBron responded with a long quote talking about their great play on the road. LeBron didn’t have scathing remarks for his teammates or things that Cleveland could have done better, he just simply said that his team was/is playing great basketball right now. The Clevelanders are finally starting to click, just at the right time. It’s safe to say that a win-streak to close out the season might be right on the horizon.