King James Gospel Roundtable Discussion: Week 3-4

King James Gospel’s weekly roundtable discussion answers Cavs fans biggest questions.

It’s back! After the Cleveland Cavaliers bye week, for lack of a better term, the high-octane offensive attack was back on display immediately and bore out multiple historic performances. The Cavs lost one last night, failing to keep up with the youth and energy of the Milwaukee Bucks. Still, King James Gospel thinks the defending champs are on a roll this season, as their 13-3 record suggests.

This week, King James Gospel looks at the resurgence of Kevin Love, questions surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers bench and the team’s style of play. A style that looks awfully like the Golden State Warriors attack at times.

Omar Josef Guerrero, Richard Scheuermann and myself lead the roundtable for this week’s discussion.

Where do you rank Kevin Love now among all power forwards?

Omar: Kevin Love has been on a tear ever since I doubted him in the last roundtable…haha! In his last 5 games, he’s been shooting .525 from the field and .575 from three. More importantly, he’s averaging 26.2 points and 11.2 rebounds in that span. (Site expert’s note: Response given November 28. Love went 3-10 from the field and 2-7 from three against the Milwaukee Bucks last night.) In my book, he’s the second best power forward these days behind the rampaging Anthony Davis.

Rich: Every part of me wants to say he’s the best four in the league after the week he’s had. I’m not ready to put Love that high, but he’s definitely on the second tier of power forwards behind Anthony Davis. The season he’s having is incredible. He has a better three-point field goal percentage than Steph Curry through 15 games. That does not compute in my brain. Granted, I think he’s playing a little over his head of late but I also think he’s figured something out offensively in his third season with the team. Oh yeah and he’s still one of the best rebounders in the game. Got nothin but love for Love.

Q. Albertie: Off the top of my head, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Draymond Green and Anthony Davis are the best power forwards in the league. In that group, Love is one of many power forwards with a unique skill-set and elite talent. He’s also the least athletic (I’ll give the slight edge to Green). He’s also the best three-point shooter, one of the top two rebounders and one of the most intelligent power forwards as well. It’s hard to rank him first but he’s at the top of his game and one of the top five power forwards in the NBA, for sure.

What will it take for Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to start winning games without LeBron James?

Omar: Kevin and Kyrie need to take charge of the team when they’re on the floor. They need to be more vocal in directing the players as they need a visible leader when LeBron is not around.

Rich: Focusing on distributing the ball among the second unit. Ultimately, other guys have to be able to knock shots down when they get their number called, but K-Love and Irving need to have ball movement in mind. Kyrie’s ready to try and drop 50 most nights, but he’s got to find a balance between staying aggressive on offense and creating shots for other players. It would be awfully reassuring to see the Cavs get a couple W’s with LBJ on the sideline (resting and healthy of course).

Q. Albertie: I think it starts with putting a player in place to try to replicate his role as the pure point-forward and glue-guy. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both need to work harder to get their teammates involved. I wouldn’t mind a guy who could score in isolation coming off the bench either. For that reason, I think putting Kay Felder in the second-unit full-time would also help. Not that he’ll be the guy to make up for LeBron James’ absence. Just that he’ll fill some of the offensive void.

Is Richard Jefferson beginning a Shawn Marion-like decline with the Cavs? Looking at his numbers and inactivity on the court, he doesn’t seem to be the player he was last year.

Omar: I don’t think so. During stretches, he’s been pretty good. I think it’s more of not getting into a rhythm given that Coach Tyronn Lue has been trying out different lineups and distributing minutes differently from last year. When it’s winning time, especially in the playoffs, expect Lue to give Jefferson more minutes and for his production to increase.

Rich: He also wasn’t all that impactful for a lot of the regular season last year as I recall. RJ knows his body. He knows it’s a long (arguably too long) season and he has to take care of himself. I will say it’s a little worrisome to see him struggle from beyond the arc like he has. Come playoff time, though, I’ll bet old Richard will get some juice in those legs and make some big plays. Worry not, young Jedi.

Q. Albertie: I think that Jefferson’s decline is part of a remarkable trends of small forwards hitting significant level of declines in their mid-30s. After 35, everybody from Paul Pierce to Shane Battier’s numbers declined. That Jefferson’s numbers as a member of the bench are declining while he’s getting pretty open looks is disappointing. That there are 66 more games left on the schedule before the playoffs and he’s already showing signs of decline is worrisome.

Will Jordan McRae get back in a groove?

Omar: Yes. He’s too talented not to. But he has to refrain from thinking that every time he gets the ball he has to shoot. McRae is very talented but he has the tendency to try to take over as if he’s still playing in the Summer League. When he lets the game come to him, he’ll develop the maturity needed to be more consistent.

Rich: Did he have a groove? I mean, he had a nice summer league, but then again, so did 101 other players who don’t play in the NBA. Don’t get me wrong, I think McCrae can score in this league, but I also think it’s sort of an experimental season with him. I can’t imagine things won’t improve for him with more minutes, I just don’t put a lot of stock into his role on the team. And I don’t think T-Lue, David Griffin, and the rest of the organization are counting on McCrae for big points and minutes.

Q. Albertie: McRae’s performance against the Milwaukee Bucks in limited minutes is the best he’s played so far. Still, he’s scored 16 points and had zero turnovers in 23 minutes of action over the past two games while shooting 50.0 percent from the field. The question may be answering itself. The Cleveland Cavaliers may not be relying on McRae but they have a lot of money devoted to a few players and can’t rely on wily old veterans forever.

Are the Cleveland Cavaliers mimicking Golden State Warriors system?

Omar: There are some similarities but I won’t call it mimicry. Lue wants ball movement (as do we) and this is the year that we’re getting it…finally! With so many great three-point shooters on the team and the guys making their shots from deep, it’s only natural that Cleveland gets compared to Golden State but don’t call us copycats! You didn’t but you know what I mean.

Rich: Yeah. And the Cavs might be doing it better. It’s going to be awfully interesting if Cleveland breaks Golden State’s single-season three-point record. I also realize I’m a Cavs fan, but I’m not delusional. The Warriors have won 11 straight games and dropped 149 points against the Lakers last week. I still can’t really wrap my brain around the fact that Golden State won 73 games last year and subsequently acquired the second-best player in the game. That’s unprecedented. But even if the wheels fall off and the Cavs die by the three on any given night, they’ve got the LeBron James x-factor. Are you ready for Christmas!??

Q. Albertie: To put it bluntly, yes they are. Both teams thrive off of ball-movement, pace and three-point shooting to dominate the other teams. The teams don’t mirror each other though. The matchup between Green and Love as nominal centers will be as interesting as seeing if Tristan Thompson can defend Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala or Kevin Durant well enough to stay on the floor when the Golden State Warriors go small. If he can’t, and the Cleveland Cavaliers can still dominate the paint with James at power forward. The Cavs have the Warriors system but they’re a better team to use it.

Do you have any questions for the KJG staff? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.