Cleveland Cavaliers: Will These Changes Be The Wave Of The Future?

The Cleveland Cavaliers ran away with the game early last night as they put a beating on the Detroit Pistons. In the process, the Cavs made some changes that should become staples of their play.

Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers put on a spectacular display of basketball as they defeated the Detroit Pistons 128-96.

What was the biggest cause of the win?

Ball movement.

In an article by Advanced Ohio’s Chris Fedor, LeBron James had this to say about the team’s ability to put forth such a masterful game.

"“Ball movement,” LeBron James said of the offense. “We had the ball poppin’, we had bodies movin’ and guys just felt great rhythm even with three in four nights. That’s just a byproduct of it. Sometimes those games once every blue moon and tonight was one of them.”"

The Cleveland Cavaliers had 29 assists on 46 shots against the Detroit Pistons. That ratio translates to a percentage of 63.0. The Cavs normally average 22.7 assists per game, which puts them in the middle of the pack. In general, despite the transcendent playmaking of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the Cavs still get 7.9 assists per game from other players.

That led to an effective field goal percentage of 72.1 for Cavs as the team recorded an assist on 63.0 percent of the field goals.

With James and Irving combining for 18 assists, last night was no different in terms of who the Cavaliers relied on for the bulk of the assists. After all, the Cavs rely heavily on drives from James and Irving to open up the floor for other players as defenses collapse.

What was different, according to head coach Tyronn Lue, is the defensive intensity as the Cavs played up on their man and, addressing their Achilles’ heel, contested as many shots on the perimeter as possible.

"“I thought we played with pace because we got stops,” Lue said. “We was able to get out and run and get shots in transition.”"

For a team that hasn’t put forth the energy on the defensive end, Lue’s comments are illuminating.

In holding the Detroit Pistons to 37 field goals, 20 assists and an effective field goal percentage of 37.4, they held the Pistons to what would be the 28th worst assist per game average and the worst effective field goal percent of every team. That’s great defense and it’s largely caused by effort.

Other changes that helped the Cleveland Cavaliers were them putting Iman Shumpert on Reggie Jackson from the start and, ironically, not over-passing to try to find a three-point shot. When DeAndre Liggins was starting, he would often cover the point guards and Kyrie Irving would cover the shooting guard.

Lue went away from that strategy with Shumpert starting, opting to leave Irving on the point guards. Irving’s problem isn’t that he doesn’t put forth the effort on defense. It’s that he doesn’t have the lateral agility to stick with the quicker point guards.

He may look quick when moving side-to-side on the offensive end but that’s also due to him having the ball in his hands and players, who many regard as having the best ball-handling ability in the NBA, trying to stay in front of him while his footwork and innovation can get him anywhere he wants to be on the floor.

The Cavs, and LeBron James, didn’t attempt as many cross-court passes as they have in the past either. Those passes are already difficult to complete and, if predicted, easy to intercept. The time it takes for them to hit their mark often leads to defenders being able to close out on the shooter, who must pass to another shooter.

As the ball works its way around the clock slowly winds down and forces the Cavs into a tough shot. If the initial two-point shot was taken, they’d have less turnovers as well as a better chance of preventing teams from gathering long rebounds and getting out in transition.

This also allowed Shumpert to play more in the pick-and-roll, his bread-and-butter on the offensive end. With Shumpert’s athleticism, ball-handling and shooting stroke from midrange, it only makes sense to open up the offense by making him more than a spot-up shooter.

Another big part of the win that’s different from what’s been seen recently isn’t the extreme confidence by Lue when talking about his team, it’s that they generally seemed to play with a fire under them all game. They didn’t let up for a single second.

Lue, who I’ve criticized (probably too harshly) for not motivating his players to play the best of their potential all game, also made a feel good move while managing to play every available player for the home crowd.

Larry Sanders, who general manager David Griffin believes can be a game-changer according to Advance Ohio’s Joe Vardon, who made an unexpected and unplanned team debut.

Those type of things seem innocuous. However, players want to play and other players love to see their teammates succeed. A guy like Liggins whose minutes have had dramatic spikes while playing a significant role earlier in the season, was visibly exuberant on the court.

Fans may see it as garbage time minutes. But for players like Liggins and Sanders, who are on a path to redemption in both their personal and professional careers, it’s their dream. On the NBA court and playing is where they belong.

Hats off to the Cleveland Cavaliers and head coach Tyronn Lue for the performance in the victory last night. Hopefully, this is the future of the Cavs.

Energy, effort and efficiency are key. As well as exuberance.

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What did you think of the Cleveland Cavaliers performance against the Detroit Pistons? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.