The NBA Finals are showing the difference between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. Next year, the Cavs will have to put more stock into the regular season to keep up.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot to learn from the Golden State Warriors.
Per Bleacher Report‘s Howard Beck:
"“We’ve gotta play the same way consistently, day in and day out—which the Warriors have been really able to do.” – J.R. Smith"
The Warriors don’t just excel because of their personnel or their coaching, they’re also tough to beat because they’re consistent and building up great habits. They treat every opponent the same and despite being focused on reaching the NBA Finals, the Warriors go all-out in every game, hoping to dominate. Hoping to be known as a dynasty.
The Cavaliers, shielded by a blueprint of LeBron James’ that’s led him to seven straight NBA Finals appearances and an Eastern Conference that looks like it’ll concede the rest of the decade’s Finals appearances to James , waltz through the regular season without a sense of urgency. Their lackadaisical play leads to close games with inferior opponents and bad habits that become part of their identity. As a result, when the Cavs have to lock-in on both ends, it’s considered “flipping the switch”.
It’s really not a term that speaks to the Cavs dominance but if their true weakness. Inconsistency.
In the regular season, there’s a discernible pattern to their wins and losses.
As their effort waxed and waned throughout, the Cavs lost when they failed to move the ball (24.5 assists per game in wins compared to 19.7 assists per game in losses); control the ball (12.2 turnovers per game in wins compared to 14.8 turnovers per game in losses, opponents had 6.7 steals per game in wins compared to 8.3 steals per game in losses); hit shots (49.0 percent from the field in wins compared to 43.8 percent from the field in losses); they also shot 40.8 percent from three-point range in wins compared to 34.2 percent from three-point range in losses.
Defensively, they were allowing opponents to shoot 48.0 percent from the field in losses compared to 44.4 percent from the field in wins.
In the playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been holding opponents to 44.8 percent shooting from the field as they maintained their focus and energy throughout the game in part thanks to the rest and conditioning they’ve done in the postseason. They also do their homework on opponents and have more time to study their plays. The Cavs, with their veteran-laden team is playoff-made.
Unfortunately, there are 82 games that occur before the playoffs. 82 games that require focus, energy and players to be in peak physical condition.
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The Cavs currently have eight players on their roster that are at least 31-years-old. All but two, Dahntay Jones and James Jones, are part of their playoff rotation.
LeBron James, who is 32-years-old but at times looks as springy as a 25-year-old, has dealt with back spasms over the last three seasons.
The three players that are under 30-years-old have had a history of injury problems.
Kevin Love, who is 28-years-old, is obviously approaching 30-years-old and last season he dealt with back issues that may only persist next season. Kyrie Irving fractured his kneecap in the 2015 NBA Finals and the Cavs have been insistent on letting Irving rest his knee from time to time. Iman Shumpert’s injury history is lengthy as, among other injuries, he’s sustained injuries to his ankle, shoulder and hamstring while playing with the Cavaliers.
With that said, the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have a roster built for the regular season.
Needing more youth and athleticism moving forward, the Cavs should still re-sign Kyle Korver because the only other future free agent who can be anywhere near as effective from the line as Korver is Jason Terry. In a couple of season, 22-year-old Cedi Osman has the chance to usurp him at the small-forward position.
In the meantime, 26-year-old Derrick Williams may soon take the place of Richard Jefferson in the rotation, the Cleveland Cavaliers need to get more energy, or at least athleticism, in their second unit backcourt.
Nonetheless, with Korver unlikely to be supplanted anytime soon, there needs to be at least one upgrade to the backcourt.
The Cavs like to push the pace and 32-year-old Deron Williams isn’t exactly equipped to be a terror in the fastbreak thanks to his age and the wear and tear his body has sustained after heavy minutes and multiple injuries. Due to his underwhelming quickness and athleticism Williams is also a defensive liability on the perimeter.
While, Shumpert can push the pace and defend well, he’s prone to playing out-of-control or losing his handle. Unfortunately, he’s never been a consistent scoring presence either.
Shumpert deserves a spot in the rotation. Williams, while a savvy point guard who’ll have the occasional vintage performance, should be replaced.
The Cavs don’t necessarily need a point guard to improve their backcourt but they do need a guard who can handle the ball in spades, push the pace on offense and make defensive plays on the perimeter.
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D-Will and Shumpert have been able to score in isolation at times but next season, having a player that can consistently score in isolation will be imperative. By having a guard who can consistently score without needing to be set up by James or Irving, the Cavs two best isolation scorers can rest.
To that point, James would be wise to work with Derrick Williams should he re-sign. Equipped with a similar frame, positional versatility, athleticism and explosiveness and the tools to be a solid scorer, James could have another protegé on his hands. While he teaches Irving his blueprint, he can teach Williams his style.
For one, Williams should work on his post-up game with James, who has some nifty moves on the low-block to get to the rim. Working on his three-point shot and his ability to post-up alone makes him a rock solid stretch-four. With the ability to score in isolation, Williams becomes a certified threat off the bench who helps balance the offense of the three-point happy Cavs.
There is only so much that inserting youth and athleticism in the second unit can change though. With the proposed changes to the bench personnel, the Cavs’ second unit will be able to sustain or build momentum while being able to be able to function without a member of the Big Three.
Still, there will need to be changes within the Big Three. Namely, James and Irving will have to make changes to the way they approach the regular season. This could be aided by them being able to play less minutes.
James, who preaches about the importance of “the process”, needs to practice what he preaches and go all-out as long as he can when he’s in the game. This doesn’t mean playing with reckless abandon but playing with complete effort on both ends on every possession he’s in the game.
Getting a player that can score in isolation on the bench will go a long way towards James’ ability to rest and give that type of effort since he’ll only have the chance to play in shorter bursts with more energy.
Irving, whose defensive effort on the perimeter left a lot to be desired in the regular season, has shown that he’s capable of playing solid defense on the perimeter if he’s engaged and taking the challenge personally. He’ll need to do that on a consistent basis. With his role on offense, it wouldn’t be surprising if fatigue could play a factor in his inconsistent effort.
Again, that’s another reason that having a second unit player than can score in isolation will be imperative next season.
By the time the playoffs roll around, the Cavs will have more players who can score in isolation, better habits built up in the regular season and a budding “cell system” of younger player replacing older ones.
If they want to be able to be the world-beaters are, they wouldn’t just need better talent. They’d need better athleticism, focus and consistency.
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*All stats courtesy of www.basketball-reference.com