King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers win second straight: Lessons from Cavs 17-point victory

By Jackson Flickinger

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 28: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers pauses between plays during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Quicken Loans Arena on January 28, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 28: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers pauses between plays during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Quicken Loans Arena on January 28, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 28: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers pauses between plays during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Quicken Loans Arena on January 28, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 28: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers pauses between plays during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Quicken Loans Arena on January 28, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

LeBron can close out games at the point.

Coach Lue chose to start the fourth quarter with James at the point and he never went back. LeBron finished the fourth quarter with 9 points and 5 assists as the Cavs were able to coast to a 17-point victory.

Lue didn’t play Thomas or Rose at all in the fourth quarter. He chose to instead go with lineups that featured primarily wings in James, Crowder and Green. As a result, the Cavs posted a defensive rating of 71.2 and held the Pistons to just 29.2% shooting during the final frame.

One of the exciting elements of this team going into the season was the depth and limitless lineup options they had. Having LeBron play the point for stretches allows the Cavs to keep their best defensive team on the floor at all times.

The easiest way to hide Thomas’s defensive liabilities late in games is by having the versatility of keeping him on the bench in the fourth quarter.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have value. The Cavs might not win the game if he doesn’t provide the spark plug he did in the third quarter, but he clearly isn’t one of their better defensive players. James being able to play point guard gives them the luxury of keeping Thomas on the bench when the matchup isn’t right.

Must Read: Cavs Big 3 must establish pecking order

The Cavs will look to push their win streak to a modest three games when they go to take on the Pistons again in Detroit on Tuesday.