It’s been a while since we’ve seen the ego-less Cleveland Cavaliers

Although it’s been one game, it appears the Cleveland Cavaliers are playing for each other again.

The Cleveland Cavaliers need to keep moving forward.

New life was injected into an aging roster at the trade deadline and it would seem that the trades rookie general manager Koby Altman made could have righted their wrongs. Aside from the $50 million more in luxury tax penalties coming after the season (per ESPN’s Bobby Marks) due to the addition of Rodney Hood and George Hill, it appears that the Cavs have the makings of a completely different team on the floor.

Cleveland’s first game featuring the “new four” of complimentary pieces was a resounding success. On a Sunday afternoon game on the road against the then-East-leading Boston Celtics and ex-Cavalier Kyrie Irving, Cleveland demonstrated just how much firepower they now have with their all-in deadline shake-up. They dismantled the C’s en route to a shocking 121-99 victory, and they were enjoying themselves while doing it. On all accounts, it was a massive breath of fresh air for the veteran ball club.

Led by a LeBron James stat line of 24 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds, the Cavs were firing on all cylinders. They shot 53.6 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from three, per Basketball Reference. This was the first time the remade squad suited up together, and they destroyed the league’s top defense in the Celtics on their home floor. Cleveland made sixteen triples in the game, which is way more than what Boston gives up on the season, which is just over nine per game (per nba.com).

LeBron was getting anywhere he wanted for the most part, and it was beautiful to watch Cleveland knock down triples from all over the floor. Six players made multiple three-point shots, and most of those shots were wide-open looks. Obviously this is just one game, and other teams will eventually adjust to this new Cleveland rotation as the season progresses. That doesn’t mean the Cavs will be at all easy to defend, though.

James is going to be back doing what he does best (penetrate and find open shooters), and opponents will no longer be able to just stack the paint to deter LeBron and Dwyane Wade drives. Even though LeBron is still the most ball-dominant player on the Cavaliers, the ball movement will be better from now on. Kyle Korver’s passing (which already is underrated) is going to be even more of a focus going forward in this Cleveland offensive arsenal with another roller in Larry Nance to go with Thompson.

Isaiah Thomas was an awful fit playing alongside James and a less ball-dominant point guard like George Hill is a better fit as KJG’s Jackson Flickinger pointed out. This younger, more versatile Cavs roster has more clear roles with less pressure, and their chemistry will only get better before the postseason.

That relates to defensive cohesion as well. This kind of defensive awareness was apparent throughout the game against Boston, and with this infusion of youth and energy, Cleveland could be drastically better defensively.

Against the C’s, the Cavs forced turnovers in key times throughout the game, and that led to (mostly successful) breakaway dunks. Those kinds of intelligent rotations and effort plays from players such as Cedi Osman, J.R. Smith, and Clarkson will go a long way in determining whether or not the Cavs win a championship again.

Once again, it was one game, but the defensive intensity, ability, and mindset should be infinitely better with going forward. Simply not having one of the worst individual defenders in the league has changed the Cavaliers’ defensive outlook by itself.

Cleveland will be able to throw longer defenders at opposing ball handlers and wings throughout the course of games, and that should allow LeBron and Thompson to play more down low defensively to provide rim protection and bodies in passing lanes. Mike Zavagno of SB Nation’s Cavaliers’ blog, Fear The Sword, was on-point with these two clips (which were part of a great game thread) displaying Cleveland’s much-improved activity on defense.

It’s too early to declare the Cavs as being one of the league’s top defenses all of the sudden, but they should be better on the interior and the perimeter. They couldn’t be much worse before the trade deadline, especially in bringing in Nance.

His skillset in pick-and-roll coverage is perhaps as valuable as anything else Cleveland snagged at the deadline. Nance is able to smother opposing primary ball handlers when they try to isolate him onto them, and that allows Cleveland to now be more matchup-sound in rotations.

Before Tristan was a key target in defensive pick-and-roll coverage and that’s much harder to make up for schematically, as Thompson does not have nearly the quickness or range that Nance has to enable him to adequately defend perimeter players. His defense on the interior was much better with the others pieces around him, though, and that can be sustained.

With Cleveland having to provide less help against opposing penetration, closeouts will be more effective, and opponents will have a more difficult time executing on-point passes resulting in quick spot-ups. From there, their improved length should be able to do the work for them a good part of the time, which will result in better rebounding efficiency and steals, which provides easier offense.

All in all, these new Cavs are off to a great start. Led by the incredibly efficient James, their defensive length and athleticism, and their more unselfish team mindset on both ends, this Cleveland squad is back and will only get better. This quote from Hill just about says it all, per Bleacher Report’s Rob Goldberg.

As the aforementioned Flickinger touched on, LeBron is having fun again, and the memes are only beginning. Kevin Love will have his due, too, and this team is hungrier than ever to get a ring, and keep the King in his rightful home.

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