If “timing is everything”, as they say, then the Cleveland Cavaliers are clicking at the perfect time.
Having gone 7-3 ten games into the postseason and winning the last four games that they’ve played, including three straight wins just three games into their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Toronto Raptors, the Cleveland Cavaliers are well on their way to an Eastern Conference Finals berth.
Who they’d meet in the Conference Finals is unknown, though the Boston Celtics currently hold a 3-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in their series and are on the verge of an Eastern Conference Finals berth themselves.
No matter who the Cavaliers foe is, though, the team is bearing a semblance to what a world-beating team is supposed to be. They don’t have the blowout wins that you’d expect of a dynamic offensive team but they’ve won a number of close games, showing their championship mettle.
LeBron James has been nothing short of heroic, averaging 34.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block per game on 54.7 percent shooting from the field.
What a remarkable 10 games for LeBron in these playoffs so far: Two buzzer-beating game winners; four 40-point games; two triple-doubles; one game scoring the first 16 points of the contest for CLE; one game tying his career playoff high in assists with 14; and a 7-3 record.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 6, 2018
His three-point shooting (31.0 percent) isn’t what it was during the regular season (36.7 percent) but considering the tremendous performances he’s had while being, in most games, the only player capable on creating their own offense, James is excused from absolute perfection.
If anything, his shooting 75.5 percent from the free-throw line (a solid number) is more important than his efficiency from the three-point line because James is more apt to dominate inside the paint than outside.
Thanks to Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue’s willingness to alter his gameplan as the postseason progresses, the team has found the starting lineup that allows them to be at their best in George Hill (point guard), Kyle Korver (shooting guard), J.R. Smith (small forward), James (power forward) and Kevin Love (center).
Sure enough, there are inherent issues on the defensive end with having a player that’s not a rim-protector or burly interior force meant to bang with opposing centers all game in Love but the All-Star’s ability to (a) play great position defense and (b) be the key to exploitable mismatches on the other end have been key to the team’s ability to play a lineup that allows James to dominate, first and foremost, and the players around him too.
It starts with the shooters, in Hill, Korver, Smith and Love, who are three three-point threats that finished with three-point percentages above 37.0 percent last season.
Love’s range and touch make it a necessity that his man guards him outside or pay the price. Because his man is usually the opposing team’s best rim-protector, this opens up space in the lane for James to dominate inside. If the opposing team should opt to play small, or the Cavaliers want to get Love posted up against a smaller player, they’ll create the mismatches with screens.
Korver’s gravity, in being one of the greatest three-point threats of all-time, results in players darting to him to defend a three-point shot and leaving other men open. If they give him too much space, he’s shooting it. Even when he’s not open, the Cavaliers will run plays to get him open because he’s that great of a shooting threat.
Smith is great three-point shooter with his feet set but the “Break In Case of Emergency” type of three-point shots that have become his calling card make him a different type outside threat than Korver and Love. So does Smith’s ability to make plays for others off-the-dribble through dribble penetration in the halfcourt or running the break in transition.
Hill is a three-point threat without the notoriety of any of the aforementioned players but leave him outside and he’ll make you pay too.
On the other end, Hill plays solid on-ball defense, Smith is physical at the point-of-attack and has proven himself capable of guarding an opposing team’s best perimeter player and well and Korver plays tenacious on-ball defense while being a great position defender. Their defensive rebounding, communication and length aren’t to be overlooked either, as each are factors in what make them strong defenders for the Cavaliers.
James has conserved his energy on the defensive end in favor of keeping himself ready for a fourth-quarter explosion but his demise on the defensive end has been largely exaggerated. Teams aren’t having much success against James and he’s provided valuable communication in the backline.
Not only is @KingJames averaging 34/9/13 in this series...he's been a defensive monster too...Tor shooters are 4-20 against him, and Serge Ibaka is just 2-10 with LBJ guarding him..
— Fred McLeod (@CavsFredMcLeod) May 6, 2018
The bench still needs to work on their offensive efficacy as players like Jordan Clarkson are still too inefficient and Rodney Hood too uninvolved. Defensively, Jeff Green is beginning to redeem himself from the Indiana Pacers series and Tristan Thompson has been a solid defender while he gets minutes in place of Larry Nance Jr. but Clarkson or Hood have played the smart, championship-level defense that the Cavs need to play.
Nonetheless, Green, Clarkson, Hood and Thompson are the right players to bring off the bench if Lue is going with a nine-man rotation. Those four player are four of their best players and can play around Love when James goes to the bench.
Experience has been the best teacher for the Cavaliers and in their attempt to discover the recipe they needed to play at a championship, experience has revealed an identity and game plan that was absent during the regular season.