Before the 2018-19 season, Cleveland Cavaliers fans were accustomed to seeing players such as LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love shoulder the majority of the scoring load over the previous three to four seasons.
However, this year saw a seismic shift in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ organization, and the goals went from winning championships to reportedly just trying to keep the team relevant with the departure of LeBron James (via free agency to the Los Angeles Lakers).
A change in the roster meant the scoring responsibilities would shift, and new faces would have to step up. Where the scoring would come from would become an even more significant challenge once Kevin Love went down with a reported toe injury and missed 50 games.
In that time, Jordan Clarkson went back to being one of the NBA’s best bench scorers (as he was at times before with the Lakers), and young players Collin Sexton and Cedi Osman have shown offensive flashes on numerous occasions this season, and as we’ve discussed, have really picked it up over the last few months.
But the part of the season I’d like to focus on is after the All-Star break.
Since that time, the Cleveland Cavaliers have indeed become a team with balanced scoring, and through more consistent man and ball movement, have had much better offensive flow, and have created easier opportunities for a plethora of players to score from their sweet spots on the floor.
This is a big plus in regards to looking past this year, because on the season, the Cavs (who have the sixth-highest frequency), have placed in just the 21st percentile in isolation scoring (per Synergy Sports Technology).
So yes, moving the ball more effectively lately is a good sign.
Just look at some of this superb performance against one of the league’s best teams, in the Toronto Raptors.
In the Wine & Gold’s 11 games since the All-Star break, they have five players averaging double-figure scoring numbers, led by Love at 19.7 points per game and Sexton right behind him at 19.1 points per game (per NBA.com).
Both of those players are shooting over 40.0 percent from three-point range, too, with Love being at 45.5 percent on 7.3 attempts and Sexton being at 40.7 percent on 5.4 attempts per contest.
The sixth man, Clarkson, is averaging 15.2, while Osman is putting in 14.3 points per night (on a 56.7 percent true shooting clip), and even young big man, Ante Zizic, (who could be a key part of the Cavs’ future) is contributing 11.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game (per NBA.com).
Along with that, among Cleveland players post-All-Star break, only Matthew Dellavedova and Love have a better plus-minus mark than Zizic.
This scoring balance was highlighted in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first game post-All-Star break against the Phoenix Suns.
Three Wine & Gold starters were in double figures that night and Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. each poured in double figures as well off the bench. This balanced attack resulted in a 111-98 win that night.
It was the Suns, who have been amongst the worst teams in the NBA all year, but the team offensive approach was encouraging.
Another game to highlight this balanced scoring attack the Cavaliers had post-All-Star is the March 3 game against the Orlando Magic.
Not only did Cleveland score 40 points in the final quarter to come back and win (per ESPN), but they also had four starters reach double figures, and two bench players (Clarkson and Dellavedova) also hit double-digits.
With them trying to develop a considerable amount of young players in the coming years, this game plan of a balanced scoring attack will hopefully help these players realize that sometimes it’s best to have a multitude of scoring threats on the floor, instead of relying on one or two players.
With a balanced scoring attack,though, it is never a bad option to have a couple of “go-to” scorers on the floor; every good team has those.
Cleveland seems to be walking that fine line of having several players being able to score, while also possessing those few players that can get a bucket when the team needs one.
More from Cavs Analysis
- The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
- This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead
- Projecting how much Cavs’ 3 two-way signings might play this season
- 4 Cavaliers looking to make a name for themselves in training camp
- Mitchell’s numbers getting trimmed a bit wouldn’t be bad thing for Cavaliers
Even amid this recent trend of several players scoring in double figures, a player like Sexton is emerging as a more consistent scoring threat.
In March, the rookie guard is scoring 21.3 points a night while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc, per NBA.com.
While the balanced scoring coming from the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offense may be out of necessity more than anything, it is a smart idea to get several players involved.
Cleveland is getting consistent scoring, which has resulted in a few nice wins as of late, and that trend would seem likely to continue moving into next season, especially if Love can be healthier to help the Cavs’ spacing in the halfcourt so Sexton, Clarkson and Osman (among others) can have more room to operate inside the arc, which also should lead to more catch-and-shoot opportunities after ball swings.
That formula has worked better for the Cavs post-All-Star, for example, as Cleveland is at least a somewhat-respectable 5-6 in that span and has made the fourth-most three-pointers per game in that stretch. Only six other teams have shot better from deep in that time, too (again, per NBA.com).
This shows that if the Cavaliers are reasonably healthy, they can be much better on the offensive end, and are probably considerably better than they were a few months ago.
In today’s NBA it is all about putting the ball in the basket, and with a multitude of options for the Wine & Gold on offense, they could undoubtedly piece more wins together and begin their climb out of the Eastern Conference basement.