The Cavs have had the right intentions thus far, and that’s a big plus

Often times, even when they’ve made mistakes thus far in the 2019-20 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have had the right intentions, and that’s a big positive.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been far from exceptional to begin the 2019-20 season with a 1-2 record, but nobody would’ve expected them to have started 3-0.

They’ve played three teams that made the Eastern Conference Playoffs last season in the Orlando Magic, whom they lost to 94-85, the Indiana Pacers, whom they beat 110-99 and the Milwaukee Bucks, whom they lost 129-112 to.

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Either way, with so many young pieces playing meaningful minutes, and a considerable minutes-share at that, mistakes are bound to happen, and they’ve come in every game in varying degrees.

That being said, as compared to the vast majority of the 2018-19 season, when mistakes have happened for the Cavaliers, or when positive plays have occurred, they’re consistently had the right intentions.

Of course, the Cavs had so many injuries last year, and that included Cleveland’s two current starting bigs Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson only appeared in 65 total games last season (per Basketball Reference) due to reported injuries.

The Cavs had plenty of roster turnover as well, and that could be the case again this year.

Thompson, big John Henson (who is out for two to four weeks due to a reported hamstring strain) and guards Jordan Clarkson, Matthew Dellavedova and Brandon Knight are all on expiring contracts.

Nonetheless, the Cavs under new head coach John Beilein have been playing the game the right way most of the time, and that is sustainable going forward.

The starting backcourt tandem of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton has been better than I would’ve expected this early, and it’s clear that Garland has boatloads of potential as a primary playmaker for Cleveland.

Garland has had 3.7 assists per game, and yes, though 3.0 turnovers per outing is a bit much, the rookie has mostly made the right plays.

He’s not been forcing it for himself that much and has gotten teammates involved continuously throughout games.

Garland, who can get more shots up than he has been at this point, has done a really good job of getting the ball hopping, and he’s shown his deep range on three-point attempts, too, while shooting a respectable 35.7% from there (per NBA.com).

Along with that, Sexton, who has put up 17.3 points per game, has not been forcing it nearly as much as he did a bunch last year in the first few months of the season, and he’s been mostly making better decisions, and has not any hesitation to shoot deep balls off the catch. He’s shot 43.8% from deep on 5.3 attempts, too.

It’s been a pleasure to watch Sexton and Thompson used as cutters a fair amount, where deliveries from the likes of Love and Garland have rewarded them.

It’s been a plus to have Dellavedova back in the fold, too, and though the bench hasn’t been as effective as the starters at this point overall, Delly and also rookie wing Kevin Porter Jr. (in the first two games) have been creating a number of good opportunities for players such as Larry Nance Jr. in contests.

Porter had a tough go against the Bucks with four points on just one-for-seven shooting (per ESPN), but that’s understandable. Milwaukee had the league’s best defensive rating last season, and with their length with pieces such as 2019 NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, it was often tough for Porter and others near the rim.

Mostly, though, the Cleveland Cavaliers have not been having too many long stretches with them just going 1-on-1 and not swinging the ball, and that allowed the Cavs to separate themselves against the Pacers.

Cleveland, though it’s early, came into the Bucks game eighth in passes made per game and ninth in touches per game (per Second Spectrum’s NBA tracking data).

Last season, the Cavs were 24th in passes made per contest, and only four teams had less touches per game (again, per Second Spectrum).

The Cavs’ increased passing metrics aren’t just because of the sample size, either. It’s clear that again, the Cavaliers under Beilein are getting more players more in rhythm throughout games than they were last season.

Even in plenty of long-touch instances, such as with Garland, it’s been more about looking to make the right play or take advantage of productive cuts, than just having late-clock isolations.

Though the Cavs are just outside the bottom ten in effective field goal shooting (50.0%, per NBA.com), they’ve had plenty of quality chances from good ball and man movement, and the intentions, again, have been right the vast majority of the time from them.

For Beilein and company in a rebuilding situation, that right mindset is something the Cleveland Cavaliers can definitely build on.

Defensively, the rotations have been sharper than last season, and though Garland has had his share of rookie mistakes on that end, the team defense has been better, and the Cavs aren’t getting killed in pick-and-rolls nearly as much as in 2018-19.

I won’t sugarcoat it, though.

The Bucks had their way with Cleveland, as they had 17 three-pointers and had 29 assists (per ESPN), and former Cav George Hill (19 points) and Pat Connaughton had 17 points.

Obviously, the Cavs having the fourth-best defensive rating in the NBA coming into the Milwaukee game was not something that would stick for too long, given their youth and lack of rim protection.

It’s been encouraging to see them rebound much better (thanks Love and TT), and not conceding nearly as many baskets due to breakdowns in a broad sense, though.

Let’s keep in mind Milwaukee had the league’s best record last season and was second in effective field goal shooting (per NBA.com). Mistakes by young players against them were going to happen.

Overall, though, Beilein and the coaching staff have the Cavaliers playing an unselfish brand of basketball with the right intentions, and I’ll take that in this 2019-20 season.

They still need Kevin Love to assert himself when needed, but even so, plenty of chances come for him just in the flow of Beilein’s offense. Those have come in pick-and-pop situations, mid-post touches, and some from cuts.

At any rate, the Cavs are again, playing with the right mindset.

Last year, though again injuries and turnover didn’t help, this year is clearly different.

There’s been productive movement, and players are getting in favorable spots, and mistakes have come more often from trying to make the right pass, for example, and not just forcing it for themselves that much.

That to me is particularly encouraging, even in a season where a ton of losses will likely pile up.