Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 key staples in wins in 2019-20

Key staple #2: Crashing the offensive glass

We’ve hit on this before; when the Cleveland Cavaliers have been at their best, they’ve been punishing opponents on the offensive glass.

That mostly relates to Tristan Thompson, who currently is second in the NBA in total offensive rebounds, as documented by Basketball Reference.

Thompson’s grit, hustle, timing and sheer will have been so big for the Cavs, and Larry Nance Jr. has helped out, too, with 1.4 offensive rebounds per game, and Love somewhat.

Along with mostly TT, though, the Cavaliers have had some timely leak-out recovery boards from players such as Porter and Sexton, and throughout games, for a young team, that’s so crucial for getting quality opportunities for ball-swing three-pointers, and occasionally some weak side cuts when opposing defenses have been scrambling.

Overall, the Cavs have had 12.0 offensive rebounds per game in wins, according to NBA.com, and in losses, they’ve had only 9.2, according to NBA.com.

This sort of rebound putback from Porter really is a spark for a young Cavs squad, and again, when the Cavs make these energy plays from hustle for rebounds, they seem to be more locked-in on the defensive end.

Alright then, so on to the biggest staple for Cleveland in their wins thus far in 2019-20.