Hey Cavalier fans and CavFanatics! It’s A.C. – and me and the boys are back in town. What’s happening?
We’re back from one of the best West Cost trips that I can remember. I’m not sure fans realize how difficult it is to win in Denver at the end of a long trip. The Nuggets beat a lot of teams heading back East after a long trip on nights like that.
The Cavaliers have looked rejuvenated. And it doesn’t take much to figure out that the presence of Luol Deng has changed the team’s mindset.
I think what I’ve seen in Luol is a guy who can play without the ball; he can also play with the ball. But he doesn’t put the ball on the floor too much; only when he’s going to do something with it does he put it on the floor. That’s big. And he’s coming from a system where they move the ball very well, and you can tell because he doesn’t over-dribble at all. He never does that.
And, with Deng, everything is done with a purpose. No wasted movement, no wasted energy. Everything is done with pace, everything is done with intensity. Even defensively, when he double-teams, everything is done with a true purpose. And that’s what I’m hoping starts to permeate throughout the rest of the team. And you could see as the trip unfolded that it is starting to bleed into the rest of the team.
The team is moving at a faster pace – a more deliberate, confident pace. And in just a week-and-change, he’s quietly become one of the leaders of the team.
Mentally, Deng’s starting to change the team. But you have to have one thing in order to do that: RESPECT. The players respect him and that’s why it’s happening.
You’re also seeing the scoring load is changing now, because of what we’re getting from that 3-spot now. Things are starting to turn around. Now, Kyrie can play more of a point guard position and be an 18-and-10 guy instead of a 25-and-6 guy. It’ll keep him from getting beat up all the time. And he can save some of that energy for the end of the game.
Making the deal when Chris Grant did, it was the perfect time to make that move. It gave Deng time to get incorporated into the system and the team, and to find out how things are run. By the time we get back home, he feels like he’s a big part of the team.
And I would imagine the fans will give him a tremendous welcome when the Cavaliers play the Mavericks on Monday.
Now, we come home to a five-game homesteand. And I’m hoping they can carry this momentum into the second half of the season. That’s why it was important to win as many games as they could on this trip, because this is the type of trip that can turn a season around.
And I’m not just talking about the wins and losses, but the way you play, the attitude, how they play. All that needed to be changed and it’s changing. You can see it. And now I just really hope it can continue when we get home.
I think Monday’s game with Dallas is Game 41. Then we’ll be in the second half of the season. Naturally, I’m looking for more wins. But more than anything, I want to see more consistent play.
For the last eight days, they’re kind of playing to the West Coast theme. There’s not much defense, and it’s been two teams trying to outscore one another. But when we get back home against the East, we’re going to have to buckle back down defensively, because that’s the way they play it in our Conference.
I’m hoping we can make that adjustment when we get home. And I have a feeling that’ll be the first point of emphasis for Mike Brown and his staff in Sunday’s practice.
Yes, it’s encouraging that we can play both styles. Deng has really helped in that area because what we were missing from that 3, we’re getting now and then some. And again, it’s an adjustment period because now things are operating differently.
With Deng and Andy – those two seem like they were born to play together. They were on the same page immediately, like they were made for each other. And all that is going to develop into a whole different feel and philosophy as the season goes on.
Earl Clark and Alonzo Gee have been moved down because of Deng’s presence, but they’re still going to factor big into what we’re trying to do. Injuries happen, things happen. So you have to keep your head up and in the game. You can’t afford to get down. That’d be the wrong approach, anyway. It may sound cruel, but it’s what coaches have always told me: “If you don’t like it – play better.” That’s the real world. Play better and your time will come.
Of course, just as I say this, we play another Western Conference team on Monday, so it’ll probably be another up-and-down game. But sooner or later, we’re going to have to rediscover our defensive roots.
We’re going to have to play lock-down defense for at least five minutes of each quarter, we’re going to have to get into that if we’re going to start consistently winning games. Because we’re not built on that philosophy; we’re not going to just outscore teams. We have to get back to defense –impose our will on the opponent.
And I’d like to see that starting Monday afternoon.