Hey Cavalier fans and CavFanatics. It’s A.C., getting ready for a big one tonight in the ATL. What’s happening?
I wrote in my last post that I wasn’t going to focus on the Atlanta game until we took care of Orlando. The Cavs did exactly that. And now it’s on to Atlanta for the biggest game of the season so far. The playoff push has hit high gear.
Against Orlando, there was some concern about how Kyrie would fit back in after missing eight games. Well, they didn’t miss a single beat. And that tells me that Kyrie’s basketball IQ is very high.
He plays so well without the ball and, he and Spencer were really working those back-door cuts. (Although they were sharpening that up before he got hurt.) Kyrie was so efficient on Wednesday, it was unbelievable. He shot the ball well because he took good shots. He moved well without the ball, he passed the ball well. He probably could have gotten a triple-double if he’d gotten more minutes.
Kyrie sees the style we have now. And he sees: if you want to put your foot on the throttle, you have to do it within the system. And he’s playing so well within the system now and seeing that when you succeed in the system, everybody else succeeds in the system.
I was also curious to see how Dion would respond with Kyrie’s return. Again, he didn’t miss a beat. Dion made a comment after the game that Kyrie takes a lot of pressure off of him. He understands that.
My high school coach always used to tell me: ‘If I play you 40 minutes, you’re only going to have the ball for five minutes. So what are you going the other 35 minutes?’ You have to play the game. And both Kyrie and Dion understand that there’s a lot of good things that can happen out here, and one guy cannot do it by himself. Now it’s just about learning how to play in the system.
That’s one reason I was never a good All-Star player. I’d make the team but didn’t do well because I played in a system. If it was playing outside the system, I felt like … an outsider. It’s a whole different mentality. And that’s something that both Kyrie and Dion understand. They’re seeing that they’re having success in the system.
Now they know when to step on the throttle – they know when to do it and how to do it. Before that, both of them wanted to step on the gas pedal the whole time. But, they’ve adapted. And that’s learning how to be a professional.
I loved what I saw of the starters, but I was just as impressed – as I’ve been all season – with the guys they call “Captain Jack” and “the Honey Badger.” They’re a perfect combo off the bench.
And right now, what you’re seeing is the maturation of the team. They’re starting to know their roles, they’re starting to have success in their roles and the team is coming together. Now, when Dion and Kyrie come off the floor, you’re bringing in another pair of guards who are just as effective, but have different roles and play different a different type of game than the two starters. Different attributes, different strengths.
That creates a whole new defensive conundrum for the opponent. And when you have that type of diversity within your system, it makes you a very dangerous team.
Obviously, it’s more than just good guard play that’s led to our success.
Spencer’s been great since he arrived. He spaces the floor, he’s a very good passer and, more importantly, he’s a willing passer. And that’s contagious.
What we’re seeing as well is how Tristan is understanding his role when he’s out there with Spencer. And it took a while. But now he’s seeing his scoring opportunities more clearly. When he gets double-doubles now, they’re very meaningful. It means he’s starting to control the paint area. We need those points in the paint because Spencer plays all over the floor. (Although Spencer competes more down low than I thought he did before he got here. He’s not a guy to shy away from contact or competition.)
Right now, the Cavs have the best reputation you could have and that is ‘the team nobody wants to play.’ And I would bet that the teams up top are hoping they won’t have to play us in that first round.
The Knicks are talented at certain positions, but they also have a lot of empty holes at positions. They’re a little bit of smoke-and-mirrors, I think. Atlanta, they’re not as balanced as we are.
So we’re the team that nobody wants to fool with, especially now that Kyrie’s back. We have a dangerous perimeter now – both starting and coming off the bench. Our big people are playing well, and if Andy has the opportunity to come back, we will really be in a great situation.
Tonight’s a huge game for us and I see us coming out ready to play. When we come out now, there’s a different focus on what have to do. And I think we’re going to come after Atlanta tonight. We’re not going to back and wait to get punched in the mouth first. They’re going to punch first. And if we can control their guards – because Teague usually bothers us – we can control the tempo.
Milsap is going to do his thing. And you can’t let Korver go crazy -- although lately we’ve been really good at running guys off the line. You need to make him put it on the floor.
So, if we can slow those guys down, we’ll be OK tonight. And if we’re OK tonight, bring on Charlotte tomorrow.