Hey Cavalier fans! It’s A.C., checking in from the wild, wild West. What’s happening?We’re almost ready to wrap up the road trip – or at least move it back east where we finish with Charlotte.
Right now, I think the team is right about where it should be. You sort of know that the road is where all your faults and your shortcomings come out. And we were looking to see where we needed work and where we didn’t need work.
And right now, they’re playing hard. That’s one good constant. They play hard every night, they come at you strong.
Utah made us realize that we have some deficiencies on the interior that we have to work on. And the only other glaring thing is that we have nights where we don’t shoot the ball well. But at least our defense stays constant. And that’s a good building block.
At this point of the season, the Cavaliers are looking for a consistent third scoring option. You want three. Right now, most of the activity is coming from the bench. So, that third scorer comes in production from the bench. It’s not one person, it’s just the bench has to make up for the lack of that third scorer.
But the two things you can control are how hard you play and what pace you play at. You can’t always control your shooting. Because some nights, you’re just not going to shoot the ball well. But you can get out and force teams into turnovers by being aggressive on defense and playing your game.
And that’s something that, right now, we have a tendency to get away from. On nights where we don’t hit shots, we stop playing our game, which is forcing the issue.
The Cavs got beat up on the inside a little in Utah. Really, Andy was battling by himself. I almost felt sorry for him. He really had nobody to support him.
So we’re also still waiting for someone to step up and be that solid backup to Varejao. Andy’s still playing out of position – he’s basically a power forward. And so we need to find a solid rock in that middle. You don’t want to slow his development down by force-feeding him. Right now, between Semih and Samardo, somebody needs to step up.
Samardo has struggled on and off this year, but he just has to hang in there. Every dog has his day.
And so far, I love what I’ve seen from Tristan. He’s got so much upside, it’s silly. He needs to work on his jumper – that little 15-footer. But he’s got everything else. He just has to develop that. He’s definitely got the upside you want in a young player.
Tristan is learning how he fits in, where he fits in. And around the basket, he seems to know what he has to do. One thing he’ll learn is: when he grabs a rebound, instead of bringing it down to reload and dunk, you don’t bring it down. You make the layup. When you bring it down, guys are all over you. (This is the pros now.) You need to catch it and put it back.
As far as the other young buck, Kyrie, he’s been just as good – maybe better – than I thought he’d be after watching him on TV last season.
He’s a quick learner. His defense is so much better than it was in those first two or three games. Once he learns that he’s the voice of the team, his leadership skills will come out more.
The one thing he has to understand is the way we’re constructed now, he has to be the one setting the pace. And he has to be in-shape enough to push the ball at all times. Even on made baskets, you have to get that ball across the line, because that’s the advantage that we have.
Just like the Miami Heat – when they play half-court, they lose their advantage. And that’s the way we are. In the half court, we lose our advantage. Our advantage is to get up and down the floor. Byron’s teams are built to use the defense to run. And we’re not quite doing that yet on a nightly basis.
You can tell, Devin Harris was going at Kyrie, testing him. Then he realized that Kyrie could go around him, so he backed off the young man.
But guys are going to go after him hard. He’s the number one pick, so of course they’re going to come after him. I remember when it happened to me. They were coming at me like I had stole something. But that’s what you expect. And that’s competition – and you welcome that competition.
Being the No. 1 pick on what’s not a top team, YOU are the one who has to start making them a top team. And the point guard is the head of the snake. The team will follow the tone he sets. He’s only 19 years old. But pretty soon, he’ll recognize that he’s the alpha dog.
After Phoenix, the Cavaliers wrap up the west coast trip with plenty of drama in L.A. You’ve got Mike Brown against Byron Scott. Coach Kuester. The 55-blowout in L.A. and the upset at The Q. You’ve got the No. 1 pick’s L.A. debut. You’ve got Kobe.
And right now, we have to figure out a way to slow Kobe down. He’s on a tear right now and the offense is set up basically for him. When he as an off-night, they’re going to have a hard time winning. He does everything. And for his age, will he burn out by the end of the year.
Friday night’s going to be quite an experience.
I’m expecting the Cavaliers to have a good shot at Thursday’s game in Phoenix. But if we can win one of these last two games, I’ll consider this trip a success.