INDEPENDENCE: It looks as if DeAndre Liggins has this defensive thing down in the NBA.
Now the Cavaliers guard, a four-year veteran who also has made stops in the NBA Developmental League, knows what he has to do next.
“Knock down open shots,” he said. “If I can knock down open shots, I can add some value to me in this league. I play with three great players, so they draw a lot of attention. I have to have my feet set and hands ready and knock down open shots.”
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue agreed with Liggins’ self-assessment. He said Liggins has shown his value defensively, but becoming a consistent outside shooter should be high on his agenda. That’s the balance the former Kentucky Wildcat seeks.
“My thing is, I’m going to be open,” Liggins said. “I’m going to be open because I haven’t played that much so guys can be like, ‘Liggins can knock down open shots.’ Guys still think I’m a mediocre shooter. I’ve got to prove I can make open shots.”
In the two games Liggins started for injured starter J.R. Smith, the Cavs produced stellar defensive efforts in holding the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks to 40.2 and 34.8 percent shooting, respectively.
Playing defense in the NBA requires a scrappy mentality and a desire to do so. Liggins said he’s modeled his game after a fellow Chicagoan in that regard — Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies, whom the Cavs will face in a back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday. Allen has received praise over the years as one of the top defensive stoppers in the NBA.
“We all got grit and we grew up in a tough part of Chicago,” Liggins said after Monday’s practice. “Me and TA, we grew up in kinda the same dirt, you know? We always got that competitive edge to us, that chip on our shoulders and teams like that, you know? Every team needs a guy like that on their team — to pick up a guy 94 feet or make a guy [work], and that’s what I bring to the scene.”
Lue said the comparison to Allen is a good one.
“Defensively, yeah,” Lue said. “TA’s smaller, but I think he might be stronger. TA’s a strong guy. Liggs can shoot it better.”
Liggins played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the D-League, where he was twice named defensive player of the year. The Skyforce eliminated the Canton Charge from the playoffs on three occasions.
The Cavs invited Liggins to training camp in July, and he beat out Dahntay Jones for the team’s final roster spot. Jones was a favorite in the locker room, by all accounts, but Liggins said he senses the team’s chemistry and has had no problem finding his place.
“I’m a quiet guy and I don’t say much unless I’m on the court,” he said. “I just try to stay out the way, you know — know when to laugh, when to be serious and things like that.”
And given some of the people with whom he’s played in the past — Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City — there’s no awe factor in being in the Cavs locker room.
“I’m from Chicago, so I’m a tough guy,” Liggins said. “I’m an observant guy, so I watch guys — watch the way that they work, the way [they] talk in the huddle and things like that — and I try to take that with me on the court.”
Frye returns
Channing Frye returned to the team for Monday’s practice after an excused personal absence to attend his father’s funeral. Frye missed games against the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets.
Interesting dates
Through a quirk in the NBA schedule, the Cavs find themselves playing back-to-backs against two teams within two weeks — against the Grizzlies this week and against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 20-21.
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ.