INDEPENDENCE: I see no reason the defending champion Cavaliers can’t make it back to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year.
But I see several things that will impede their chances if not improved.
In a perfect world, the Cavs would be playing their best going into Saturday’s 3 p.m. first-round playoff opener against the Indiana Pacers at Quicken Loans Arena. But as Andrew Bogut’s 58 seconds as a Cavalier proved, normal fled Northeast Ohio this season and never returned.
Their hearts and their bodies have been challenged. Channing Frye lost both of his parents in the span of a month. J.R. Smith’s wife gave birth to their baby daughter five months prematurely.
Smith fractured his right thumb trying to swipe the ball away from the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo on Dec. 20. Kevin Love needed arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Valentine’s Day. Tristan Thompson yelled at LeBron James during a double-overtime victory over the Pacers on April 2, then the two went out for a glass of wine afterward, according to Frye’s recent essay on The Players’ Tribune.
There might still be time for the Cavs to put it all together. Love believes the camaraderie and the brand of basketball they displayed during the run to the 2016 title is still possible.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely. We definitely have the group to do it,” he said Friday. “But it’s on us. We’ve got to go out there and play hard on both sides of the ball. I think if we do that, get our fans involved, get the city really behind us again, I think it could be … last year was magical for us. We’re hoping to create the same sort of feeling.”
Some of my likes and dislikes as the Cavs open the playoffs:
What I like: Playoff LeBron.
James is attempting to reach his seventh consecutive NBA Finals, which would make him only the seventh player in league history to achieve the feat and the first outside the Boston Celtics in the Bill Russell era. (The Cavs’ James Jones has also been to six in a row, but did not play in the 2011 Finals with the Miami Heat.) That could be a valuable part of James’ legacy, especially since the four-time league MVP isn’t likely to get No. 5. James showed he’s not slowing down at age 32 with a career-high 13 triple-doubles this season. He stands fourth on the all-time playoff scoring list and needs 416 points to pass Michael Jordan for first; he’s never scored fewer than 497 in the postseason when he’s reached the Finals. James is only 69 points from passing Kobe Bryant and moving into third. James always has another gear for the playoffs. He’s increased his scoring average from the regular season five times in the postseason, including the past three years and four of the past five.
What I don’t like: Regular-season defense.
The Cavs finished tied for 22nd in the league in defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) at 108. According to the Sporting News, only one other team since the league expanded to divisional play in 1970-71 has finished in the 20s in that category in the regular season and even made the playoffs — the 2015 Cavs (20th). The Cavs have an old roster and defense is where it shows. The fountain of youth must continue to flow in Cleveland for the Cavs to win the Eastern Conference crown, much less the NBA title.
What I like: A healthy roster.
Tristan Thompson will play with a brace on his sprained right thumb. Kyle Korver found relief after missing 11 games with a sore tendon in his left foot from Kyrie Irving’s Kyrie 3 shoe. The Cavs are the healthiest they’ve been since mid-December. It’s time for them to develop the rhythm they’ve been lacking, although it was there for three quarters before their stunning fourth-quarter collapse in Atlanta on Sunday.
What I don’t like: J.R. Smith’s slump.
Smith had a four-game stretch (starting March 30) in which he regained his 3-point touch after missing 36 games with the thumb injury, but he’s slipped back into his funk. He made 8-of-34 beyond the arc in his last five games of the regular season, 2-of-11 in his last two. Perhaps if Korver gets hot, it will lessen the burden on Smith. But Smith shot 43 percent from the field in last year’s playoffs, the highest average of his career, after shooting 40 percent in the regular season. The Cavs need that J.R. to win it all.
What I like: Irving is more than a wingman.
At times this season, Irving’s dazzling skills made me marvel that he was more of a Robin to James’ Batman than I ever thought possible. Irving made “The Shot” to win the 2016 championship. He’s the one I want taking it again if the Cavs get that chance. He led the Cavs in scoring 31 times (to James’ 41) and led them in assists 20 times (to James’ 58). And he just turned 25 last month.
What I don’t like: Iman Shumpert’s slide.
Shumpert made laudable improvement in the first half of the season, but became virtually unplayable in the past few games. His field-goal percentage before the All-Star break was .425, but fell to .385 after. Plus, he’s proven to be highly overrated on defense. On a team of aging veterans, Shumpert, 26, and Smith should be the ones leading the defense’s turnaround.
What I like: Irving or Love at the free-throw line.
Irving’s .905 percentage at the line this season ranked third in the league, which could prove crucial in a close game. Love finished 18th at .871, the highest of his career by 21 points. But the Cavs still finished the season ranked 23rd in the league in this category (.748).
What I don’t like: James or Tristan Thompson at the line.
Thompson’s .498 free-throw percentage was a career low, as was James’ .674. James has been in the .600s only one other time, when he shot .698 in 2006-07 (when the Cavs made their first trip to the NBA Finals). James has vowed to improve in the playoffs. Perhaps it’s a concentration issue; he made 7-of-7 in a crucial April 9 game in Boston. In 2007, James bumped his average to .755 in 20 playoff games.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.
