Cleveland Cavaliers: The curtain Raiser
If the pre-season was a felicitous opening act, it is time that for the real play to begin. Playbooks have been established, the permutations and combinations with the rosters are complete, the off-court deals have been taken care of and it is now the time to step away from the scrimmages, the restricted action and go full-flow as another intriguing season beckons.
The highlight of opening day for sure will be the ring ceremony at the Oracle, but there can be no doubt that the NBA couldn't have come up with a more emulous encounter to set the tone for the season; the matchup between the reinvigorated Bulls seeking a new identity and the Cavaliers seeking retribution after their tough and much maligned loss to the Warriors.
Now, on paper the Cavaliers are certainly the team with a much more holistic repertoire. The biggest positive is that they have sustained the growth and the the momentum of last season by managing to bring back the majority of their players, underpaying some and overpaying some. The core of the team is still intact and with the return to action of Varejao coupled with the addition of a high-volume shooting combo guard in Mo Williams and the veteran leadership of Richard Jefferson, the Cavaliers have one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the league.
The Cavaliers have depth in almost all positions with adept low post scorers in the likes of Varejao and Mozgov and the ability to stretch the floor with the likes of Love, Jones and JR Smith. In Shumpert, Dellavedova and Smith they boast of elite wing defenders and Mo Williams, Kyrie Irving and LeBron make one of the most creative playmaking triumvirate in the league. The defensive identity is expected to remain intact and the Cavaliers just got deeper, healthier and more creative on the offensive end.
The injury report for the Cavaliers is still disappointing though, with Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert scheduled to miss quite a few games. Tristan Thompson's contract tussles couldn't possibly have helped in his preparation and the time he missed in training with the team is sure to leave the effervescent forward playing catch-up. But the max contract will also put pressure on him to be the rebounding monster that he was in the playoffs last year and with adequate conditioning expect him to be a vital part of the Cavaliers rotation.
However, if the first year was a roller-coaster for Coach Blatt, don't expect this season to be a seamless ride. The Cavaliers front-office and David Griffin have done everything within their control to give Blatt the roster he desired, and the city of Cleveland and LeBron James wouldn't be forgiving if this runaround didn't win them the coveted title. Much is at stake for Blatt and he has to go a long way to prove his credentials as the legitimate head of this group.
The Cavaliers would have already learnt from last season that the NBA isn't a sprint but a marathon and it is the post-season that counts. The Cavaliers were extremely short-handed with their rotations in last year's play-offs and expect Coach Blatt to go the Spurs way in ensuring that his player's minutes are reduced to an optimum and their bodies are preserved for the long haul. The solution requires Coach Blatt to give his bench and rotation players a bigger role and trust them to play true to his expectations and hold fort while LeBron and Irving aren't in the game.
Does Coach Blatt trust his bench of Varejao, Thompson, Jones, Jefferson, Williams and Dellavedova enough to give them extended time in the vital parts of the game ? In his first season he seemed much rather like the rookie who was riding on the brilliance of LeBron and Irving and his over-reliance on the duo may have been his shortcoming. With such high pressure on his shoulders it will be interesting to see how Coach Blatt manages his group.
And while all these dynamics with the roster is intriguing, there is one dark horse storyline that may very well define the Cavaliers season. The return of Kevin Love which is going to be judged with a lot of speculative cynicism.
His performances for the Cavaliers last season was far from what one expected from the perennial all-star. Many lamented his limited post-up game and with teams playing small-ball it was often that Love was matched up against a smaller player but failed to dominate the isolation post-up scenario. Even on a pick-and-roll teams weren’t afraid to switch as quite a few coaches were prepared to gamble with switching the smaller defender on Love. This is a major criticism that Love endures as everyone in the media is quick to pounce on the fact that Love isn't really elite enough to warrant the contract he is being paid, but there are certain factors that people conveniently ignore.
Love was a franchise star for the Timberwolves, but he never had the roster to be a title contender. Despite that he consistently posted double-doubles and was one of the most consistent stat-fillers in the league. He was also a player who despite his limited athleticism evolved adapted his skills to be a factor in the league. To understand his transformation one has to follow his career from his rookie season and then judge his growth and evolution.
Love wasn't a stretch four when he came into the league. He was mostly seen as a hustle guy who was expected to run the floor and work the glass. He didn't have an accomplished post-up game and initially wasn't even the first offensive option for the Wolves. It is a compliment to Love that he in his few years in the league has evolved into becoming the best shooting big-guy in the game. He is a very smart pick-and-pop player and his exploits with Rubio is testament to the same.
In Minnesota he played with Pekovic as the Center and Pekovic being a low-post orthodox big, it was imperative that Love developed his range to ensure floor spacing and allow the likes of Rubio to flourish. This was the time when Love managed to evolve from a mid-range guy to one of the pure shooters from beyond the arc. The offense didn't require Love to play much of a post-up game and thus he never evolved as a low post player.
Thus in Cleveland he for the first time played with a guard who the opposition was quick to jump out on pick-and-rolls and players who could force mismatches. This calls for Love to evolve his game again and if his record is anything to go by, expect him to duly oblige. However, one also needs to be realistic in their expectations. Adding moves to one’s arsenal requires time and patience and it is but unfair to question the result even before one has made an ardent effort.
Another major criticism of Love has been that he lacks the alpha dog mentality that is the characteristic of a certain Michael Jordan or even a Kevin Garnett as Love was never revered as a vocal guy and to many hasn’t evolved into being the leader that his talents deserved. Maybe he was too young to take on the mantle in Minnesota. What could be just inexperience was perceived as a lackadaisical attitude. Even to date, there are still question marks regarding how much does he really care. Further in his career Love hasn’t ever been a clutch guy. An observation that is consistent in his days with the Cavaliers as Coach Blatt often preferred Thompson over Love to close out games.
Yes, Kevin Love needs to do a lot better in the big moments and he needs to show a desire to play the hero and prove himself to be reliable in such situations. But, how many times does Coach Blatt draw up a play that has Love as the central focus in such moments ? If you draw every play expecting him to be the weakside spot-up shooter feeding off kick-outs from LeBron and Kyrie it is but expected that the opportunities for him to grow into the alpha star will be few and far between.
The positive for Love is that he can only gain from learning and playing alongside the greatest player of his era in LeBron. LeBron has lamented losing Love to the injury in the playoffs and after the Finals seems to realize that giving Love a bigger role in the offense can only help him develop into the player that LeBron needs him to be. Thompson despite all his rebounding exploits isn't a player who can carry the offensive burden like Love can. Love is still very young in NBA terms and with the game evolving the way it is, the stretch four is a critical role. The Cavs surely have the most adept player for this role.
While the onus is on the Cavs to get the best out of Love's offensive abilities, there is no doubt that Love needs to get better on the defensive end of the floor. He still remains an elite rebounder, but he needs to do a better job as a rim protector and as an adept pick-and-roll defender.
The question marks about his clutch play-making ability still persists but if there is one thing that Love can gain from playing with LeBron it is to understand and study how LeBron fought off the same critique he faced for years. If there is ever an example of a player evolving into a clutch play-maker it is King James and the sooner Love realizes it, the better it is for him.
Tomorrow the Cavs will be faced against the Bulls and against the likes of Mirotic, Noah, Gasol and Gibson, Love will probably face his toughest test. The Bulls even post Thibodeau remain an elite defensive unit and with Irving out and LeBron expected to see limited action, Love is very much the goto guy for the Cavs.
And it is just not Love who will be under the spotlight against the Bulls. Without Shumpert, the Cavs defense will be tested against the effervescent Hoiberg offense. The Bulls will be ready and at full strength, and will pose a tough test. It is the curtain raiser and after all the trepidations and consternation of last year's Finals, the city of Cleveland would hope their team to play with a chip on their shoulder. The LeBron James home-coming story was the feature of the Cavs last season. This year is all about retribution. On the way they shall shower a lot of love and deserve some good Love back.