From now until the start of the NBA season later this month, we are going to be running our season previews. Each day, we are going to look at two teams and talk about one thing they did well last year and one thing that they did poorly last year. Then, we are going to talk about the chances of maintaining what they did well/changing what they did poorly. In this edition we will look at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
One Thing They Did Well
Using Off Ball Screens
The Cleveland Cavs were incredibly efficient on offense, and a lot of it had to do with LeBron James. The Cavs were most effective were when they were using off the ball screens. According to Synergy, the Cavs were 2nd in the NBA in terms of PPP when working off of screens while shooting 43.2% from three.
The main reason why the Cavs were so effective in this area was LeBron James, even though he wasn’t the one doing a bulk of the scoring off of screens. However, he was the one setting everything up. In the above clip, every defender has their eyes focused on LeBron, this allows for the screener to get into position, getting a solid one set for Anthony Parker.
In this clip, LeBron has the ball, and the defense responds accordingly. Mo Williams’ man sinks way off of him, actually setting himself up to be screen. LeBron hits Williams for the wide open three.
It doesn’t always need to be LeBron setting everything up though. Here, Anthony Parker runs off of a double screen, gets a good pass, and knocks it down.
The player who really seemed to benefit from the Cavs’ ability to set good screens was Mo Williams. Williams posted a 1.09 PPP when coming off of screens while shooting 44.2% from three (Good enough to rank him 9th in the NBA in these situations).
One Thing They Did Poorly
Defending The Post
On the defensive end, there wasn’t much that the Cavs did poorly. They finished 8th in the NBA when it came to opponents’ PPP. However, the one area where they really struggled was when they tried to defend the post. They were 16th in the NBA when it came to defending the post. The two main reasons that lead to their struggles was that they allowed centers to get strong post position too easily and they struggled when trying to double the post.
Here, after setting a screen, Emeka Okafor runs directly to the middle of the paint and seals his man. All that is left for him to do is make the catch and hit the turn around shot.
In addition to letting opposing centers set up shop wherever they wanted, the Cavs really struggled with double teams. In the above clip, they let Andrea Bargnani make the catch and take four dribbles in the post before hitting a hook shot. Now, four dribbles is a ton, and with how high Bargnani was taking them, someone probably should have come down and doubled.
Even when the Cavs do double, it never seems to be on time. Here, Hibbert makes the catch, and Antawn Jamisontries to double down. He’s late with it though and ends up fouling Hibbert.
That was a big problem for the Cavs. They fouled way too much in the post. They fouled their opponent on 11.6% of their 693 possessions in the post, including 27 And 1s. Most of them took place in the manner of the above clip.
Can They Maintain/Improve?
Just like in the Bulls’ preview, it is hard to tell whether or not the Cavs can maintain what they do well or improve what they don’t do well. Not only do they have a new coach, but LeBron isn’t there anymore either. It’s only natural to expect their off the ball proficiency to dip, because LeBron commanded so much attention, that screeners were able to set strong screens on defenders. Without LeBron there, the screens are going to be harder to set. As for the defense, it is really hard to tell what coach Byron Scott’s strategy is going to be until we see it in action.
