Cavs Mailbag: How Much Is Lack Of Size Affecting The Team?
Welcome to Cavs Mailbag! In this daily mailbag, Spencer Davies will respond to fans’ curiosities surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the duration of the 2023-24 season. In order to submit yours, simply send your questions on X to @SpinDavies or via email at spindavies22@gmail.com.
The Cavs are back to business Thursday at the TD Garden, as they'll take on the Boston Celtics for the second time in three days. With a win, they would come out with a mini-series split and a .500 record for their four-game road trip.
The wine-and-gold will be without Evan Mobley for the fourth straight contest, but Caris LeVert is back.
Let's get to your questions:
How much does the Cavs size or lack of size affect them during the games? Positives and negatives. - @gemdata
The obvious response is that Cleveland is quicker and more adept to playing a finesse game versus being a physical, imposing presence. Roster construction is most definitely focused on shooting the ball and upping the tempo compared to years past.
I think a positive of smaller lineups is guys being evasive and out-quicking their opponents. They've clearly put an emphasis on getting shots up before defenses get set, which is a good thing. I also feel like some of the guards and smaller forwards do play bigger than their size as far as crashing the glass and finding mismatches. (Isaac Okoro immediately comes to mind.)
A negative, frankly, is when teams pinpoint mismatches and take advantage of them on the defensive end. Offensively, guards can dribble themselves into trouble if the first option or two doesn't free up.
With that said, I don't think there's any reason to question the Cavs' defense based on its reputation the last couple of seasons. The coaching staff knows what it's doing on that end. They've earned that benefit of the doubt.
There are new pieces in the mix now and players are clearly still working out the kinks with miscommunication and overhelping when crunch time comes around. Throughout games, Cleveland has had a sound, collective group on that end of the floor. Let's not forget that Mobley's been out of the mix for a week now as well.
Rotationally, it has made things difficult admittedly on Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Although he may be getting in his own way by not playing Craig Porter Jr., it is feasible reasoning to bring up how Cleveland's roster features similarly-built players all around.
Dec 12, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) and forward Isaac Okoro (35) react after a call as they take on the Boston Celtics in the second half at TD Garden.
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Why do you keep making Niang handle? Why does JB keep defending with corners open? - @derickderick08
To answer the Georges Niang question, it's because he's done a great job of attacking closeouts when defenders close-out too aggressively. It may not be pretty looking, and he may not get to the basket the fastest, but there's proof in the pudding that his float shot is working well. It's not like he is running the offense either. His 15.9% usage rate is actually the lowest it's been in his entire NBA career, believe it or not.
J.B. Bickerstaff and the Cavs probably don't want him to do that primarily, but they're not going to box him in as a one-dimensional player. They're allowing him free rein because it's been effective.
Now, to the corner threes and how Cleveland is defending them.
On the season, the Cavs have allowed 216 triple tries from the corner and opponents are hitting 39.8 percent of those. (They are, however, allowing the 10th-least threes overall in the league.)
It's not as egregious of a number as you may think (11th-most in the NBA), but I do feel like guys are pinching too far toward the paint when drivers are making their way there. While helping the helper is good, knowing your personnel is key. I'm sure the wine-and-gold don't want to finish these possessions with four guys in the paint staring at a wide-open perimeter.
Trusting your rim protection is important too, but when the bigs are pulled out of the paint on blitzes or switches, it makes it a little more difficult to do. Things have to be timed better and crisper. There have been too many breakdowns at inopportune times late in games.
Of course, when a team has Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday on the other side, it's not always going to work out — even if executed properly.
