What’s up Cavs fans! Welcome into another episode of The Block The Shot…. OOPS! Sorry about that folks, it was a force of habit.
My name is Kevin Lynch, and you may know me as 1/3rd of the Cavs podcast The Block The Shop The Stop. I have recently made friends with all the awesome guys at The Land so when they asked if I’d be interested in writing an article for the site I jumped at the chance. I have not written a sports article in roughly 2 decades, so I’d ask of you the same thing I ask of my wife, please keep expectations low.
The Cavs were flat out brilliant (sans the 2nd half of game 2) in their 1st round sweep of Heat Culture. They put up historic offensive numbers, played maybe their best defensive of the year, and had several individual standout performances. But what did we learn about this Cavs team that may help us know what to look for in the upcoming series against the Indiana Pacers and beyond? Well sit back and open a six-pack with me as we look through the things that stood out the most in round one.
Kenny Sticks to His Guns- We all wondered how the gameplan and rotation may defer in the playoffs from what it was all season. Well, the answer was that it did not defer at all. The Cavs played 8 guys 20+ minutes, no one played more than 31 minutes a game, and the substitution pattern looked pretty much identical. Kenny Atkinson decided why mess with a good thing and, surprise surprise, he is a much better basketball coach than any of us.
This is Donovan Mitchell’s Time (and Team)- Donovan Mitchell was simply spectacular in Games 1 and 2 against the Heat. He had 30 points in each game, repeatedly set up his teammates for high quality shots, and played with the highest level of defensive effort. He was particularly great in Game 2, the only game the Cavs struggled in. He scored 17 of the first 20 points in the 4th quarter to keep the Cavaliers from giving away a game they seemed to have in hand.
More importantly, Donovan removed any doubt that he is the unquestioned leader of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He picked up guys who needed it and settled down guys who needed it. He led with his words and his play. I think we all agree that one day soon (and maybe it’s already happened) Evan Mobley will be the best player on the Cavs. But this will still be Donovan Mitchell’s team. They need his leadership as much as they need his buckets.
Ty Jerome is Ready for His Moment- Ty Jerome was incredible in Games 1, 3, and 4 against the Heat. Thankfully he reminded us he is human with a subpar performance in Game 2, his first one in what feels like forever.
For the series Ty averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds. He shot 52.4% from the floor and 50% on 3-pointers. He LED THE ENTIRE NBA in plus/minus in round 1 with an insane +88 in 4 games. And he was a one-man Cavalanche, whether it was the 16 points in the 4th quarter of Game 1 or when he scored or assisted on 41 points in 21 minutes of playing time in Game 3. Someone should be arrested for this man not winning 6th Man of the Year.
The Cavs Defense is Better Than Ever- The Cavs defense was good but inconsistent through the regular season and seemed to be getting worse as the season was winding down. Well, the defense was back and better than ever against the Heat.
The Cavs had the 2nd best defensive rating in round 1 and were top 3 in turnovers forced, steals, points in the paint, and opponents points off turnovers. That’s pretty good! Maybe most importantly was that they were the best rebounding team in the playoffs in terms of rebound percentage. That is coming off being 22nd in the regular season. Improving the rebounding was most certainly a focus of the team going into the series against the Heat and their execution on the backboards was chef’s kiss.
Trusting Sam Merrill- One of the few surprises from the Cavs in Round 1 was the rotation spot taken by Sam Merrill. Sam played 21 minutes per game (it would have been more if not for the blowouts in Games 3 and 4) and started the two games Darius Garland was unavailable. Sam shoots the ball well, but more importantly was one of the key defenders that caused Tyler Herro to have a miserable week. Sam gets picked on defensively because he is a white guy from Utah that looks like a white guy from Utah, but the truth is he is an above average defender that gives maximum effort. Pair that with a Ray Allen looking jump shot and the Cavs have themselves a high-quality role player for these playoffs.
The Cavalanche Offense is So Back- The Cavs weren’t just good offensively against the Heat, they were historic. There offensive rating of 136.2 was one of the highest in NBA playoff history. For reference the Cavs lead the NBA in the regular season with a 121.0 offensive rating. They led playoff teams by a mile in effective FG%, true shooting %, 3-point shooting, and Net rating.
Basically, every team got worse offensively in the playoffs as the intensity increased and the foul shots decreased. Somehow the Cavs got significantly better. And now they get to go against a worse defensive team In Indiana (15th in Defensive Efficiency) in Round 2.
The biggest thing we learned in the first-round sweep of the Heat? This Cavs team is who we thought they were… the team who had winning streaks of 16, 15, and 12 games in the regular season. The team who was the best offensive team from the opening night whistle through game 82 where Emoni Bates was shooting 15 three pointers. And a team that can be a top defensive team when they are locked in and playing at peak effort.
Now there is only one more thing to do. #Letemknow
*The Block, The Shot, The Stop podcast is a fan centric show following every game, storyline, and breath of the best team in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers. We go live on YouTube following every game and our show can be found wherever you get your podcasts. Go Cavs!
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