PHOENIX: Fifteen thoughts for 15 assists in Sunday’s 120-116 win over the Phoenix Suns…,
1. The Cavs are 2-0 on this six-game road trip, but they’re making it much more difficult on themselves than it needs to be. They’ve blown big leads against two of the worst teams in the league and both nights had to slug out a win in the fourth quarter.
2. Friday at Brooklyn, the Cavs led by 24 with 16 minutes left in the game, but let the Nets get within seven late in the fourth quarter. Sunday was even more egregious. They led by 20 with 9:43 left in the third quarter and the Suns had the game tied before the end of the quarter.
3. “We play the right way and then we relax,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “We just messed around with the game the last two games. When you’re up 20, we’ve got to put teams away. Right now we’re not doing that.”
4. Lue thought guys got too cute Sunday, passing up good looks to make a fancy play. It often resulted in turnovers – usually from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving – and ended in a transition basket at the other end. James and Irving combined to commit 14 of the Cavs’ 20 turnovers, which led to fastbreaks at the other end.
5. “They got out in transition. A few of their guys were -- I don’t want to say ‘cherry picking’ -- but they were starting to break way before off our long 3-point shots or our turnovers,” Kyrie Irving said. “So they got back in the game.”
6. The 37 points the Suns scored in the third are the most the Cavs have allowed in a third quarter this season. Eleven of them came in transition.
7. “You turn the basketball over and you’re taking bad shots, we didn’t trust the offense like we did in the first half and we start playing more one-on-one basketball. It’s hard to score,” Lue said. “They’ve got some good defenders (with) Tyson Chandler anchoring their defense. If you don’t play the right way, it can come back and bite you. That’s what it did in the third quarter.”
8. Lue has defended his team’s isolation play at various turns since taking over as head coach. The Cavs have two of the best one-one-one players in the league in Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, Lue reasons, and a lot of times defenses are set to make the Cavs play one-on-one. In terms of 2-point baskets, the Cavs rank 27th in the NBA in assisted baskets. They rank 19th on assisted 3-pointers. But Lue didn’t like the isolation he saw Sunday when the Cavs managed just 15 assists.
9. “When we’re running the sets to get our guys to their spots and their positions, that’s different than dribbling down and just holding it for the whole time and taking shots,” Lue said. “That made it tough on our offense. Floor balance wasn’t right and we also turned the ball over a little bit. If we don’t run the right stuff and get to our spots and positions, it makes it tough.”
10. The ball movement seems to be slowing the last few games. Since recording 29 assists in the win against Boston, the Cavs have registered 17, 16, 13, 19 and 15 assists in their last five games, which ranks 27th over that stretch.
11. Olympic champion Michael Phelps attended Sunday’s game and chatted briefly postgame with James and Kevin Love outside the Cavs’ locker room. James and Phelps were together last month at Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year banquet, but didn’t get a chance to chat.
12. James, however, said he has spoken to Phelps a few times. He acknowledged Phelps, sitting courtside, after a monster dunk in the second half.
13. James’ seven turnovers give him 132 already this season, which has him on pace again for a career high depending on how many games he plays. Of course, he is also the secondary ball handler behind Irving, which would explain the uptick in turnovers. It’s also perhaps why he keeps bringing up how the Cavs need another point guard on the roster.
14. Kyle Korver has joined the Cavs and the team is hopeful he’ll be available to play Tuesday at Utah. If all goes well, he’ll be able to practice with them Monday in Phoenix before the team flies to Salt Lake City. You can read more about the holdup to the Korver situation here.
15. The Cavs won’t be able to relax like this against Utah and expect a win against the division leaders. Talk to you Tuesday from Vivint Smart Home Arena.