BOSTON -- There was a weird lack of energy in the Garden on Tuesday night when the Cavaliers came to town. Strange because a visit from the Cavs means a game with LeBron James. The memories of his past playoff battles with the Celtics of old still linger strongly in the imagination. ("At one point when I write my book they will have a chapter," James said in a perfect summation of their rivalry. Ultimate respect, but also, just one chapter.)
Everyone in the East is chasing LeBron James and the Cavaliers
Cleveland hasn’t run away with the East, but LeBron’s team is still in control because, well, it has LeBron.
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
If that wasn't enough, there were more recent postseason scraps to throw onto the pyre, including the Kelly Olynyk armbar that knocked Kevin Love out of the playoffs. There was also an elbow from J.R. Smith that had Jae Crowder asking for an apology and Smith responding that none would be forthcoming. And if that still wasn't enough, there was the very real possibility that this was a game between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. Whatever that means.
(I asked someone before the game who the second-best team in the East is right now. “The Celtics,” they said. Really? “Ask me tomorrow.” There is no right answer to this question.)
Either way, there was none of the manic energy and frenzy that accompanied Boston's game against the then-undefeated Warriors a few days before. Perhaps there was something of a fan hangover, or maybe it was the lack of on-court interaction between Love and Olynyk. Smith and Crowder had their moments, but the blowups were short and easily defused.
More likely, the crowd’s apathy was directly related to the way the Cavaliers went about punishing the Celtics in a slow and deliberate manner. When they’re at their best, the Cavs don’t inspire, so much as they destroy. They ran their offense through LeBron in the post, rarely pushed the tempo and were content to pack the paint on defense, forcing Boston’s pint-sized guards to try and make a living among the trees. As old friend Jonathan Tjarks pointed out, it looked a bit like the finals except that the Cavs had Love (20 points, eight rebounds, five assists) to offer secondary scoring and the C’s couldn’t throw it in the Harbor.
That last part is important because while the Cavs have been humming along with an efficient, albeit slow offense, their defense has not yet been a constant this season. There are good reasons for that, namely injuries. Iman Shumpert returned to the lineup this week after missing the first 21 games of the season following wrist surgery. Timofey Mozgov is also coming back from offseason surgery and dealt with a shoulder injury that caused him to miss three games. With Kyrie Irving also out of the lineup following his own knee surgery and various other maladies affecting their depth, practice time has been short and Mozgov understandably needed the better part of November to work himself back into game condition.
Shumpert and Mozgov are extremely important to the Cavs. It was their addition last January in a pair of trades that helped fuel the Cavs’ rise from middle of the pack to elite. Mozgov has started to find his rhythm and Shumpert came back on Sunday against Orlando, in time for their most dominant performances of the season. On Tuesday, the Cavs followed up with another defensive masterpiece. They took the Celtics completely out of rhythm in the second half, holding the C’s to 31 points on just 11-for-42 shooting. (Shumpert injured his groin and had to leave the game, which has the potential to be a major downer if he has to miss even more time.)
“We defended,” James said. “When you defend like that it doesn’t matter how many points you score, you give yourself a chance to win.”
* * *
The Cavs have won eight out of their last 12, a run that includes a three-game losing streak that looks more like an outlier than a trend. Tuesday’s game was yet another reminder that all the semantics about net rating and simple rating systems don’t change the fact that one team in the East has LeBron and no one else does. James was the best player on the floor despite an ordinary-by-his-standards stat line of 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
If there’s a concern, it’s that it was a hard 24 points. James needed 20 shots to get there, along with six turnovers, and he was 0-for-3 from long distance. He’s shooting 50 percent for the season, but only making 27 percent of his threes, leaving James to get the bulk of his offense in the paint. The Cavs don’t get out much in transition, so most of their offense comes out of the halfcourt and a good chunk of that comes from LeBron. His usage rate is 33 percent, which is the highest it’s been since the final season of his first tenure with the Cavs.
Still, this is a completely different scenario. James is five years older, but he's also five years smarter. He and the Cavs seem to have a much better sense for one another than they did last season, and the awkwardness of last year has been replaced by a tighter, more cohesive offensive flow. James also has another legit star to play off in the revitalized Love, who is much more involved this season. Irving is expected back soon, which will be yet another adjustment for a team that always seems to be in flux. In the interim, they've received positive contributions from Matthew Dellavedova (44 percent from the three-point range) and Mo Williams, plus their other role players have been solid.
“Considering what we had to deal with in the preseason and the fact that we played the first quarter of the season without our starting backcourt, we’ve done a pretty good job in terms of competing and positioning ourselves,” coach David Blatt said.
They have. The Cavs may not be running away with things yet and the East may be vastly improved, but no one has emerged to steal home court the way Atlanta did last season. The Celtics may have been the second-best team in the conference entering the week and they may be the eighth when it’s over. There isn’t that much separation in the East, but everyone’s still chasing Cleveland regardless of the standings.
Still, it’s difficult to know exactly what the Cavs are bringing to the table this season until everyone is healthy and those returning have had time to integrate themselves back into the lineup. The schedule will also do them no favors in the short term. They have a four-game west coast trip starting on Christmas Day in a finals rematch against the Warriors, and then follow that with another six-game road trip that will take them through Texas in the middle of January. We may not really know what to make of the Cavs until closer to the All-Star break.
That’s the strangest thing about this team. We’re more than 100 regular season games and four playoff series into this phase of LeBron’s career, and the Cavs’ potential is still an unknown variable. As long as they have James, however, the possibilities remain endless.
* * *
SB Nation presents: LeBron gives Special Olympics MVP his sneakers
See More:
