Kevin Love's Arrival Offers LeBron James, Cavs Chance to Redefine Title Style

[MirORich]

Absolutely fantastic article on BleacherReport by Jared Zwerling with tons of quotes from NBA scouts and front office sources. Use the link to read the whole article because I could only quote about half of it due to the 10,000 characters per post limit

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ron-james-cavs-chance-to-redefine-title-style

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The biggest asset in building LeBron James' presence in Cleveland into a title-contending Cavaliers team might not be the playmaking of the King or Kyrie Irving. That honor might actually be the court vision of the final piece of the Big Three, Kevin Love, who is expected to become an official member of the Cavaliers on Aug. 23.

Love is one of the league's most gifted outlet passers. And with the speed, ball-handling and finishing abilities of James and Irving, the impact of Love to quickly translate defense into offense isn't to be underestimated, say a handful ofNBA talent evaluators, who analyzed what the NBA's newest terrifying trio might look like on the court next season with Bleacher Report.

"Some players are rebounding just to get possession of [the ball], but [Love] is rebounding to get it out, which is the difference," a Northwest Division scout said. "He's seeing guys as he's getting that rebound. That's why he gets [the ball] out so quickly. He's got a high basketball IQ and he's physically strong. There are some guys in the NBA who can throw the ball a far distance, but the problem is they don't see their teammates. He's aware of people on the court."

Next season, the Cavaliers could create their own version of the "three-man weave" on breakaways: a Love outlet pass to an Irving dribble attack to a James alley-oop. This kind of sequence could be No. 1 on their opponents' whiteboard to stop. Athletic up-and-comers Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson will also facilitate and finish, respectively, along with mobile veterans Shawn Marion and Anderson Varejao.

These are the tools that new head coach David Blatt, considered by many in basketball as one of the game's most gifted offensive minds, will likely look to leverage from the start. "He's totally committed like a Navy SEAL," an Atlantic Division scout said. Throughout his career, from coaching the Russian national team to Maccabi Tel Aviv last season, he's successfully played to the strengths of his players without preaching a specific system.

"I'm sure that he's going to want to create numbers offensively [in transition]," the Northwest scout said. "I'm sure they're going to be getting up and going, and they're going to want to play full-court attacking."

The Cavaliers could also be masters of the secondary fast break, which fuels off of three-pointers in a quick-hitting pick-and-roll. Irving, for one, fed off of these last season. And Love, who's become one of the NBA's best-conditioned athletes since coming in heavy from college, figures to be a major threat as a trailing big man, playing off of James or Irving in the two-man game. Love shot 37.6 percent from three-point range last season. Then, add in seasoned sharpshooters Mike Miller, James Jones and potentially Ray Allen, who is still undecided about his future, according to a source.

Those are the shooting assets the Cavaliers didn't have last season, when they ranked in the bottom half in three-point percentage (.356).

Once the Cavaliers settle down in a half-court set, it's unlikely that Blatt will call for a clear out to initiate the offense, especially with the diverse talent on the roster.

"[We have] versatility at different positions," Irving said this week after a recent Team USA practice. "There are so many different spots that can be filled, 1 through 5. We have a young core and we have guys coming in that can play the game of basketball and have championship caliber."

Two Eastern Conference scouts think that Blatt will only have around four offensive sets he uses the most, because he'll put trust in James and Irving's playmaking, as well as their experienced teammates, to make reads on their own within the flow of the offense.

"They're not going to be ball-stopping in David Blatt's offense, I can tell you that for sure, especially the way that Miami lost last year and LeBron being the intelligent player he is," the Atlantic scout said. "[Blatt] can flat out coach. The ball is going to move, there's going to be great spacing, that free throw lane area is going to be open and Kevin Love will spread the floor as a stretch-4 and play the 5 in a small lineup with a lot of shooters. It's going to be fun to watch."

So who will be options No. 1, 2 and 3? A Southwest Division scout believes James will want to play position-less basketball based on his Finals experience losing to the Mavericks in 2011 and the Spurs this year.

"He's seen the recipe; we all saw it," the scout said. "In 2011, [Dallas] picked [Miami] apart by swinging the basketball. The ball kept moving, players kept moving. They demolished them that way, and the Spurs made them look like a junior high team. It was wild, so everybody should take a page out of the Spurs' playbook."

But there is still intrigue over how the NBA's newest Big Three will make sacrifices. That consumed some of the league talk this past week in Las Vegas at Tim Grgurich's annual coaches camp, where every NBA team's front office was represented.

"[Irving and Love] are not going to have a problem with LeBron leading the team, but are they going to have problems being a deputy?" an Eastern Conference executive wondered. "If Kyrie is the second leader, how is that going to affect Kevin? Or if Kevin is, how is that going to affect Kyrie? I talked to everybody that was out here—scouts, refs, coaches and GMs—and everybody is curious to see who's going to submit for the good of the team."

"I think winning will take care of everything," the Atlantic scout added. "Kevin Love wants to win. He's now six years without going to the playoffs. Kyrie, the same thing since he's been in the league. You're going to win with LeBron. I think that when you win, that definitely helps things and relationships."

Regardless of the hierarchy, a Central Division scout noted that opponents can't game-plan against the Cavaliers thinking that way. What could be stressed from the opposing side is getting the ball out of Irving's hands quickly, making sure Love is jumped all the time and playing physical with both of them. That approach could carry some bit considering the injury history of both.

Above all, though, preparation against the Cavaliers will come down to their offensive patterns.

"Once they get into the thick of the season, they're probably going to have three, four sets that they use the most," the Central scout said. "Then you go on player tendencies—what they do when they catch it on this side of the floor or this area on the floor, and all your players have got to know it."

It's a strong possibility that the Cavaliers' half-court offense will start with multiple pick-and-roll options between James, Irving and Love. The most lethal could be a pick-and-pop with James and Love, in order for Love to further spread the court. As the Southwest scout said, "That's pretty damn scary. It's just like, 'What do you do on defense?'"

The Central scout chimed in: "If LeBron is at the 2 or at the 1, with Kevin at the 3, now teams are in trouble. But If LeBron and Kevin are used as the 3 and 4 in the pick-and-pop, that may be a switch opportunity depending on how big your 3 is, and then it's going to end up being a lot of post-up games for LeBron or Kevin."

Last season, James and Love were very effective in the post based on points per play, according to Synergy Sports. Love actually got most of his touches on the block, but he'll likely see a decrease down there in Blatt's spread-out, movement-based offense. The Big Three will need to make adjustments—most likely for Love, whose scoring might dip not only because of Blatt's offense, but also because of the facilitator-scorer roles James and Irving are likely to play—and that could mostly come off the ball.

"[Blatt] is a very creative coach (who played in legendary coach Pete Carril's Princeton offense), and I don't think he's going to stick to one thing," the Central scout said. "He's going to go with what works and he's got a million different things he can do. Maybe he'll get out of Kyrie's hands initially, have him loop through and have him get it on the second or third catch, and then have him run a ball screen."

Not only could Irving run off of screens like a 2-guard—he shot nearly 40 percent from mid-range last season—but James could also be an option on the move, spotting up and receiving feeds inside off of curl cuts. With his improved outside jumper, he could also become a bigger three-point shooter in the corner—where he cleverly established himself last season at 55.6 percent—to boost the team's spacing.

"During Vegas Summer League, [Blatt] just ran some very nice sets—double-screen options for shooters, after-timeout plays," the Atlantic scout said. "Another way that I evaluate coaches is if he's going to run an out-of-bounds play that's not going to make you chuck a shot, but make you take a good shot. He did that in summer league.".........

 

[wuck]

Thought the article was so good it deserved its own thread. Maybe Zwerlng would be interested in the PD job???? Here is the rest of the article:

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There could also be some Triangle action between James, Irving and Love, who can all pass, shoot and score out of the mid-post. Overall with the focus on the Big Three, the role players will need to set hard screens, rotate well to maintain floor balance, make smart cuts to the basket and, above all, knock down wide-open shots.

Already a product of scoring without the ball, Love should fit in well alongside Irving and James. Love is a smart cutter and gets strong position quickly in the paint, which helps make him unique as a scorer, explained two scouts.

"His small area of quickness is off the charts," the Central scout said. "You may be the slowest player from one end to the other, but from me to you away if we're standing close to each other, he's the quickest player in the NBA because his brain works at such a high level and his hands are so fast. Obviously that helps his rebounding."

The Northwest scout added: "He's a smart player. He understands angles, understands how to get shots off. He's not fast, but he's just fast enough to be effective. He's like a change-up in baseball. He's very good at the elbow facing the basket. He's got a great release. He's also physically strong and he's able to move people with his hips, with his shoulders. And he's got tremendous hands."

On the flip side, Love's biggest Achilles' heel, as it is for Irving, is defense.

With Irving, who's only 22, scouts point to desire and effort being the reasons he hasn't been committed to making stops. In fact, he admitted this week that he hadn't been a leader for his team."I have to be that much better and I'm going to be," Irving added this week. The Atlantic scout also suggested that Irving's new $90 million extension offers motivation as well.

As for Love, the Northwest scout said the power forward's flat-footed style and his lack of lateral quickness has affected him defensively. But the Central scout said he's noticed strides on that end in Minnesota, even as Love has maintained his focus as a do-it-all offensive player.

"Kevin's improved there," the scout said. "A lot of times as you get older, the game slows down to you and you read the game at a higher level. So defensively he's reading the game at a higher level, he's understanding body positioning and player tendencies a little bit better. That just goes with his IQ. He's becoming smarter defensively and he's figuring out how to use his footwork defensively. That just takes a little time. You don't see teams isolating Kevin any more."

Regardless, the Cavaliers will likely not orchestrate their defensive system in the same aggressive manner James' former team, the Miami Heat, demonstrated guarding pick-and-rolls. Adding Marion, Dallas' best perimeter stopper last season, was a plus, but according to the Eastern Conference scouts, Cleveland doesn't have the same defensive speed and versatility as Miami did, nor has Blatt demonstrated as suffocating a defensive approach.

"I don't think Cleveland is going to be a consistent blitzing team like Miami. I think they're going to have a little more variety in their style," the Atlantic scout said. "Like in Chicago and San Antonio, I think in Cleveland you're going to see the big man sag off and play just coverage defense, as opposed to blitzing or hedging. It's a very smart defensive strategy. I think you're also going to see a mixture of zone defense against out-of-bounds plays. That's what David Blatt did in the Vegas Summer League."

New associate head coach Tyronn Lue and new assistant Larry Drew should also help plug a defense that ranked 17th last season in points per 100 possessions. The Atlantic scout called them both "grinders." Lue made two title runs with the Lakers as a player and later worked for five years on Doc Rivers' tough-minded staff. And Drew, who was the head coach in Milwaukee last season, "mixed up zones and defended pick-and-rolls well," according to the scout.

According to a source, the Cavaliers could also sign Chauncey Billups, who's close with Lue and knows defense well from his Detroit days winning a championship in 2004.

"Chauncey is like a coach on the floor," the scout said. "He's going to be either a coach or GM in this league, it's only a matter of time. He's a leader and he's a guy that players totally respect. And he was a pure professional as a player."

No matter the schemes, the scouts and Irving agreed that Cleveland's future relies on player camaraderie.

"Guys everywhere on every team are going to be gunning for us, and that's something you look forward to as a competitor," Irving said this week. "But the most important thing is just figuring out team chemistry and team roles, and go from there."

Can the young Cavaliers of last season blend in with many of the older players that James has recruited this summer to get past the fierce competition? Winning should take care of everything. James knows what that's like, but Irving and Love have yet to taste it.

Once that happens, as the Southwest scout said, "they could the change the way basketball is played in the East."

 

[MirORich]

Thanks for grabbing the second half Wuck. Although all the quotes are of course anon, Zwerling has connections and got all these quotes while at the Tim Gurgurich Big Man Camp, where scout or exec from every team was present in the gym over the course of the camp, so he took advantage of the great opportunity to pick a bunch of basketball minds for their opinion of what this could mean on the court for the Cavs this year.

 

[Kidd Karma]

Great stuff, one of many skills for Love is that outlet pass he learned from Wes Unseld. Full court chest passes, LBJ on a WR post will be a play in their playbook. In addition toss in the Princeton offense, Kidd was able to lead the Nets to the finals back in 01-02 1 year in to the Princeton offense, you have 2 players with the same IQ as Kidd in this offense, they will do amazing things in the half court. I don't even see the pick n roll as a staple to the Cavs offense, it will be a lot of high post action with Love possibly initiating from the elbow while wings rub off each other the baseline.

 

[CavsHomer]

Great article!
Well, our offense is going to be crazy good. I just can't wait anymore to watch everyone play!!

 

[brownsbuck6]

Love this article, thanks. I really, REALLY like Blatt's style if this article is accurate- where he will only have a few sets, but mostly rely on Kyrie and LeBron to play make. He just needs to really emphasize swinging the ball Spurs style. The challenge will be during 'winning time' of games when both LeBron and Kyrie might tend to revert back to isolation days. And frankly that's probably not all bad, that's the elite talent they both possess. But for the most part I expect this to be a dynamic offense where everyone gets their touches and the ball MOVES.

I would have also enjoyed the author exploring how Dion will fit into all of this. To me that's one of the most intriguing things to watch for.

 

[Bob_The_Cat]

Great stuff, one of many skills for Love is that outlet pass he learned from Wes Unseld. Full court chest passes, LBJ on a WR post will be a play in their playbook. In addition toss in the Princeton offense, Kidd was able to lead the Nets to the finals back in 01-02 1 year in to the Princeton offense, you have 2 players with the same IQ as Kidd in this offense, they will do amazing things in the half court. I don't even see the pick n roll as a staple to the Cavs offense, it will be a lot of high post action with Love possibly initiating from the elbow while wings rub off each other the baseline.

This team is going to absolutely wreak havoc on the pick & roll, pick & pop, and pick & fade. There's just so many options. Kyrie with the ball, LeBron setting the screen, Love on the wing, Watiers/Miller/Jones/Allen? in the corner. Tremendous spacing and a wide open lane for LeBron and Kyrie to work. Same set but LeBron as the ball-handler, Love setting the screen, Kyrie on the wing or hiding in the corner, and then another shooter on the wing.

P&R won't be our primary offense, but an offensive mind as intelligent as Blatt will certainly take advantage of the abilities of those three guys.

 

[Kidd Karma]

This team is going to absolutely wreak havoc on the pick & roll, pick & pop, and pick & fade. There's just so many options. Kyrie with the ball, LeBron setting the screen, Love on the wing, Watiers/Miller/Jones/Allen? in the corner. Tremendous spacing and a wide open lane for LeBron and Kyrie to work. Same set but LeBron as the ball-handler, Love setting the screen, Kyrie on the wing or hiding in the corner, and then another shooter on the wing.

P&R won't be our primary offense, but an offensive mind as intelligent as Blatt will certainly take advantage of the abilities of those three guys.

Late game, when things are close and possessions become gold, I can see Blatt demand that LBJ or Kyrie initiate a 1-1 or 2-2 play. That's probably when you will see most of the pick and "fill in the blank" offense will take hold on almost every possession.

There's just so many options and things Blatt can do with the offensive pieces at his expense.

 

[Kidd Karma]

Love this article, thanks. I really, REALLY like Blatt's style if this article is accurate- where he will only have a few sets, but mostly rely on Kyrie and LeBron to play make. He just needs to really emphasize swinging the ball Spurs style. The challenge will be during 'winning time' of games when both LeBron and Kyrie might tend to revert back to isolation days. And frankly that's probably not all bad, that's the elite talent they both possess. But for the most part I expect this to be a dynamic offense where everyone gets their touches and the ball MOVES.

I would have also enjoyed the author exploring how Dion will fit into all of this. To me that's one of the most intriguing things to watch for.

Geez, Waiters, that's a 3rd option who can initiate and finish. Dynamic pieces for Blatt to work with.

They'll revert to Isolation in late game situations, 1-1 or 2-2, where each possession becomes more valuable. You just hope that there's a shared load to the point where both Kyrie and Lebron have enough in the gas tank.

 

[AuxiliaryPie]

The article was amazing, the comments made my head hurt.

 

[MirORich]

Re-reading it and these two sections stuck out to me:

"During Vegas Summer League, [Blatt] just ran some very nice sets—double-screen options for shooters, after-timeout plays," the Atlantic scout said. "Another way that I evaluate coaches is if he's going to run an out-of-bounds play that's not going to make you chuck a shot, but make you take a good shot. He did that in summer league.".........

This says a lot about Blatt. It also says a lot about coaches in the NBA who do the opposite(out of bounds play that ends up with a chuck or bad shot) including our most recent former coach

"His small area of quickness is off the charts," the Central scout said. "You may be the slowest player from one end to the other, but from me to you away if we're standing close to each other, he's the quickest player in the NBA because his brain works at such a high level and his hands are so fast. Obviously that helps his rebounding."

The Northwest scout added: "He's a smart player. He understands angles, understands how to get shots off. He's not fast, but he's just fast enough to be effective. He's like a change-up in baseball. He's very good at the elbow facing the basket. He's got a great release. He's also physically strong and he's able to move people with his hips, with his shoulders. And he's got tremendous hands."

Keeping in mind that solely by virtue of being an NBA player, Love is a way better athlete than 99% of us posting here, the above is great insight in to how players with less than superior athleticism(Love, prime Artest, Bird, etc.) gain an edge over player who may be coast to coast better athletes, by having superior short distance quickness due to high reaction time, decent athleticism, and high BB IQ

 

[Jordan]

Does everyone realize Dion will be our fourth option on offense? Some of our games are just going to be silly because our offense will be so good.

 

[MirORich]

Does everyone realize Dion will be our fourth option on offense? Some of our games are just going to be silly because our offense will be so good.

We will never have a minute go by without at least one above average to elite offensive playmaker on the floor. I see Dion starting, subbing out at 6 minutes, and then coming back in for a long stretch of the late first qtr, early second quarter with Delly, Marion, Tristan and a shooter. That lineup should murder most teams second units.

 

[hitman7742]

Great article....amazing what the possibilities are with this roster. Is it October yet?

 

[Frank Reynolds]

One thing that I don't think people are understanding; is how LeBron is going to start doing things that Kevin Love does. Sometimes it's a bang bang play, and I bet we'll see LeBron James adopting the full court chest pass. If he's closest man to the baseline, he can quickly inbound the ball, you'll see LeBron with his head on a swivel, playing quarterback from out of bounds.

Another under appreciated thing, is finally taking the ball out of James hands, and Irving's ability to duck behind massive Kevin Love picks. If the defense makes it to Irving, it's a simple pass to Love, who likely finds LeBron James or someone else.


When players can see future plays developing in advance, and they gain that .25/second on somebody, it's the difference. James and Love both see plays happening before they really do; therefore the defense's reaction is completely late, thus people get embarrassed.

Irving should also absorb everything his eyes are seeing. Use those mirror neurons, and that psychology degree young fella. Rod Strickland might have taught you those playground tricks, and finishes, but LeBron James plays the game at the absolute highest level. He really does have a sky high basketball acumen, could be best ever in that department.

With this team. Synergy.

Synergy.

All these guys can only go up, because the cast is right, the heiriarchy is stratified, we finally have a legit creative mind as a coach, and we have the youth and talent to carry this on for years. I really think this brings the best out of everybody, Tristan, Dion, Andy they all have a clearly defined role, and we're capitalizing on Love's hunger, and all the people who have wronged Kevin Love and placed him in a box because he's white.