Shot distribution by quarter

[MikeOC33]

Good stuff Tornicade, keep it coming!

There is no doubt that the Cavs press the point of getting Love involved early in the game.
That is very important for 2 reasons... obviously to spread the floor and open the paint, but also as a threat later in the game when things start to open up... he is deadly when the Cavs are pushing the ball and the defense isn't quite set. When the D isn't quite set, it tends to collapse towards the basket, further opening the 3 pt line, and Love trails in a few seconds behind the first push and has an open look very very often.

As an aside, early in the season the Cavs did look to set up Love, but his shot wasn't falling. Then there were reports that he needs to be fed inside first... so for a number of games he was getting fed on the left block frequently right out of the tipoff.
Then his outside shot started to fall, and it seems like now early in the game LeBron is looking for him on the wings... and its been working. Seems like every game recently where the Cavs have roared off to a quick big lead, Love is in the middle of it raining 3's.

If I'm on D, I want to make sure my D doesn't let Love get involved at all early in the game. Stick tight to him, deny the pass to him, let slow starting Kyrie have to do something or force LeBron to take charge... which he really doesn't want to do either. Andy of Shawn might get some looks, but they aren't going to be the focal point for the team to jump out to a double digit lead at the start of the game.

 

[Douglar]

I thought Lloyd's comments about how Kevin Love has scored best in the 1st quarters for the last several years is interesting, regardless of Minnesota or Cleveland. Love's hot scoring starts might not be a Blatt/Lebron/Irving thing at all. It might just be a Kevin Love thing. Get him his shots early because his stroke is on when he's fresh. After that, it's a mixed bag. It is what it is.

I know it is not a zero-sum game. Changing shots over to higher percentage shooters is almost always going to change that players shooting percentage. But things improve if we could get Waiters to stop taking shots like a storm trooper in the 2nd & 3rd quarters as soon as he gets one foot inside the 3pt arc.

Defense? I don't think there are any surprises here, are there? Varejao and Marion at the top. Waiters and the rookie at the bottom.

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[Tornicade]

I don't know what to see. Mind explaining?

For some things i like to post the numbers without the stats. without explaining what i see because then the discussion centers around my conclusions and the stats get ignored..

The chart your referencing is a measurment of stats performed by lineup.
there is Thompson and Love without AV, Av and Love without thompson and Thompson and Av without Love (small sample size)

The stats themselves are pretty self explanatory one part is a measurment of the the teams production with those guys on or off and the other is a measurement of the opponents production while same players are on or off.

Points per play gives you a number of how many plays a team had divided by total points. Assist % gives you a glimpse on ball movement.
so when Love and Thompson are on the court the team scores 1.2 points per play and allow 1.08 while Love and AV are producing 1.06 points per play while allowing 1.06 points per play.

so production wise the numbers support Thompson and Love work well offensively and the defensive difference is nominal. 600 possesions vs 700 possessions is good comparison sample. as it shows Thompson isnt just reaping the benefits of being out there against opposing teams backups.

I also took a look at love on with Thompson and AV off.. essentially playing Center.
The production on both ends is really good but with only a 33 minute sample. its more of a suggestion to try it more than play Love at center !.

There some odd things as well. you would think the Cavs would be more effective with the 67% team assist rate that AV brings. but that isnt the case.

also NBA wowy measures shot distance to which i didnt include. there was also a measurable difference in that stat.