- Joined
- Apr 19, 2005
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I felt like Garland did a better job of making quick decisions. He is able to dribble out of the high pressure, but instead of stepping back and recalculation he immediately attacked again, and often found an open man or that floater afterwards.. He had some nice zippy assists and fewer wild throw turnovers.. He still slow walks, especially when we have a big lead, which may be why CPJ got 14 minutes..
- The NBA is a copycat league, and the Cavs are only going to see more pressure and more zone until they can beat it. Sure enough, the Hornets were periodically blitzing high pick-and-rolls and threw out some half court zone. After how well Miami’s pressure and zone worked, teams are going to use it until the Cavs prove they can beat it.
- And right now, I’m not so sure they can. Especially the high pressure, and especially with Garland. The way you beat that high pressure is quick passes out of it. It allows you to play 4 on 3 more efficiently, so long as your roll man can make the right decision. Too often Garland tries to beat the pressure with the dribble which only plays into the defense and mitigates the Cavs advantage. It also allows the back line defense more time to rotate over to cover for the high pressure. If you pass out of the pressure quick enough, you can catch the defense in a bad spot rotating.
- The Cavs are going to see plenty of this in the playoffs until they show they can beat it. Mobley and Allen are equally adept at being a roll-man playmaker. The question is can Garland get rid of it quick enough and can the Cavs shooters in the corners do enough damage to cause a change in defensive strategy. Thibs has historically dared those Cleveland role players to beat him, and Thibs has typically won.