ATLANTA: Thirty-three thoughts for 33 free throws in a 106-97 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in a potential postseason preview…
1. When the Miami Heat formed their power team in 2010-11, they went 0-3 during the regular season against the Chicago Bulls.
2. The Bulls won 62 games that year and the Heat won 58. The Bulls moved to 4-0 in the matchup when they won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Then the Heat won the next four to win the East and advance to the NBA Finals.
3. See where this is going? The Hawks went 3-1 against the Cavs during this regular season, but no one left the visitors locker room at Philips Arena trembling at the thought of coming back here in the postseason.
4. That’s not meant to disrespect the Hawks, who have done a magnificent job this season and are on pace to win 65-66 games. There are a lot of good people in that organization who have done a great job of persevering through what was a difficult and uncomfortable off-season. The Cavs, by comparison, are on pace to win around 50 games. But this was just the second game they lost when the Big Three have been healthy and available since the 12-game winning streak began in mid-January that turned around the season.
5. It was a little surprising to see the Hawks blitzing the Cavs so much in pick-and-rolls. LeBron James said it was the first time the Hawks defended him that way this season, while the Hawks insisted they’ve been doing it all season. The first meeting in Cleveland was such an annihilation (127-94 Cavs win) that it was over by halftime. The Hawks similarly destroyed the Cavs in the second game and then James sat out the third game. So this was the only game in the series since the trades for J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov.
6. James conceded all the blitzing (otherwise referred to as trapping) caught the Cavs a bit off guard. The Hawks blitzed on the majority of pick-and-rolls, sending the big as a second defender to try and force the ball out of the hands of James and Kyrie Irving. It certainly worked, since James committed nine turnovers and Irving had five. James has two categories for his turnovers: careless and aggressive. He felt tonight more than half of them were careless.
7. “I sucked,” James said of his turnovers. “I’ve got to be better.”
8. James has been saying that about his turnovers much of the season and they’re not getting better. The Cavs have 18 games left. If he plays in 15 of them, at his current pace of 4+ turnovers per game, James will set a career high in turnovers. His three years with the most turnovers are his rookie year, his first year in Miami and now his first year back. All three were new situations that required an adjustment. But the turnovers are getting a bit out of hand.
9. Back to the defensive schemes. The Heat for years blitzed opponents in pick-and-rolls just like this. It’s difficult to sustain and it takes a special collection of defenders to pull it off. One of the counters is for bigs to be aware of it and be ready for early passes since they should be wide open. Kevin Love, theoretically, should be able to destroy defenses that blitz the Cavs in pick-and-rolls. But Love shot 4 for 11 tonight, including 4 for 10 on 3-pointers.
10. The Hawks have the capability to blitz because they have agile bigs like Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Mike Scott. It’s just curious they would do this now rather than hold it for the postseason.
11. “A lot of teams don’t have the ability to do it,” James said. “It was the first time they used that game plan on us, it kind of caught us by surprise. Down the road if we get to that point (of seeing the Hawks again in the playoffs), we’ll be all right.”
12. It took 64 games but David Blatt finally earned his first technical. (James later received his third technical of the season, but is confident it will be rescinded when the league reviews it.)
13. Blatt was upset over an offensive foul called on James and had to be restrained by assistant coach Tyronn Lue. But in his explanation Blatt said he was upset over all the hard hits James has been taking.
14. “I just think LeBron is getting hit, and getting hit every time he goes to the basket, and half of them are ignored,” he said. “Because of the strength and the power he brings to his drives, it’s easy to overlook a lot of stuff.”
15. James was belted again tonight going to the basket by DeMarre Carroll, but I didn’t think it was dirty or flagrant. It was just a good, hard foul. Carroll even made a play on the ball. But when it comes on the heels of the Jonas Valanciunas takedown and the James Harden kick, all of these events are coming a little too close together.
16. “It does seem to be a trend,” Blatt said. “That’s going to happen now and again, but when it’s happening continually that’s worrisome. And it should be worrisome for everybody. Because there’s ways to defend guys and ways to defend guys physically, but there’s a limit and that limit needs to be recognized.”
17. Kyle Korver averaged 7.8 points in four games against the Cavs this season. He was a non-factor in each of the first three games and missed his first six shots Friday. Then he sank consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter that effectively ended the game. Korver’s shots were the first thing James pointed to in assessing the night.
18. “Kyle Korver changed the game,” James said. “We had him in check for the first three quarters but all he needs is a split second. That’s what changed the game.”
19. The Cavs’ terrible start to the night immediately altered Blatt’s rotation. While James normally leaves games midway through the first quarter, this time he played the entire first quarter and was forced to sit the first four minutes of the second. Similarly, the Cavs finally started defending the right way in the third quarter and made a little bit of a run, erasing the 10-point halftime deficit within five minutes and taking their first lead midway through the third quarter.
20. Rather than rest James, however, Blatt wanted to ride the momentum. So he left James in for the entire third quarter and the Cavs entered the fourth only down 75-73, but James needed a rest.
21. As a result, the Cavs’ lineup to start the fourth quarter was Irving, Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith, James Jones and Tristan Thompson. Within about the first three minutes, Korver banged a pair of 3s and the lead was back to 10. Blatt called a timeout and hurried James back into the game, but it didn’t matter. The lead swelled to 15 and the Cavs were done.
22. “We had the momentum,” Blatt said. “Had it been a different situation probably would’ve gotten him out earlier like I normally do. But the game was going well and going in our favor so we stayed with it, which worked for that period of time. But when he went out it really changed things.”
23. It’s worth noting that the Cavs’ last two opponents have each shot better than 50 percent. That hasn’t happened since that January West Coast trip when the Suns and Lakers did it. The Cavs simply haven’t been as good lately defensively. Part of it might just be fatigue since high-level defense requires a high level of energy and this marked their fourth game in six nights (with one more to come Saturday.) It could also be a lack of practice because the Cavs haven’t held one in two weeks.
24. “I think defensively we’ve been good for a long time and when we are we win a lot,” Blatt said. “When we’re less so then it’s hard for us in games like this. We’ve got to really be good defensively. I think that’s what defines us because generally our offense comes.”
25. The Cavs shot 13 for 38 on 3-pointers, which Blatt didn’t like and James didn’t seem to mind. The Cavs have now shot 36 or more 3-pointers in three of their last four games and they lost two of them.
26. “I really wish we’d have rotated the ball better and attacked more, even from the weak side of the defense,” Blatt said. “I thought we overshot the 3 again tonight certainly.”
27. James seemed to disagree. “We got open looks,” he said. “How many free throws did we take? 33? You play the game. You don’t worry about the stats, you play the game.”
28. I have to interrupt that quote because James is the guy studying the stat sheets at halftime and during timeouts. Continue…
29. “The ones we have to do a better job are the 19 turnovers, nine of them from me, 20 points off turnovers, 54 points in the paint,” James said. “You cut those in half and it’s a better game.”
30. The funniest part of the night was watching James trying to put his socks on. He played 40 minutes and was exhausted and didn’t feel like fighting to pull up the compression socks. So he called over his personal trainer, Mike Mancias, who also struggled getting them on. Good stuff. He only wears them on flights to try and decrease the swelling/inflammation in his legs.
31. I understand how stupid this is going to sound, but I’m even less convinced after tonight that the Hawks can beat the Cavs four times in a playoff series. The Cavs were awful early in the game, looking lethargic and disinterested in falling behind 36-19 after the first quarter. They didn’t adjust well to the Hawks’ blitzing defensive schemes and they were playing their fourth game in six nights while the Hawks were home resting the last two days. And yet the Cavs still had the lead (albeit briefly) in the third quarter.
32. The Hawks are a joy to watch. Their locker room is filled with a lot of good guys. They’re an easy team to like. But this was the only game between the two teams with the Cavs’ revamped look and roster. I just don’t see them beating LeBron four times in May.
33. The Suns are in town Saturday. I’m taking the night off for a family event. Marla Ridenour will be handling the game. Talk to you Tuesday from Dallas.