The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cavs will look to Hood for scoring punch
Coach Tyronn Lue will be counting on Rodney Hood as a spark in the Cavs’ offense this season: “Rodney needs to be aggressive and confident in his game, getting to the basket and free throw line.”
The new-look Cavaliers are counting on consistent point production from Rodney Hood as they begin the 2018-19 season and life without LeBron James.
Hood will get the start at shooting guard when the Cavs visit Toronto on Oct. 17 to face the Raptors in the regular-season opener for both teams.
“I’m really confident scoring the ball. I’ve done that since I’ve been in the league,” Hood said after practice late last week at Cleveland Clinic Courts.
In four NBA seasons, the 25-year-old Mississippi native is averaging 13.0 points while shooting 42 percent overall and 36.9 percent from 3-point range.
Hood, selected by Utah in the first round of the 2014 draft out of Duke, was averaging a career-high 16.8 points for the Jazz last season when he was traded to the Cavs on Feb. 8 in a complicated, three-team deal that sent Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose to Utah.
The 6-foot-8, 205-pound Hood at first fit in well with the Cavs. In 21 games, 11 starts, he averaged 10.8 points.
Come the playoffs, though, Hood’s production dropped off sharply to 5.4 points per game as he fell out of Cavs coach Tyronn Lue’s rotation.
One theory is that Hood was intimidated by the demands of playing alongside James and lost his confidence as the Cavs advanced in the playoffs to their fourth straight appearance in the NBA Finals.
In July, James left the Cavs as an unrestricted free agent to sign a fouryear, $153.3 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Hood accepted a oneyear, $3.4 million qualifying offer with the Cavs on Sept. 8. Since the start of training camp, Lue has identified Hood as a player from whom points must come if the Cavs hope to remain a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.
“We’re looking at him and Kevin (Love) to be our scorers on the first unit,” Lue said. “Rodney needs to be aggressive and confident in his game, getting to the basket and free throw line.”
Hood didn’t play much in the Cavs’ four preseason games, but he showed flashes of assertiveness with a smooth, left-handed shooting stroke and slashing drives to the basket.
“I don’t have a (scoring) number in mind for this season, but I know I can be better than I was last year before I got here,” Hood said.
Hood credited Lue with instilling a collective mindset during training camp as the Cavs move on from having James as the dominant presence at both ends of the floor and in the locker room.
“T Lue has done a great job asking us to be ourselves,” Hood said. “We have a lot of guys on this team who can score. From game to game, it will be about playing the right way and moving the ball. Different guys will put up numbers on different nights.
“Defensively is where we’ll make our mark. We’ve got to be tough and grimy,” Hood added. “Offensively, if we play unselfish, the sky is the limit.”
Hood said some patience will be required as the Cavs learn to play together and settle into a rotation.
“We have to go through some bumps and bruises,” Hood said. “Every single NBA season, you go through that. We’ll see how we react to it.
“We’ve been working hard the last two or three weeks, gelling and getting some chemistry,” he added. “It’s good to see different line-ups and how guys play with each other. We’re getting better every day and looking forward to the first game.”
The Cavs will play their home opener on Oct. 21, hosting the Atlanta Hawks at Quicken Loans Arena. Tipoff is 6 p.m.