Cavs dangerously living and dying on threes
This was supposed to be a column praising the Cleveland Cavaliers and their rookie coach David Blatt for their adjustments and analytical prowess. Since the trades that revamped the roster, it felt as if they had evolved into a Houston-East type of analytical dream shooting nothing but three-pointers and layups. Upon further review, however, that’s not entirely the case. The Cavs have become a team that relies heavily on the threepoint shot. When they’re falling it’s great. And when they’re not, Blatt and LeBron James disagree over how many threes are too many. The three-point shot can be a terrific weapon, particularly on a team with so many capable shooters. But in the Cavs’ case, they seem to be coming at the expense of high percentage, close-range shots. From the start of the season until January 5, when Dion Waiters was traded away, the Cavs ranked eighth in the league in shots at the rim. They averaged 28.5 shots in the restricted area, while taking 15 three-pointers per game above the break – basically everything but corner three-pointers. That ranked 20th in the league. From January 15 until now, when the season began to turn with the win at the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cavs have plunged to 19th in the NBA in shots from the restricted area (25 per game). Their three-point attempts above the break, meanwhile, have soared to 23.3. That’s the most in the league during that time. All of the other shooting zones have remained relatively the same. The biggest discrepancy is easily inside looks and three-pointers above the break. It’s hard to dispute the results: Their 20-5 mark during that time is second-best in the NBA and three of those five losses came with at least one member of the Big Three out of the lineup. But those two figures – shots from the restricted area and shots behind the break of the threepoint line – seem to be related. And the gap is widening. In their six most recent games prior to Saturday’s home date with the Phoenix Suns, the Cavs averaged 23.7 shots in the restricted area and 25.2 three-pointers above the break. What’s it all mean? Maybe nothing, maybe something. Blatt said in the preseason he thought 30 three-pointers were too many, yet the Cavs have been taking 31 per game since the start of the year. And when they shot 13-for-38 on three-pointers in Friday’s loss to the Hawks, Blatt was disappointed with the offense just as he was when the Cavs shot 12-for-40 in the loss to the Rockets. “I really wish we’d have rotated the ball better and attacked more, even from the weak side of the defense,” Blatt said Friday. “I thought we overshot the three again tonight certainly.” James disagreed. “We got open looks,” he said. “How many free throws did we take? Thirty-three? You play the game. You don’t worry about the stats, you play the game.” To James’ point, the Cavs have been in the top 10 in free-throw attempts all season, which indicates guys attacking the basket. Since January 15, they’re fifth in the league in free throws attempted. If James seems dismissive about the discrepancy in shot locations, perhaps it’s because he has won this way before. When the Heat edged the San Antonio Spurs for James’ second ring in 2013, they ranked in the bottom six in the league in restricted area shots and top six in three-pointers attempted. The Cavs, apparently, are trying to win the same way. (Akron Beacon Journal/TNS)