Weekly Cleveland Cavaliers Breakdown

_{Photo credits: Erik Drost (Cleveland Cavaliers), CC BY 2.0}

Cavs Continue Mediocrity

Last Wednesday, the Cavs started their West-bound road trip with a nice win over the Denver Nuggets. Lebron had another amazing game, totaling 39 points, and scoring the final nine to close out the 4th quarter. Larry Nance was a presence again, with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 steals. I believe Nance will really blossom come playoff time.

What followed after that was some pretty uninspired basketball against both LA teams, including an embarrassing effort against the Lakers. While Larry Nance, Jr. has been playing some really solid minutes at center, he is not a traditional big, size or strength-wise. This showed in the two LA games against DeAndre Jordon and Julius Randle, where both of them had monster games against the newest Cavalier big. This isn't as much of a concern for the playoffs, as the top teams in the East don't have a high-quality traditional centers, but I see the Cavs finding some extra minutes for Ante Zizic in the near future to shore up the defensive paint.

The Cavaliers also let Isaiah Thomas look like a basketball player again, somehow. Thomas has been vocal about criticizing Cleveland since he was traded several weeks ago, but his play up to this game left everyone to chuckle. His 20 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds was his best game in quite a while, and his constant barking at the Cavalier bench apparently got to them.

Last night's game against the Phoenix Suns was the definition of a "regroup" game. The Suns are not a good team, and even with some key contributors out, the Cavs completely handled them from start to finish. The Cavs jumped out to a 38-18 lead by the end of the first quarter, and didn't look back. LeBron locked up his 14th triple double of the year, ending the night with 28 points, 11 assists, and 13 rebounds. Nice efforts by Kyle Korver and Jordan Clarkson helped power the Cavs, and 11 points off the bench for Zizic was a nice surprise.

Back to Even Not Good Enough

As has been the case since the trade deadline, the Cavs are playing .500 ball, which is not going to cut it as we head towards the playoffs. They need to be more consistent and develop an identity with these newer players in the rotation. Getting Kevin Love back into the lineup next week is definitely going to change some things, as well, hopefully for the better. I'll be interested to see how and if he and Nance play together. I'm not concerned with the first round, regardless of if they get home-court advantage or not, but Toronto, Boston, and even the Pacers and Sixers have looked a lot better in than past years, and might bring a challenge to the Cavs 4th straight Eastern Conference championship.

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_{Author: @jaymesbawned
Editor: @bacchist}

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