Cavaliers Eight Game Progress Report
The Cleveland Cavaliers have started the season 6-2, tied for the fifth best record in the league. My newest article at CavsNews.com looks at how they are performing in various categories (6/17/15 edit: the link to CavsNews.com no longer works, so I have posted the original article below):
The Cavs have
a 6-2 record after their 99-93 win versus Milwaukee
on Tuesday night. The Cavs are in first place in the Central Division, a half
game ahead of Detroit; the Cavs have the third best record in the East and are
tied for the fifth best record in the league. Obviously, it is still early but
the Cavs look a lot better than they did last year at this time when injuries
and holdouts contributed to a 4-4 start and a 10-14 record after 24 games
before the team’s performance improved down the stretch. With nearly 10% of
their regular season schedule completed, here is how the Cavs measure up so far
in several key areas:
Defense: The Cavs rank fifth in defensive
field goal percentage (.419), fifth in point differential (6.6) and are tied
for sixth in points allowed (93.0). Last year, the Cavs ranked 11th
in defensive field goal percentage, 16th in point differential and
ninth in points allowed; those rankings are deceptively low because by the end
of the season when the team was at full strength the Cavs were playing much
better defense than they did in the first couple months. Still, it seems safe
to say that the Cavs are a better defensive team this season than last season.
Rebounding: The Cavs are fifth in rebounding
differential (4.1). Last season, the Cavs ranked first in this category with
roughly the same average (4.2). Despite the numerous personnel changes made in
the past year, the Cavs remain one of the best rebounding teams in the league.
Offense: The Cavs rank fifth in field goal
percentage (.467) and ninth in scoring (99.6 ppg). Last season, the Cavs ranked
28th in field goal percentage (.439) and 24th in scoring
(96.4 ppg). Clearly, offense is the area in which the Cavs have made the most
improvement. LeBron James (see below) is performing at a very high level. Newly
acquired point guard Mo Williams is shooting poorly from the field (.408) but
he ranks third on the team in scoring (14.4 ppg) and his speed and ballhandling
skills have helped the Cavs play at a faster pace. Zydrunas Ilgauskas (15.5
ppg, .523 field goal percentage), Delonte West (10.3 ppg, .556 field goal
percentage) and Anderson Varejao (8.8 ppg, .651 field goal percentage) round
out the team’s top five scorers and are each shooting very well from the field.
On the other hand, Daniel Gibson (8.3 ppg, .357 field goal percentage) and
Wally Szczerbiak (6.4 ppg, .429 field goal percentage) are struggling to find
their long distance shooting touch.
LeBron James: James is leading the league in
scoring with a 29.8 ppg average, nearly identical to the 30.0 ppg he produced
last year while winning his first scoring title. James’ field goal percentage
(.485) is virtually identical with last year’s number, his rebounding and
steals are up slightly, while his apg average is down slightly. He is shooting
a career-high .776 from the free throw line, a welcome change—if he can
maintain that number throughout the season. Unfortunately, he is shooting a
career-low .200 (6-30) from three point range. So far, Coach Mike Brown has
been true to his plan of reducing the wear and tear on James by limiting his
minutes; James is averaging a career-low 36.9 mpg, down from 40.4 mpg last
season. As even a casual observer realizes, James is a remarkably productive
and consistent player. His final averages this season will likely be very
similar to his current averages in most categories. The two areas that most
bear watching are, as usual, free throw shooting and three point shooting. In
the ideal scenario, James will maintain his current free throw shooting pace
while moving his three point shooting percentage above the .300 mark.
Labels: Anderson Varejao, Cleveland Cavaliers, Delonte West, LeBron James, Mo Williams, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
posted by David Friedman @ 4:03 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home