A lot of talk about the Cavs being bad lately. I went to the Q on Saturday night - and indeed the team looked terrible. All four quarters felt like slightly a more polished version of the games I used to go and watch at the Cage on West 4th Street, while I was in college at NYU. In other words, this was pick up quality basketball without the shenanigans (or the highlight plays).
With that in mind, here are a few notable stats on the Cavaliers - via Hoopdata - which you won’t read in your morning newspaper.
Offensive Efficiency (Points Scored Per 100 Possessions): 102.1 (21st)
Defensive Efficiency (Points Given Up Per 100 Possessions): 105.8 (8th)
Efficiency Differential: -3.7 (23rd)
Pace: 95.2 (20th)
Field Goal Percentage at the Rim: 57.7% (24th)
3P Field Goal Percentage: 54.4% (13th)
Opponents Field Goal Attempts at the Rim Per Game: 22.6 (13th)
Opponents 3P Field Goal Attempts: 17.4 (11th)
Total Rebound Rate (Percentage of Total Available Rebounds Grabbed): 47.99 (25th)
Defensive Rebound Rate: 72.26 (21st)
Offensive Rebound Rate: 23.13 (28th)
True Shooting % (Shooting Efficiency, Adjusted for 2P, 3P, and FT): 53.7% (19th)
Assist Rate (Percentage of Possessions Ending in an Assist): 19.74 (14th)
Turnover Rate (Percentage of Possessions Ending in a Turnover): 13.28 (8th)
Ok then, briefly, what does this small sample of small sample statistics tell us?
The Cavs are playing very good, top ten defense, despite not rebounding well at all (as the 21st ranked Defensive Rebounding Rate explains). At the same time, the offense is in the bottom third, even though they aren’t turning the ball over much. This is a product of poor offensive rebounding and terrible finishing at the rim. Assists are average. Pace remains slow. And 3P FG% is nowhere near what it was last year, which is a good stat to throw out at anyone who claims it doesn’t matter how players on a team fit together.
We’ll see how things continue to develop.
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