A Sunday afternoon game that showcased the importance of match ups and coaching strategy … and the Cavs lose by 6.
Okay, okay, so it wasn’t all about the different line-ups Coldstone and Stan Van Gundy ran out on the floor. The Cavs got almost nothing from their guards (Mo, Delonte, Boobie, Jawad, and Parker were a combined 5-26 ), LeBron had problems attacking the rim all game because he didn’t feel like he was getting calls, and he only scored 3 points in the 4th quarter. 5 turnovers and 6 assists from the King were not a highlight either.
The Cavs were also terrible from the line (64% with 9 misses). And although the defensive efficiency numbers aren’t up yet, Orlando shot 50.7% from the field - so the defense wasn’t particularly stellar. Specifically, Mo Williams and Anthony Parker got massacred in the pick and roll by Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson down the stretch.
Coldstone continues to struggle with his rotations. Jamario Moon got his second DNP in three games, after a weak performance on Friday in Charlotte (1 assist, 1 rebound, 2-5 from the field with one 3P), and Jawad Williams was back in the lineup. Anthony Parker played too many minutes again (26.5), given how little he produces, and Mo Williams illustrated why he’s a detriment to his team when he’s not making shots -although he does deserve credit for 5 rebounds, defensively he remains a liability.
The Cavs were able to survive some terrible guard play by getting a 90% shooting day from Shaq, and an excellent second half from Antawn Jamison, but the 5 and the 4 spots were a mess thanks to Coldstone’s poor lineup conceptualization.
For instance, as we’ve been told over and over by the media and the front office, Jamison was brought in to stretch the floor from the PF position, the one lineup dynamic the Cavs previously didn’t have. So what did Coldstone do in the first half? Repeatedly use 5-4 combos of Shaq-Glitch and Andy-Glitch, while putting Jamison at the 3, essentially replacing Moon / Jawad, and completely negating Jamison’s ability to stretch the floor from the PF position.
The big shift came in the second half when Jamison started at the 4, and we started to see immediate, positive effects - so Coldstone did figure it out, but like most things rotation / lineup wise, it took him longer than one would have hoped.
What we saw come to fruition in the moments prior to this second half starting lineup was vindication of Van Gundy’s strategy, which was on display in the last game before the All Star break: make Varejao and Hickson beat you.
Anyone on the planet who complains about the Jamison trade should keep that in mind - and also not forget that the Cavs, without Jamison, would’ve gotten torched in this game - precisely for all of the reasons I’ve written about in the past. When Mo isn’t making shots, the Cavs have no secondary scorer. Sometimes they need a guy to get 20-25. Jamison didn’t get that (he had 19), but he certainly helped.
Finally, one last point. There is no such thing as a “Curse of Z,” which I’m already seeing bandied about in Cleveland, presumably because the Cavs have now lost 3 straight games for the first time in two years. The problem with that is the following:
Coldstone sucks at quickly making rotation adjustments.
The Cavs beat up on (mostly) below average teams in putting together their 13 game winning streak. This is simply the schedule coming back around and evening out.
The team is now playing high quality opponents at an inopportune time, sort of like how the Cavs caught Orlando on the second night of a back-to-back in their previous two meetings.
Those are contributing reasons to these losses, as are things like Carter and Nelson taking good shots in the 4th quarter, unlike what we witnessed a week and a half ago.
Don’t get me wrong, Z would’ve helped - he makes the Cavs a lot more versatile at the 5 and the 4 positions because he’s a 5 that can spread the floor (and therefore team up well with Andy or Hickson). Plus, he helps when Shaq to not get in foul trouble, etc. etc. etc.
Z is valuable for games like this. And it looks like he may be bought out by Monday or Tuesday. But a war may be coming in that regard, given what Mark Heisler of the LA Times is reporting.
Leon Powe plays Tuesday against New Orleans. More rotation adjustment in the very near future…
