Manny Wilson, Founder of The Run USA
The Cleveland Cavaliers continue their home game winning streak (7) moving toward a record of 11-1 when playing at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (16-9 Overall). Here are a few Takeaways from the latest win over the Los Angeles Lakers, 116-102.
Spacing the floor offensively…
The Cavaliers did a flawless job spacing the floor for guards in pursuit of attacking the rim. A flawless job meaning more than the basic drive-kick offensive flow. The positioning of the Cavaliers offense led to easy buckets repeatedly. Anytime LaVert, Mitchell or Garland moved into the painted area, Lakers defenders were stuck thinking about stepping up to defend the shot or to sit back and defend Jared Allen.
This simple understanding from bigs Jared Allen and Evan Mobley led to dominance in the painted area. The Cavaliers scored a season high of 70 points in the paint. Yes, this is worth a cheer, however, Cavaliers fans must remain mindful of the fact Lakers played without their premier defensive anchor, Anthony Davis. It's without questions the paint protector would have certainly impacted the amount of points allowed in the paint. Overall, the Cavaliers head coach J.B Bickerstaff made the proper adjustment of attacking the paint and taking advantage of the Lakers' presented weakness.
Mid-Range game ain't dead...
Perimeter threats like Mitchell and Garland took advantage of easy mid-range looks following a barrage of paint buckets. Forty of the combined 64 points from Mitchell & Garland came from inside the arc. The Cavaliers seemed to have a clear understanding of taking what's offered from the defense. In a league where most teams strategize to shoot from three as much as possible, The Cavs strategy in this matchup was different than typical as they exploited the Lakers inside of the acr.
"Can I please have a 43piece McNugget?"
Donovan Mitchell could not be stopped in this game against the Lakers. Heat check after heat check until the clock hit zero. Mitchell finished the game with 43pts while shooting above 50% (17-27) from the field.
Scoring 29 of his 43pts in the second half, the All-Star guard also grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out five assists. With little over 3 minutes left in the game, Mitchell capped off his phenomenal performance with a side step 3-point dagger putting this battle to rest. The Lakers had no answer for him scoring on all 3 levels on the floor.
The Workhorse = Jared Allen
Jared Allen had a monster game in the absence of Lakers big, Anthony Davis. Allen finished the first half with an incredible 22pts 7rebs and 2stl while shooting 90% from the field. Last night was his first career 20+ point half. Jared Allen also displayed a great amount of energy on both sides of the ball that propelled the Cavaliers to a great start in the right direction. Cleaning the glass and contributing to the offensive flow will benefit the Cavs in a huge way through the course of the season as they match up against dominant centers in the Eastern Conference. Last night wasn't much of a 'test of toughness' in the paint but the performance is definitely something to build from.
The Cavaliers have won each game this season when Allen has at least 8 or more field goal attempts in the paint. Spacing Jared Allen can relieve scoring pressure from wings and guards as long as scoring from the paint is consistent. To elaborate, Cavs should NOT look to let Jared Allen isolate in the paint...Only easy clean up buckets. Drop offs, Alley-Oops, Back door cuts & Put backs. Eight or more field goal attempts will only derive from guards staying mindful of including the big who's able to finish strong around the rim.
Next Up:
The Cavaliers will go on to possibly extend their win streak at Rocket Mortgage Field House as they take on the Sacramento Kings Friday, December 19th at 7:30pm EST.
Follow Manny on twitter & instagram @IamMannyWilson .
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