Everyone wants to be like the Spurs, right? They've been the model of everything for the past 20 years, and only recently has anyone come up with a style of play that San Antonio has had to adjust for, and theoretically, the Warriors can't sustain this for several years.
One of the best things San Antonio does is rotate players. Greg Popovich is a master of getting guys minutes, balancing rotations, and creating/finding matchups that work. The Spurs have 35 lineups that average 4 minutes together per game, and frankly it feels like a lot more than that. They rotate their guys early and often, keeping people fresh and keeping starters on the floor at almost all times. What Pop does so well is pull a starter about 5 minutes in and reinsert that starter earlier than his opponents.
Imagine if Cleveland tried this. The way they're currently going, LeBron and JR Smith play the whole first quarter, with Kyrie, Love, and whoever's at center often playing about 9 minutes in the 1st. Kyrie sometimes comes out at 6 and Mozgov sometimes comes out at 6, but it's not consistent. Kyrie usually goes back in to start the 2nd while LeBron rests. Additionally, Love returns a few minutes into the 2nd as well.
Here's where the problem lies: The first thing Ty Lue talked about doing as head coach was to get Love more elbow touches and to get him leading the second unit offensively. Lue has been in for about 20 games and seems to have abandoned that plan in favor of Kyrie leading the 2nd unit while Delly gets more time with James. Is it because Love has been shooting terribly? His shooting numbers are down, that's true, but factor in that he's only taking *wide open* shots and the numbers are downright scary.
Adding to the issue here is that LBJ and JR are often slated for the whole 3rd quarter, and with them for long stretches is Tristan Thompson. Lue is not doing a good job of getting people in and out, meaning that if it's a tight game, LeBron plays the whole 3rd and most of the 4th (~40-42 minutes in a close game) while Tristan has occasionally played 16-18 consecutive minutes in the 2nd half. And with Irving getting 3rd quarter rest and starting the 4th, he's in position to be sluggish by crunch-time because he'll need a minute to get his legs under him.
I don't get it.
There are plenty of statistics to back up these suspicions, but my work computer is not staying connected to the internet for long enough stretches to get all the info I want. The point is that there are rotation issues at play for the Cavs.
The one explanation that holds water is just that Lue is trying to really see what kind of chemistry each group has under his tutelage, but we're down to the final month of the season, so it's time to settle into a groove. Preferably a groove that doesn't wear down your studs so they're too tired by the final four minutes.
In fairness to coach Lue, the 2nd thing he talked about was picking up the pace of the offense. While the pace numbers have not improved enough to make a difference, the team is scoring much more efficiently, so I can't complain about it - they're over 110 per 100 possessions since he took over for Blatt.
One of the best things San Antonio does is rotate players. Greg Popovich is a master of getting guys minutes, balancing rotations, and creating/finding matchups that work. The Spurs have 35 lineups that average 4 minutes together per game, and frankly it feels like a lot more than that. They rotate their guys early and often, keeping people fresh and keeping starters on the floor at almost all times. What Pop does so well is pull a starter about 5 minutes in and reinsert that starter earlier than his opponents.
Imagine if Cleveland tried this. The way they're currently going, LeBron and JR Smith play the whole first quarter, with Kyrie, Love, and whoever's at center often playing about 9 minutes in the 1st. Kyrie sometimes comes out at 6 and Mozgov sometimes comes out at 6, but it's not consistent. Kyrie usually goes back in to start the 2nd while LeBron rests. Additionally, Love returns a few minutes into the 2nd as well.
Here's where the problem lies: The first thing Ty Lue talked about doing as head coach was to get Love more elbow touches and to get him leading the second unit offensively. Lue has been in for about 20 games and seems to have abandoned that plan in favor of Kyrie leading the 2nd unit while Delly gets more time with James. Is it because Love has been shooting terribly? His shooting numbers are down, that's true, but factor in that he's only taking *wide open* shots and the numbers are downright scary.
Adding to the issue here is that LBJ and JR are often slated for the whole 3rd quarter, and with them for long stretches is Tristan Thompson. Lue is not doing a good job of getting people in and out, meaning that if it's a tight game, LeBron plays the whole 3rd and most of the 4th (~40-42 minutes in a close game) while Tristan has occasionally played 16-18 consecutive minutes in the 2nd half. And with Irving getting 3rd quarter rest and starting the 4th, he's in position to be sluggish by crunch-time because he'll need a minute to get his legs under him.
I don't get it.
There are plenty of statistics to back up these suspicions, but my work computer is not staying connected to the internet for long enough stretches to get all the info I want. The point is that there are rotation issues at play for the Cavs.
The one explanation that holds water is just that Lue is trying to really see what kind of chemistry each group has under his tutelage, but we're down to the final month of the season, so it's time to settle into a groove. Preferably a groove that doesn't wear down your studs so they're too tired by the final four minutes.
In fairness to coach Lue, the 2nd thing he talked about was picking up the pace of the offense. While the pace numbers have not improved enough to make a difference, the team is scoring much more efficiently, so I can't complain about it - they're over 110 per 100 possessions since he took over for Blatt.
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