CHICAGO – On Friday afternoon, in the midst of a three-game losing streak due to a defensive setback, the Cleveland Cavaliers gathered inside the Flames Athletic Center on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus for film sessions and practices.
Coach JB Bickerstaff wanted to get a message across.
It wasn’t a passionate speech. I don’t scold the players. He wanted to make them aware of something they might not have known – in a reaffirming tone.
So he showed them the NBA defensive rankings. headed by Cleveland. Above the championship contenders are Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Memphis, Boston and Brooklyn.
Bickerstaff said Saturday, “I think that’s something our comrades should be proud of.” That’s who we are. It’s all about our defense. It has to be every night to be successful.”
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During the Cavaliers’ season-long five-game losing skid in November, the stifling defensive First Team temporarily abandoned its identity. Not only did this slip prompt Bickerstaff to question the group’s mentality, but he called them fat cats instead of junkyard dogs.Communication, accountability, attention to detail.
With back-to-back losses to Toronto, Brooklyn and Indiana, the losing skid going into Saturday’s showdown with Chicago was eerily familiar.
In those three games, the Cavaliers gave up an average of 126 points while their opponents shot 54% from the field and 57% from 3-pointers. He has 56 triples in Toronto, Brooklyn and Indiana combined. But Bickerstaff didn’t let his voice panic during filming on Friday. He didn’t overreact, either, to his three-game streak by three playoff hopefuls. It wasn’t time for him to start re-evaluating his defensive strategy, trying to limit his opponent’s 3-point attempts. He was confident, calm, and encouraging.
“Keep your defenses solid. You have to decide what you want to live with,” Bickerstaff explained. “Teams will make a lot of 3s. Teams want to play with a tempo and a fast pace. You can’t tell your opponent that you can’t take 3s. Where on the floor are these 3s allowed?” and try to stay out of the corners as much as possible and see how hard these shots are contested and how well you protect the rim.Your defense is basically anti-analysis , see how many contested 3s or mid-range shots you can make over the break while keeping your team away from the free-throw line.
“If you don’t defend anything in this league, you’re going to fall into something every night. There are so many teams playing so many different things, or having different people, different strengths, that every night they’re playing. If you try to match the strengths of that team, nothing will work. not give a chance to
Tracking numbers for a team on a three-game losing streak showed that their opponents had been incredibly lucky, shooting well above expectations for both their open and contested looks.
Bickerstaff believed that as long as the Cavaliers remained true to their defensive principles, these numbers would eventually stabilize and many of the issues could be fixed.
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“I think it has a lot to do with everybody coming to terms with it and embracing it,” said Bickerstaff. It’s not easy to play great defense on the .It’s hard when you have to work hard not only physically but also mentally.But they embraced trying to do their best.”
Few markers predict better results than Cleveland’s nightly defensive ratings.
The Cavs have a very low win percentage of 102.7 points and a loss of 118.1 points.
“This is what makes us unique,” said Bickerstaff. “We are not some other team that runs up and down, or rides threes, or plays isolated basketball. We are made different. We have to embrace being unique and playing a unique style of basketball in today’s game.”
The Cavaliers did that Saturday night.
They held Chicago to 102 points. This is the lowest total since the December 16 loss against New York. After a ferocious first quarter shooting (the Bulls shooting 60.9% of his), Cleveland held him down 25-of-58 (43.1%) in his last three quarters. Leading scorers DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine were both held back, below season averages in points and efficiency. The Bulls made a comeback mainly with aggressive off-the-dribbling attacks and free throws tripping to his line, with only one goal he scored in his last five minutes.
Without their usual starters Darius Garland (sprained right thumb) and Evan Mobley (sore right ankle) and Donovan Mitchell’s offensive funk missing four games in a row, the Cavs are the only ones to finish 2022 on a high note. I knew my chances were in the defensive end. .
Despite dominating most of the game and leading the entire second half, Cleveland’s fortunes on Saturday fit right into the final play.
Last stop.
With 5.1 seconds remaining, Bickerstaff gathered the players on the bench at the final timeout. He repeated what he said the day before.
We are the best defensive team in the league.
When the Cavaliers beat the Huddle, they knew where the ball was going. DeRozan has been a heavyweight manufacturer throughout his career. He’s already had some of them this season. He was Chicago’s leading scorer that night.
DeRozan collected a pass on the right wing and Lebart closed in on him. But then DeRozan shook his left shoulder subtly before spinning to the right. DeRozan dribbled to the baseline, but Mitchell chose to ignore Alex Caruso and come over and help Levert instead.
Together, LeVert and Mitchell pushed DeRozan into a difficult, contested fallaway jumper and didn’t drop it.
Forget Cleveland’s ugly 4th quarter offense. He shot 37.5% for just 19 points and had 7 of his 21 total turnovers. Forget him scoring drought over 4 minutes to end the game. Forget Mitchell’s uncharacteristic performance, which he later called “s—–.” Forget the fact that the Cavaliers tormented themselves more than they needed to and nearly wasted a 14-point advantage.
Cleveland’s defense to the rescue. Also.
“Coaches have been preaching that for the last few days,” LeVert said. 103-102 win“We are the number one defense in the league. Even so, I can really say that we still have a chance to win the game, especially towards the second half.
“Sometimes you need a win,” Mitchell added. “Our defense continuously gets us where we need to be. Kallis did some defensive things I didn’t expect from him. I didn’t know you could guard with Method.On the offensive side there are trials and tribulations, but on the defensive side you have to continuously wear your hat.”
Last week, the Cavaliers were involved in another team’s game. They tried to run with the uptempo Pacers. I tried to beat the Starry Sky Nets. Let Toronto’s physical dictate the outcome of that matchup. There’s even been some inside chit-chat lately about playing faster on off-misses, doing more transitions, and trying to reduce offensive pressure while looking for easier, faster shots.
But the Cavaliers are not. That’s not who they want to be. That’s not why they became one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
Before the game, Bickerstaff was asked by cleveland.com if he envisioned the Cavaliers turning into an attacking team at some point. he didn’t hesitate.
“No,” he said before grinning. “As long as I’m here”
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