Cleveland Cavaliers
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11 Takeaways from Cavs 132-121 victory over Sixers: Donovan Mitchell is ‘underrated’
Source: https://www.fearthesword.com/cavs-a...cavaliers-philadelphia-76ers-donovan-mitchell
The Cleveland Cavaliers had their most impressive offensive showing of the season in their 132-121 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Darius Garland solves a lot of the offensive issues. The ball was moving around during his initial stint in the first quarter in a way it hasn’t all season. So much so, that it led to head coach Kenny Atkinson calling that stretch “Cavs basketball,” which may be the highest praise he can give his team’s offense.
The Cavs have had good stretches before, but those were mostly powered by turning defense into offense with transition baskets. This was different. There was a level of togetherness and cohesion that we haven’t seen yet this season. It was simply a return to a brand of basketball that powered one of the best offenses in NBA history last regular season. Garland running the point was a large reason why that was so.
That cohesion is starting to carry over to bench units. The ability to maintain the same level of dominance for 48 minutes no matter who was on the court made last year’s Cavs so special. That was seen for the first time this season as some of the Cavs’ hybrid bench units were able to meaningfully stretch the lead in the third quarter when they effectively ended the game.
This happening on the night Garland returned wasn’t a coincidence. Like most of last year, Atkinson now has the ability to pair each bench unit with an All-Star guard and an All-Star big. This allows reserves like Lonzo Ball, Sam Merrill, and Dean Wade (who missed most of this game after getting poked in the eye) to play more ideal roles where their skills are used in tandem with the stars, and not as a replacement for them.
For once, we started to see how some of those lineups can fully click into place.
The Ball and Garland lineups could be fun. They didn’t share the floor much on Wednesday due to Garland’s minutes restriction, but when they were in there together, the ball was moving beautifully. Both are incredibly high-IQ players who can anticipate their teammates’ moves in a way that’s difficult to teach. This could be a fun two-man grouping to keep an eye on as their games should pair together nicely.
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Everything looks better when the three-ball is falling. The Cavs notched their first game shooting 40% or better from distance since their Oct. 24 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Getting the ball going towards the rim more opens up the three-ball. Having someone else in Garland who could pressure the defense allowed that to happen.
“I know it wasn’t perfect, but he was a big reason our offense took an uptick tonight,” Atkinson said of Garland. “[He] just got us in our comfort zone a little bit.”
Welcome back Jarrett Allen. This was one of the first times this season that Allen’s role felt natural. He had that good outing against the Nets in the second game of the season when they were continually force-feeding him the ball. But Allen isn’t someone who’s ever consistently played a role like that.
This showing, where he contributed 24 points on 11-17 shooting with 10 rebounds, was more of what the best version of Allen looks like. He was able to get shots at or going to the rim more easily due to Garland’s playmaking being back in the fold.
Allen is tougher than he gets credit for being. He played with a splint on his left ring finger a week after it was announced that he had broken it. Not everyone would play through an injury like that this early in the year on a team that doesn’t have anything to prove in the regular season. Then again, most guys also don’t play all 82 games like Allen did last year.
“He is our iron man,” Garland said of Allen. “J.A. is tough, so we let the media do what they do. We go out here and play 48 minutes of basketball.”
“He’s phenomenal,” Mitchell said of Allen. “He doesn’t get enough credit, the credit that he deserves. The world focuses on his quote from the Knicks series, and he doesn’t care. … This dude is really important to what we do. And to see him have nights like tonight is just big time. And I hate the fact that he gets crap for that.”
That said, Allen doesn’t need to shoot any more threes. He took two on Wednesday, and neither was close. It’s time to cut this shot out of his game.
What is a Cavalanche? The internet meme has become corporatized and an in-arena prop. Such is the cycle for anything that gains enough online traction.
The fake snow hasn’t been shot from the rafters yet this season despite chances to do so. The Cavs opened the game on a 17-4 run before Philadelphia took a timeout. This seemed like it could’ve been a chance for them to fire it off, but they didn’t. Cleveland also dominated the third quarter 37-20 and had numerous runs that might’ve been Cavalanche worthy. However, nothing was done, presumably, because the contractual Cavalanche perimeters weren’t met.
I would just like to know what the contractual threshold is, so that we could know the legal definition of a Cavalanche. Is that too much to ask for?
Mitchell has changed his game. He came into this contest attempting his fewest percentage of shots at the rim (16%, 15th percentile) and having his lowest usage since his rookie season with the Utah Jazz. Both of those things are by design.
“My biggest goal this season is just to be efficient,” Mitchell said. “Efficient with my movements. … Sometimes, it’s not always just jumping at people. … I can, but for what reason? You know what I mean, but for what reason? Save yourself and kind of put yourself in the most efficient spots. And I think that’s part of my progression. Using my athleticism when I need to.”
This shift has produced incredible results. Wednesday’s game was another example of that. Through seven games, Mitchell is now averaging 31.9 points on .576/.455/.820 shooting splits.
Mitchell has become a much more rounded three-level scorer. The increased usage of the over-the-head gather — he credits as stealing from Dwyane Wade — and the Shammgod have allowed him to get to the mid-range floater with more regularity. It’s easier on his body to take shots like that than it is to try and get all the way to the rim and finish through contact like he’s done throughout most of his career.
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But more than that, these counters open up the lane for when he does try to get all the way through to the rim. He went 6-6 in the restricted area against Philadelphia.
This is a good example of that. Mitchell’s opponent has to step up on drives to protect against the floater. That just makes it easier for him to blow by for a layup.
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Most importantly, throttling back on rim attempts hasn’t come at the expense of getting to the line. He came into this game with his highest free-throw rate of his career and attempted 10 shots at the charity stripe on Wednesday. He’s still getting there, just without the wear-and-tear we’ve seen from him in the past.
This added skill package was intended to preserve his body, but more importantly, it’s made him just a better scorer. And on a night like this, where Mitchell is knocking down six of his 11 three-point attempts, you’re going to get a 46-point performance.
“I’m knocking down shots and continue to make tough shots and do what I do,” Mitchell said. “But ultimately, just continue to save and preserve your body for a long career.”
It’s easy to overlook Mitchell’s impressive scoring. He’s reached a level where nights like this feel so natural, but in reality, they’re anything but that. There’s nothing normal about scoring 46 points on 21 shots with eight assists.
Even if the broader NBA landscape isn’t talking about Mitchell, his head coach and teammates recognize how special this run is.
“I just think he’s underrated,” Atkinson said. “What guards in the East are better than him? I know and respect the heck out of this league. And what was amazing about tonight is how easy he made it. It looked so easy. … He had a nice diet of threes and rim and then kick outs. He’s playing great basketball.”
“[That’s] the Spida that we know,” Garland said. “The MVP that we know. First team All-NBA that we know that he should be every year. So it was good to see him, and that we really need that to go forward.”
Source: https://www.fearthesword.com/cavs-a...cavaliers-philadelphia-76ers-donovan-mitchell