The Cleveland Cavaliers used the balanced scoring system with LeBron James scoring 22 points to lead seven Cavaliers in double figures and allow Cleveland to salvage their road trip with a 110-101 win over the Denver Nuggets in Denver.The now 2-3 Cavaliers return home Monday night against New Orleans...
Swashbucklings
1) LeBron James shooting might not have been up to form (8 of 18,but took a late rally to get there),but his "teaching " of the team game took a step forward against the Nuggets with eleven assists.
I know most fans like to compare James to Michael Jordan,but to me,he's a better scoring Magic Johnson.
2) Ball movement kills defenses because you cannot double team or catch up to the basketball.
Cleveland began to effectively move the ball around and create the close looks at the basket.
Easy and open shots allow multiple players to contribute offensively and take the pressure off one or two guys,
The Cavaliers didn't play a full game like that,but the half that they did shows just how good this team is going to be once they get this down pat...
3) Dion Waiters had his best game of the season,but it was about more than the 17 points that scored off the bench,it was about how he took the ball to the basket.
When Waiters does that,it opens so much in his offensive game and he is a much better player when he has the ability to take the jumper without the defender being in his face...
4) Anderson Varejao finished with 15 pts on 6 of 7 shooting and you can really see the difference in his offensive game when he plays with LeBron James.
That may sound simplistic,but bear with me.Varejao knows where to be on the court to take advantage of what James does on the floor.
Being in the right place at the right time allows James a safety valve and Varejao knows James well enough to do what is needed to do to get the job done...
5) What a cheap shot by Denver's Darrell Arthur,who shoved Dion Waiters in mid air as he drove to the hoop.
It was the type of play that can end careers and Waiters dropped hard to the floor.
I'm all for not giving easy drives and I'm not against physical basketball,but this wasn't tough play,it was cheap,dirty and uncalled for.
6) I hated the Denver uniforms in this game.
Not that they were awful,but from the far side view,they looked more gold than their actual yellow and the stripe down the side made them look more like the 70's Cavaliers than the Nuggets.
That made it hard to keep track for me of who was who at times....
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