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Bench Warmer
When Kobe Bryant stomped to the locker room following the Lakers' loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday night, he seemed to be nail-spitting mad. Primarily because his teammates weren't exactly spitting nails.
There are quite a few things that the Cavs aren't, especially when it comes to what they do out there when they have the basketball. For much of the LeBron James era, their offense hasn't been aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes it is hard to tell exactly how they win, save for a few remarkable James' highlights every night.
But one thing they are is physical, and they have showed it night in and night out this season. It is because of James, who is assembling another Most Valuable Player-type résumé as the season marches onward, and that relentless nature that they are 33-11, including two victories over the Lakers after Thursday's 93-87 win.
They put that physical style on display almost every night, whether they are playing a world-class team or not.
Cavs coach Mike Brown calls it making the opponent "feel you." It means shoving through screens, grinding hips and shoulders and elbows into opponents on nearly every rebound, and making sure there is contact as often as possible when someone goes to the rim.
"We just play physical," Shaquille O'Neal said. "Very, very physical."
All of it was in display in their win over the Lakers, who had trouble with the tactics in the loss to Cleveland on Christmas Day and struggled again matching the Cavs' style in the second meeting. They aren't alone; the Cavs have been doing this to teams for months now.
The Cavs have been outrebounded only once in the last 29 games and not at all in the last 18. Against the Lakers, they were down 16-7 on the boards in the first quarter and ended up with a 48-43 edge.
The Cavs lead the NBA in fewest points allowed in the paint at 34.5 a game, a result of having O'Neal and other good interior defenders like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and even James. The Lakers scored 14 points in the paint in the first quarter and then had just 12 more the rest of the game.
The Cavs are third in the league in defensive field goal percentage, an offshoot from how they force teams to attempt so many jumpers. And they often work to contest those by using sometimes complex help-and-recover schemes. Only three times this season have the Cavs allowed an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent, and nine times they've held the other team under 40 percent. On Thursday, they did it to the Lakers for the second time (L.A. shot 38 percent in both losses to the Cavs).
The Cavs imposed their will on Bryant, too. They used four different defenders on him throughout the game. Then, in the fourth quarter, out of nowhere, they started to double-team with a big man. He went 11-of-33 from the field in the first meeting. This time, he went 12-of-31, just 4-of-15 in the second half.
The way it all went down left Bryant steaming. Especially because he felt he'd warned his teammates before the game to expect the Cavs to be physical. Despite all of their size, the Lakers once again weren't ready for it, and they know they'll get more of it on the seven games left on this Eastern trip.
"That's East Coast basketball, and we've been playing a lot of West Coast teams," Bryant said. "Outside of Denver, the Western Conference is not very physical. It's good for us on this trip to face teams like Cleveland and Boston and teams that play smashmouth basketball."
That style has done wonders against the West over the last two seasons. This season, the Cavs are 15-5 against the Western Conference after going 26-4 last season.
It has given the Cavs not just the best record in the East but some confidence after beating the NBA champs in both meetings during the regular season.
By Brian Windhorst
Special to ESPN.com
There are quite a few things that the Cavs aren't, especially when it comes to what they do out there when they have the basketball. For much of the LeBron James era, their offense hasn't been aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes it is hard to tell exactly how they win, save for a few remarkable James' highlights every night.
But one thing they are is physical, and they have showed it night in and night out this season. It is because of James, who is assembling another Most Valuable Player-type résumé as the season marches onward, and that relentless nature that they are 33-11, including two victories over the Lakers after Thursday's 93-87 win.
They put that physical style on display almost every night, whether they are playing a world-class team or not.
Cavs coach Mike Brown calls it making the opponent "feel you." It means shoving through screens, grinding hips and shoulders and elbows into opponents on nearly every rebound, and making sure there is contact as often as possible when someone goes to the rim.
"We just play physical," Shaquille O'Neal said. "Very, very physical."
All of it was in display in their win over the Lakers, who had trouble with the tactics in the loss to Cleveland on Christmas Day and struggled again matching the Cavs' style in the second meeting. They aren't alone; the Cavs have been doing this to teams for months now.
The Cavs have been outrebounded only once in the last 29 games and not at all in the last 18. Against the Lakers, they were down 16-7 on the boards in the first quarter and ended up with a 48-43 edge.
The Cavs lead the NBA in fewest points allowed in the paint at 34.5 a game, a result of having O'Neal and other good interior defenders like Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and even James. The Lakers scored 14 points in the paint in the first quarter and then had just 12 more the rest of the game.
The Cavs are third in the league in defensive field goal percentage, an offshoot from how they force teams to attempt so many jumpers. And they often work to contest those by using sometimes complex help-and-recover schemes. Only three times this season have the Cavs allowed an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent, and nine times they've held the other team under 40 percent. On Thursday, they did it to the Lakers for the second time (L.A. shot 38 percent in both losses to the Cavs).
The Cavs imposed their will on Bryant, too. They used four different defenders on him throughout the game. Then, in the fourth quarter, out of nowhere, they started to double-team with a big man. He went 11-of-33 from the field in the first meeting. This time, he went 12-of-31, just 4-of-15 in the second half.
The way it all went down left Bryant steaming. Especially because he felt he'd warned his teammates before the game to expect the Cavs to be physical. Despite all of their size, the Lakers once again weren't ready for it, and they know they'll get more of it on the seven games left on this Eastern trip.
"That's East Coast basketball, and we've been playing a lot of West Coast teams," Bryant said. "Outside of Denver, the Western Conference is not very physical. It's good for us on this trip to face teams like Cleveland and Boston and teams that play smashmouth basketball."
That style has done wonders against the West over the last two seasons. This season, the Cavs are 15-5 against the Western Conference after going 26-4 last season.
It has given the Cavs not just the best record in the East but some confidence after beating the NBA champs in both meetings during the regular season.
By Brian Windhorst
Special to ESPN.com
