Cleveland Cavaliers Defeat the Washington Wizards: Our Takeaways

Feb 7, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (4) defends in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Cavaliers won 115-113. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers up ended the Washington Wizards last night in a match up of All Star point guards. The first game for the Cavs since the firing of GM Chris Grant had the team looking much more energetic and crisp then in the weeks prior. The ball moved, the players moved and (after the 1st quarter) the defense was solid. Lets take a look at a few takeaways from the game, starting with a review of the 3 things we said to watch for before the game started.

What Adjustments Does Mike Brown Make? – Brown went with some subtle adjustments including limited minutes for “starter” Jarrett Jack, actual playing time for Alonzo Gee and starting CJ Miles. Some of the changes were due to Luol Deng being out sick but Brown seemed confident in making these adjustments. The rotations had more consistency, keeping shooters on the floor more often to space it. Jack’s limited playing time allowed Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving to spend more time running the show, which turned out well for the team.

Will We See the Development of Anthony Bennett Continue? – We did see continued development from Bennett. He was more aggressive on the offensive and defensive end. His shot was smooth, he drove to the rim appropriately and his defensive positioning is getting better. He had 5 fouls and 2 turnovers to go along with a few mental mistakes, but that is to be expected from a young rookie learning the speed of the game. Bennett had the highest +/- for the Cavaliers in his 21 minutes on the floor.

Kyrie Irving Vs. John Wall – Was the match up we had hoped for. Interestingly enough it seemed like more of a Wall/Waiters match up for most of the game with Irving’s contributions being more unnoticed. That is a great sign for Irving. He scored 23 points, had 12 assists and made all 13 of his free throws in a “quiet” game. Getting his teammates involved, giving Waiters a chance to get in the flow of the game and still getting his points is the perfect equation for the Cavaliers franchise player. More of that and the Cavs could see a great improvement in the second half of the season.

Bench Production – The Cavaliers’ bench, led by Waiters 24 points, contributed 58 points in a closely contested game. Often teams can have their bench score alot of points in a game that is a blow out one way or another but last night the Cavs needed their bench to keep up. With Deng sick and Miles starting, Gee contributed a huge 11 points and 27 minutes. The bench also rebounded well. The 5 bench players, Matthew Dellavadova, Waiters, Tyler Zeller, Bennett and Gee, had 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 rebounds respectively. 25 of the team’s 45 rebounds came from the bench.

Defense – Giving up 113 points is never good but after a 38 point Wizards 1st quarter the Cavs held the high octane, Wall led team to 75 points. The game was not as close as the 2 point spread would show. The Wizards scored 17 of their 28 fourth quarter points in the last 2 minutes in a desperate attempt to catch up as the Cavs held on to an 11 point lead. The defensive intensity, closing out of shots, rotations and solid positioning all increased after a terrible first quarter. On a night when Anderson Varejao looked like he was running in cement shoes, the team still was able to rotate well without their defensive floor leader having his best night.

While it is only one game, and the Cavs still sit 5 games out of a playoff spot, last night was fun. What did you see that encouraged you? What concerned you still? The Cavs are being mentioned in many trade rumors, does last night make you want them to buy or are you still ready for them to sell?