CLEVELAND — The shortest month of the year ended up being the Cleveland Cavaliers’ most successful one of the 2016-17 season thus far, as the Cavs closed out February with a 102-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
The win put them at 9-2 in those 28 days. Naturally, it left the Cavs hoping the month, in which they won 81.8 percent of their games (better than their 76.7 percent November or 75 percent December), would keep on going.
“It’s over?” said LeBron James after coming back from strep throat to put up 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 10 rebounds and six assists on the Bucks. “February is over, huh? Yeah, that sucks. It’s been a great month for our team. We just played good basketball. We got back to Cavalier basketball and to our DNA, so it definitely helped a lot.”
Talk about a turnaround coming off a January in which the team went just 7-8, capped off by James putting the organization on blast for its roster construction and commitment to winning.
Remember that? It was when James stated, bluntly, “We’re not better than last year, from a personnel standpoint.”
Does that still ring true after Monday, when the team acquired its third significant piece since the New Year in Deron Williams, a three-time All-Star? He joins a one-time All-Star acquisition, Kyle Korver, and former No. 2 pick Derrick Williams?
Here’s whom the Cavs lost from last year’s team: Matthew Dellavedova, Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams, Dahntay Jones and Sasha Kaun. Fast-forward eight months from the Finals, and Williams, Jones and Kaun are all out of the league while Mozgov has collected DNP-CDs in six of the Los Angeles Lakers’ last seven games. And all due respect to Dellavedova, who is having a serviceable season for the Bucks, let’s not forget he played five minutes total in Games 5-7 of the Finals when the Cavs were in must-win mode.
Does James’s criticism still ring true with a fourth piece potentially on the way after Andrew Bogut was waived by Philadelphia on Monday?
Korver, with 13 points off the bench Monday, and Williams, with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting (including a deep-as-Freud buzzer-beating 3 to end the third quarter) and seven rebounds in a reserve role, have transformed Cleveland’s second unit.
Then there is Deron Williams, who provides a clear upgrade to Delly (not to mention DeAndre Liggins and Kay Felder too).
“I can definitely help the pick-and-roll game here, being able to distribute and also score as well and kind of take the pressure off Bron having to handle the ball so much with that second unit,” Williams said before receiving a hearty ovation from the Cleveland crowd when he was shown on the video board in the second half.
While all of these replacement parts were flocking to the Cavs the way Iron Man summons his armor to fly onto his body, Cleveland has had two starters on the mend who are both expected back on the court next month: Kevin Love and J.R. Smith.
Check out the team site for more game coverage
Check out the team site for more game coverage
“We’ve been shorthanded for a while, but now we’re starting to get healthy a little bit,” said James. “J.R.’s not too far out, Kev is looking better and better every day, so now we add D-Will, it’s going to help us out a lot.”
It’s all coming together for a true test before the playoffs begin: a 17-game March with 12 of those games on the road, including four back-to-backs and trips to Boston, Atlanta, Houston, the L.A. Clippers and San Antonio.
“The main thing that I’ve said from the beginning is our process and our health,” said James, when asked about the month ahead. “If we can get healthy at the right time, get some games under our belt, it’s going to help us in the postseason. But right now we’re in a good rhythm, and we just want to continue that.”
The Cavs had just better hope they don’t go into March like a lion and out like a lamb.
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