Sometimes when everything's going right, a team just needs a good wake-up call.
Credit the Philadelphia 76ers for providing the Cleveland Cavaliers with such a warning on Monday. While the final score doesn't tell the story, the Sixers had the Cavs on their heels for most of the second half, cutting a 20-point third-quarter lead down to as few as three during the fourth quarter.
Talent won out and the Cavaliers won their 11th consecutive game by a decisive 97-84 final score, but the late surge from Philly should be a good reminder that there's never a safe time to take the collective foot off the gas. The Cavs weren't lazy by any means - their lately much-improved defense was stellar once again - but they fell into some bad habits on offense for stretches and had to rally late.
Davis Blatt says that the Cavs struggled with too slow of a pace and bad ball movement, but blamed himself for 3rd Q game management
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 3, 2015
That's a no-harm, no-foul lesson, one that's well-timed with the Los Angeles Clippers on the docket Thursday.
Just as important as the team's play was the fact LeBron James again looked solid through a stiff wrist, scoring 18 points. With his shot not falling well at 6-of-17, he took on more of a facilitator role, dishing 11 assists. Kyrie Irving was a beneficiary, scoring 24 points and dropping five dimes of his own. Kevin Love was a nonfactor on the scoreboard with just five points on 1-of-7 shooting, but he chipped in with 15 rebounds.
Each of the Big Three had a ridiculous plus-minus rating in their minutes, leaving little blame on their heads. When James, Irving and Love take the floor together this season, the Cavs have outscored opponents by 10.8 points per-100 possessions, which is exactly why this team is scarier than their 30-20 record.
