LeBron: Trading for DeAndre 'would have gave us a boost'
The Cleveland Cavaliers got an up-close look Friday night at the guy they nearly acquired at the trade deadline, and he had them feeling some non-buyer's remorse.
Feasting on the Cavs' comparatively small front line, DeAndre Jordan went for 20 points and 23 rebounds to lead his Los Angeles Clippers to a 116-102 win. After the game, LeBron James reflected on the DeAndre trade that wasn't.
"I knew the conversations were going on from the outside," he told reporters, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. "I seen it. If it would have happened it would have gave us a boost but it didn't happen so you move on."
That wasn't necessarily a new revelation - as the deadline neared last month, the Cavs acknowledged that Jordan (be it DeAndre or Montell) could help them - but it seemed for a while that the additions they made instead would be enough to assuage any regret they may have had over missing out on Jordan.
That may well still end up being the case. Larry Nance, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, and George Hill have all had their moments, and have added some much-needed pep to the Cavs since arriving on deadline day. But Friday night's game served as another example - in an increasingly and disconcertingly long line of them - of where Cleveland is still deficient, and where they could have used Jordan.
The Cavs are a bit mushy in the middle, especially with Tristan Thompson back on the shelf, and big physical centers continue to give them problems. They've routinely gotten crushed on the boards. Jordan snagged seven offensive rebounds Friday and helped the Clippers win the paint-points battle 58-42. The Nuggets pulled down 14 offensive boards against them on Wednesday, Joel Embiid hauled in six last week, and Steven Adams grabbed 12 in a game shortly after the deadline.
Even when Thompson was healthy, the trade-offs that came with employing Nance as the starting center were worth it for Cleveland. He's more active, more mobile, and more of a deterrent at the rim than Thompson has been this season. Nance has been better in almost every way, but asking him to bang down low with the likes of Jordan is a big ask.
"It was exhausting," Nance said, according to Vardon. "They've got some very talented dudes down there ... Offensive rebounds, I'll shoulder the load on that. That's on me. It was a team effort, but I'll shoulder most of it."
Some of the rebounding issues may be solved when Kevin Love returns, but the Cavs are still going to have their hands full when it comes to wrangling with the league's behemoths. Given that the first round of the playoffs could pit them against Embiid's 76ers - and would, if the season ended today - that's cause for some concern.