CAVS RECORD: 19-63
W&GR Cavaliers Stat Check [4/16] . . . The End of the Regular Season Edition
The NBA Playoffs are about to start, which means that the regular season is about to be history . . . officially, that is.
In Cleveland, it basically became history the moment the Cavs clinched the best record and decided to re-enter preseason mode.
So, I thought this would be the perfect time to dig up some stats, interesting facts and other oddities from what was predominantly a stellar regular season. Soak ‘em in.
#1.) The Cleveland Cavaliers went 61-21 overall this season . . . or 61-17 while legitimately trying. That’s the second-best record in franchise history. Last year’s 66-16 is the best. Just below this year’s 61 wins would be 57 wins, which the Cavs achieved twice. (In 1988-1989 and 1991-1992).
#2.) LeBron James finished averaging 29.7 points per game (second only to Kevin Durant’s 30.1 per game), 8.6 assists per game (sixth in the NBA, and which, by far, is a career high . . . he’s never averaged more than 7.2 per game before this season), 7.3 rebounds a game, 1.6 steals a game and 1.0 block per game.
He also shot 50.3% from the field, which is a career high . . . and ranked 26th among all NBA players. While we’re here, he shot 33.3% from beyond the arc and 76.7% from the stripe. Both those numbers are down slightly from last season . . . but he attempted more 3s and more free throws this season.
LeBron’s minutes (39.0, fifth in the NBA) were up slightly from his career low last year (37.7) . . . but last year, he didn’t play many fourth quarters early in the season when the Cavs were blowing everyone out, and this season, he sat out the final four games of the season to rest. (Of course, that isn’t represented in his minutes per game.)
#3.) For the second straight season, LeBron led the league in plus/minus, this year with a glimmering +650. Dwight Howard was second with +602 . . . and Anderson Varejao came in third at +511. Anthony Parker was #11, with +406. (Last year, Delonte West came in fifth and Mo Williams was sixth.)
The Cavs best five-man unit, plus/minus-wise, was LeBron, Andy, AP, Mo, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. That unit was +51, which came in 23rd among the top five-man combinations in the NBA. And the two-man pairings of LeBron and Andy (+516) and LeBron and AP (+448) were #1 and #2 in the NBA.
#4.) Anderson Varejao led the Cavs in field goal percentage at 57.2%. Shaquille O’Neal was second (56.6%), J.J. Hickson was third (55.4%) . . . even with some of those horrible 17-footers . . . and LeBron was fourth. (At 50.3%, as previously mentioned.)
Mo shot 44.2%, which was his lowest percentage since ’05-’06 when he shot 42.4%.Antawn Jamison shot 48.5% as a Cavalier, which was better than the 45% he was shooting in Washington (on more shots) this season. He averaged 15.8 points per game, which was down from the 20.5 points he was scoring in Washington . . . where he was often the featured scorer. Most of the rest of his numbers are exactly the same as in Washington . . . except free throw percentage. As a Wizard he shot 70% (and 73% in his career). As a Cavalier, he shot 50.6%.
#5.) The Cavs finished third in the NBA in field goal percentage at 48.5%. Only the Phoenix Suns (49.2%) and the Utah Jazz (49.1%) were better.
The Cavs were second in the NBA in FG% differential, meaning the separation between what they shot and what their opponents did. The Cavs differential was +6.5%, which was second only to the Orlando Magic’s 7.5%. (That’s impressive. And a little scary.)
Cleveland allowed 44.2% shooting from their opponents. That’s third in the league, behind Orlando (43.8%) and the Miami Heat (43.9%).
#6.) The Cavs ended the season second in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 38.1%. The Phoenix Suns were #1 at 41.2%. (The Orlando Magic were fourth at 37.5%.)
Technically, Z was the Cavs best 3-point shooter at 47.8%, but that was only 11-for-23. Daniel Gibson probably deserves that distinction (heck, he deserves something for his season). He shot 47.7% (second in the NBA), or 71-for-149. Mo was third at 42.9% (ninth in the NBA), followed by AP at 41.4% (12th in the NBA). Antawn was 34.2%, LeBron was 33.3%.
Cleveland’s opponents shot the 3-ball at 34.7%. That makes them 10th in the league at defending the three.
#7.) J.J. Hickson growth update: Last month, we looked at how J.J.’s rebounding numbers have improved, month-to-month, this season. That’s good because – while scoring is always a sign of success – for J.J., rebounding seems like a better indication of his improvement.
Here’s an updated breakdown of J.J.’s burgeoning awesomeness by month:
- October**: 1.3 pts, 1.3 rebs, 0.0 blks, 50% shooting in 8.3 minutes per game
- November: 9.6 pts, 3.8 rebs, 0.5 blks, 67.5% shooting in 22.5 minutes per game
- December: 6.5 pts, 4.1 rebs, 0.3 blks, 60% shooting in 18.4 minutes per game
- January: 6.3 pts, 5.8 rebs, 0.7 blks, 79.2% shooting in 20.1 minutes per game
- February: 10.3 pts, 4.2 rebs, 0.4 blks, 68.4% shooting in 20.1 minutes per game
- March: 11.7 pts, 6.0 rebs, 0.6 blks, 55.6% shooting in 24.4 minutes per game
- April: 10.9 pts, 8.0 rebs, 0.7 blks, 50.8% shooting in 26.6 minutes per game
**Only four games and 33 total minutes played.
#8.) If the playoffs are anything like the regular season with regard to free throw shooting . . . it’s totally understandable for your heart-rate to dramatically change when a Cavs player steps to the line. Here’s a quick guide to the Cavs’ FT percentages, so you know how much to sweat:
- Mo – 89.4%
- Delonte – 81.0%
- Jamario – 80.0%
- AP – 78.9%
- LeBron – 76.7%
- Zydrunas – 74.3%
- Jawad – 71.1%
- Boobie – 69.4%
- J.J. – 68.1%
- Anderson – 66.3%
- Leon – 58.7%
- Antawn – 50.6%
- Shaq – 49.6%
The Cavs shot 72.0% at the line this season, which was LAST in the NBA. But the good news is, the second-worst team was the Magic, who shot free throws at a 72.4% clip. The best free throw-shooting team, the Dallas Mavericks, shot 81.6%.
#9.) The Cavs were sixth in the NBA with an offensive efficiency rating (points scored per 100 possessions) of 111.2. There were seventh in the NBA with a defensive efficiency rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 104.1.
Orlando was fourth offensively (111.4) . . . third defensively (103.3).
Atlanta was second offensively (111.9) . . . 13th defensively (106.7).
Boston was 15th offensively (107.7) . . . fifth defensively (103.8).
Chicago was 27th offensively (103.5) . . . 11th defensively (105.3).
L.A. (Lakers) was 11th offensively (108.8) . . . fourth defensively (103.7).
[The Phoenix Suns were #1 offensively . . . the Charlotte Bobcats were #1 defensively.]
#10.) And now, for fan stats! The Cavs sold out every home game this season, which placed them second in the NBA in attendance . . . behind, ironically, the Chicago Bulls. It’s the first time the Cavs have sold out a complete season, and it boosts their home sell-out streak to 77 games.
And when Cleveland fans can’t get tickets to the Q, they watch at home.
According to NBA.com:
“The Cavaliers continue to be the NBA’s most watched team, leading the league this season in overall average attendance (home and road combined) and TV viewership (#1 for local TV ratings).
“[As of last week], through 78 locally and nationally broadcast games on FOX Sports Ohio, TNT, ESPN and ABC this season, the Cavaliers have an overall local TV average rating of 10.5, which equates to over 500,000 people watching each game. Often, when games are broadcast locally and nationally, the local viewership total is well over 800,000.
“For the 66 games broadcast on FOX Sports Ohio, the Cavaliers average rating is 8.66, which stands as the NBA’s top rated local game broadcast rating.”
It sounds like Cleveland is turning itself into one of the NBA’s so-called “major markets.”
A Semi-Sober Cavs Plus / Minus Report
Last night, I sat down with a bottle of wine and NBA.com’s Plus/Minus Stat Machine . . . which, I wish I could say is a joke . . . and started sifting through some Cavs numbers.
Just for the hell of it, I guess.
But I did dig up a few mildly interesting things.
If you’ve been following NBA stats over the past few years, you’re familiar with plus/minus.
Basically, it’s a representation of how much better a team is, or isn’t, when a certain player (or players) is on the floor. (Before being used in the NBA, it was a prevalent hockey statistic.)
It only directly counts team point differential . . . but naturally, that has a way of sucking in all kinds of other data (like general defense) that represent a player’s value to the five-man unit he’s with on the floor.
NBA.com hypes plus/minus by saying: “It’s a way of showing the best-engineered / best combination of players on the court. The +/- stat is a statistic that looks at the point differential when players are both in and out of the game, to see how the team performs with various combinations. The analysis of +/- stats is best observed and analyzed while drinking cheap french red wine from your local grocery store.”
OK, that last line is original.
Here are a few interesting things I found:
#1.) Individually, LeBron James (+611), Anderson Varejao (+516) and Anthony Parker (+407) are the top three plus/minus players on the team. For perspective, those numbers make LeBron #1 in the NBA, Varejao is tied for #2 with Dwight Howard, and Parker is #8. Yes, the Cavs have the highest team margin of victory in the Association, but having three players in the Top Eight, individually, is impressive.
#2.) Obviously, the best two-player tandem on the Cavs is LeBron and Varejao (+506, 1st in the NBA) . . . followed by LeBron and Parker (+417, 3rd in the NBA) and Varejao and Parker (+356, 9th in the NBA). LeBron and Mo are fourth (+298, 27th in the NBA).
#3.) The best three-man team, plus/minus-wise, on the Cavs? You guessed it: LeBron, Varejao, and Parker (+322, 4th in the NBA). Second is LeBron, Varejao, and Mo (+279, 16th in the NBA) and third is LeBron, Varejao, and Delonte West (+271, 18th in the NBA).
#4.) The best four-man group is LeBron, Varejao, Parker and Mo (+190, 19th in the NBA). Next, there are two groups tied with +121, which is tied for 38th in the NBA: LeBron, Varejao, Parker, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas (somewhat surprisingly) . . . and LeBron, Varejao, Parker and West.
#5.) For a variety of reasons, Shaq has never been a big plus/minus guy for the Cavs this season. Individually, he (+96) and J.J. Hickson (+77) are the lowest in Mike Brown’s regular rotation. (Which doesn’t include Leon Powe, Jawad Williams and Danny Green.)
Instead, Z pops up in a lot of the best five-man teams, again, in terms of plus/minus.
The Cavs best lineup is LeBron, Varejao, Parker, Mo, and Z (+51, 27th in the NBA). Second is LeBron, Varejao, Parker, Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, and Z (+48, 29th in the NBA) . . . and third is LeBron, Varejao, Parker, Mo, and Antawn Jamison (+45, 32nd in the NBA).
[By the way, the wine was a few glasses of Louis Jadot beaujolais, which you can find for $10 at Trader Joe's. It has a parchment-like label. It's one of my favorites, if you're ever interested in trying something new. Since this is the Wine and Gold Rush, if you have a tip on a cheap-ish wine that you like . . . drop it in the comments and I'll check it out.]
Request for Jamario: Wanna Help Me Develop the “Double Gooseneck”???
Jamario Moon has been reduced to a cheerleader.
A good one, but a cheerleader nonetheless. And so has Daniel “Boobie” Gibson . . . and while he’s no cheerleading superstar like Jamario (and rookie Danny Green), he’s still pretty excitable.
Whenever there’s an above-average play . . . even if it’s only marginally above-average . . . Jamario is probably doing something ridiculous on the sideline in front of the Cleveland Cavaliers bench. And if the team is playing flat, he can still be seen smiling, just waiting for the moment to explode.
It’s that sort of energy, intensity and explosive tendency that’s hard to keep bottled on the sideline, especially when the team is sparklessly going through the motions.
(Which is why it would seem to make sense to move him onto the court in those situations, right?)
He’s basically this year’s Tarence Kinsey, only Jamario is a more talented player. Not that it matters when you’re left to cheerlead on the bench. (By the way, can anyone imagine if we had both Jamario and Tarence? The NBA would have to allow the Cavaliers to expand their roster just so that there would be enough players to restrain them in the event that Delonte West dunks off a cut.)
Before the All-Star Break, Coach Mike Brown held Jamario out of one game that he was healthy for. Since the All-Star Break, he’s been held out of seven games he could have played in. In the Cavs’ last six games, Jamario has entered only one game . . . and that was for eight minutes in a 30-point blowout over Detroit.
If you dismiss Sebastian Telfair (which we’ve all already been doing for years now) and rookie Danny Green, is it possible that Jamario is fighting off Gibson to be the second-least valuable player on the Cavs’ roster?
Yes. Apparently.
Boobie is in essentially the same position as Jamario.
Just three years ago, when the Cavs were entering their first-ever Finals series, Daniel appeared to be on the verge of emerging as one of the Cavs’ best players . . . and we’re talking between second- and fifth-best. Now, only he, LeBron, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao remain from that team.
And now, Boobie can’t get into a game.
In the Cavs’ last 17 games, he’s only been in five. And he played just one minute in two of the ones he did get into . . . and in another he just played eight minutes. So Boobie has only received “substantial” minutes twice . . . 22 and 13, respectively . . . since February 21st.
This is for a dude that was having a pretty strong season . . . both offensively and defensively . . . at the beginning of the season, and for a guy who scored in double-figures in nine of ten games while Mo Williams was out with a sprained shoulder.
Not too long ago, it would’ve seemed crazy that Daniel could be the Cavs’ 13th best player. In the recent past, the same could be said of Jamario. Especially with neither of them playing themselves out of the rotation.
That’s depth. Serious depth.
Since January, we’ve seen the improvement of Jawad Williams, the rise of J.J. Hickson, the trade for Antawn Jamison, the arrival of Leon Powe and the return of Z. And soon, Shaq will be back in the mix, too.
Some Cleveland fans would like to see more Jamario, others would like to see more Boobie, and everyone would like to see something fresh when the Cavs fall into their bad habits of casually playing down to the level of their opponents.
But barring any further injuries, it’s unlikely that Coach Brown will expand his rotation in the run-up to the playoffs . . . at least for any real minutes. His priorities are now on setting the playoff rotations and getting those players going. And Jamario and Boobie aren’t in line to play much in the playoffs.
The playoff rotation will be eight, or maybe nine players, max: (1) LeBron, (2) Mo, (3) Jamison, (4) Varejao, (5) Delonte, (6) Anthony Parker, (7) Hickson, (8) Z, and (9) Shaq (and until Shaq is back, they might have Leon Powe in for his center-playing abilities).
So, that means the cheerleaders will be Jamario, Boobie, Jawad, Danny, and Sebastian.
OK.
Since that’s how it looks like it’s going to be, I have a special request for Jamario. I’d like him to spend some of his time on the bench dreaming up more inside jokes and cheers for Cavs players and fans.
Everyone loves the overly complicated handshakes and the Gooseneck, which Jamario apparently started. Now, let’s usher in something new for this year’s playoffs. And as you may have guessed, I have a suggestion. It needs a little work . . . hopefully by Jamario himself . . . but the framework is there.
I call it . . . the Double Gooseneck. Or Goosey Times Two. Or Goosey2x.
It’s like the Gooseneck, hence the similar name, only instead of a one-handed, cocked follow-through . . . it’s a two-handed Goosey follow-through.
Here are a few examples:
First, it looks like Barack Obama is doing a “Double Gooseneck,” here.
And here’s some cute little kid doing the “Goosey Times Two” to perfection!
And finally, here’s the hand signal for the “Double Gooseneck”:
Thoughts?
Can the Cavaliers Duplicate (or Beat) Last Year’s 66-Win Season?
Oh crap. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is terrible! What were we thinking?
Just kidding.
Even though it was in New Orleans, and even though NBA League Pass forced me to watch it via the Hornets’ feed, it was very exciting to see Z in a Cavaliers uniform once again.
He wasn’t any good . . . any good at all. But of course, that’s going to take a little time.
The important thing is that the Cavs are now fully intact (even though Shaquille O’Neal is still a few weeks away from returning) and are going to begin gearing up for the playoffs.
That’s pretty meaningful . . . much more so, at this point, than the results of the final 10 games. (Since sheer math is the only thing between the Cavs and their second straight #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They lead the Orlando Magic by seven games.)
But since the result of those 10 games is mildly interesting right now . . . lets put the true meaningfulness on ice, and look at whether the Cavs can equal (or surpass) the 66-win mark they achieved last year. Yeah, I know. Completely unimportant. But hey, why not?
To reach 66 wins, Cleveland can only spare one more loss. After Wednesday’s win in New Orleans, the Cavs are 57-15. Last year, they finished 66-16.
W&GR Cavaliers Stat Check [3/19] . . . The Minus-Shaq, Minus-Z Edition
The Cleveland Cavaliers emerged from the All-Star Break with three straight losses (to the Denver Nuggets for the second time this season, to the Charlotte Bobcats for the third time this season, and to the Orlando Magic for the first time since they eliminated the Cavs in the ’09 Eastern Conference Finals).
It was their first three-game losing streak in almost two full years. (Their last back-to-back-to-back losses came in March of 2008.) And it was a real buzzkill after all the exhilarating trade deadline hysteria . . . culminating in the pillaging of the Washington Wizards.
Then the Cavaliers righted the ship. In a big way.
Since those three loses, the Cavs are 11-1.
That’s even more impressive considering the fact that the Cavs have been without Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Shaquille O’Neal, who went down just one-and-a-half games into that 11-1 run. Yet, without both of their centers, the Cavs are still 9-1. (Or, technically, 9.5-1)
[And leading into the All-Star Break, the Cavaliers had a franchise record-tying 13-0 streak . . . while being without Mo for 11 of those games, Delonte for nine, and Jamario for four.]
So let’s take a step back and appreciate the Cavs’ resilience and take a look at some stats to see how they’ve been getting the job done over the last month.
Suck down these numbers:
#1.) Leading into tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls, the Cavs are 54-15, which is three games off last year’s pace. After 69 games last year, the Cavs were 57-12, and nine games into last year’s 13-game winning streak.
To match those 66 wins, the Cavs would have to finish the regular season on a 12-1 run, which sounds like a stretch . . . until you consider that they’re currently on an 11-1 run. (Not that the 66 wins really matters in the grand scheme of things.)
#2.) As of this (Friday) morning, the Cavaliers (54-15) have a 5.5 game lead on the Orlando Magic (49-21) for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The tiebreaker hasn’t been determined yet. Cleveland has a 2-1 lead over the Magic in the season series, but there’s one game left (in Cleveland on April 11th).
The Cavs have a 3.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Lakers (50-18) for the best record in the NBA . . . which, of course, would net the Cavs home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Since the Cavs own the tiebreaker – they walked over the Lakers in both of their match-ups this season – the lead is technically 4.5 games.
#3.) The Cavaliers are third in the NBA in shooting percentage at 48.7%, behind just Utah (49.1%) and Phoenix (49.0%) . . . and second in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 39.0%, behind just Phoenix (40.6%).
And, as you probably know by now, the Cavs are 29th (second-to-last) in the NBA in free throw percentage at 72%. Only Detroit is worse (71.7%). The interesting thing is that in the last 10 games, all without Shaq, the Cavs have been even worse: 68.6%, which is last in the NBA. They’re just not good at free throws.
#4.) Speaking of being without Shaq (and Z), over the past 10 games, the Cavaliers are second in the NBA in rebounding, with 44.5 a game. On the season, they’re 11th at 42.44 per game.
#5.) When the Cavs are playing too loosely . . . as they have been at times since the All-Star Break . . . the main culprit isn’t poor offense (although the execution can be suspect), it has seemed to be a combination of: Free throws, turnovers, and defense.
On the season, the Cavs are averaging 14.01 turnovers a game, which is 12th in the NBA (middle of the pack) and 9th (sub-par) in the Eastern Conference. Their opponents are averaging 12.82 turnovers.
Here are the Cavs’ turnover averages by month: October 13.8, November 13.6, December 13.4, January 14.7, February 11.2, and March 12.1. So apparently, the turnover situation has actuallyimproved. Who knew?
#6.) On the season, the Cavs are allowing opponents just 43.9% shooting from the field, which is second in the NBA, behind only Orlando (43.6%).
Here are the Cavs’ allowed field goal percentages by month: October 43.6%, November 44.5%, December 42.0%, January 43.1%, February 47.1%, March 43.6%.
So that’s actually pretty consistent, aside from February, which was also a little out of control in the points allowed department. The Cavs allowed 101.3 points per game in February. The next highest month was November, when they allowed 95.8 points. They’re giving up 94.1 points this month.
#7.) Mo has struggled to recapture his full game since being out for a month with a sprained shoulder. He has shown some serious flashes of “the old Mo” . . . especially on the offensive end . . . so it’s probably only a matter of time.
In his 15 games since returning, Mo is averaging 12.5 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 39.3% from the field, 40.9% from beyond the arc, and 85.7% from the line.
Before his injury, he was averaging 16.9 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.6% from the field, 42.9% from beyond the arc, and 89.7% from the line. (Some of this, also, can be attributed to the adjustment to Antawn Jamison, who has emerged as the Cavs’ current #2 on offense.)
In Mo’s last five games, he’s averaging 15.8 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.0% from the field, 46.7% from beyond the arc, and 87.5% from the line. So that’s good.
#8.) J.J. Hickson stood to lose a lot of playing time with Jamison joining the team (and also possibly with the return of Leon Powe). In fact, Mike Brown held him out of a game for the first time this season the game before the Boston game when Shaq went down.
But without Shaq and Z . . . he’s continued to get good time. In this 10-game Shaq-less stretch, J.J. is averaging 22.9 minutes, 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.6 blocks, 1.4 turnovers, and is shooting 49.4%.
On the season, he’s now averaging 19.9 minutes, 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.5 blocks, 1.0 turnovers, and is shooting 54.8%. That’s third on the team behind Anderson Varejao (57.3%) and Shaq (56.6%).
#9.) Digging a little deeper on J.J.: Here are J.J.’s averages per month:
- October**: 1.3 pts, 1.3 rebs, 50% shooting in 8.3 minutes per game
- November: 9.6 pts, 3.8 rebs, 67.5% shooting in 22.5 minutes per game
- December: 6.5 pts, 4.1 rebs, 60% shooting in 18.4 minutes per game
- January: 6.3 pts, 5.8 rebs, 79.2% shooting in 20.1 minutes per game
- February: 10.3 pts, 4.2 rebs, 68.4% shooting in 20.1 minutes per game
- March: 10.4 pts, 5.8 rebs, 75% shooting in 23.9 minutes per game
**Only four games and 33 total minutes played.
The highlight there is the growth in rebounding from November through March, while the minutes were relatively consistent. Also the field goal percentage. Sure, a lot of his makes are wide-open, weak-side dunks and fast-break throw-downs . . . but what’s wrong with that?
#10.) And finally, there’s Antawn Jamison . . . who has settled in nicely with the Cavs. (After that now-forgotten, historically-bad start when he shot 0-12 against Charlotte in his debut.)
In his first 13 games in Cleveland, Antawn has averaged 16.7 points (on 14.3 attempts a game), 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks. He’s shot 47.8% from the field, 35.4% from beyond the arc and 44% from the stripe.
In Washington, he had been averaging 20.5 points (on 17.1 attempts a game), 8.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks. He’d shot 45.0% from the field, 34.5% from beyond the arc and 70% from the stripe.
In the 10 games without Shaq, he’s leading the team with 9.1 rebounds . . . has the team’s second best field goal percentage at 50.4% (behind the incredible Andy Varejao, who’s shooting 72.9% in that stretch) . . . and is second on the team scoring 18.8 points. (Behind LeBron’s 29.8 ppg in the last 10.)
You can revisit our fun bio on Antawn’s life and career at this link.
All right, that’s all the stat awesomeness I have for now. Could you take it?