Cavs Dominate Sixers in Irving’s Return

By Mike Perry

CLEVELAND – Prior to the Cavaliers 108-86 shellacking of the hapless Philadelphia 76ers, an NBA D-League team masquerading as the real thing, Cleveland second-year head coach David Blatt must have liked what he saw when he observed pre-game warm-ups from the home bench at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

For the first time since Game One of the Cavaliers’ 2014-15 NBA Playoff-opening series against the Boston Celtics, Blatt had his “Big Three” suited up and in the starting line-up as Irving was starting his first game since being sidelined with a broken left kneecap in Game One of last season’s NBA Finals.

As impressive as defending champion Golden State’s 24-game winning streak to open the season was, Blatt’s Cavaliers, with the trio of Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love in the starting lineup, have been equally successful.

The numbers do not lie.

Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert shoots over Philadelphia rookie forward Jahlil Okafor in the Cavs' 108-86 victory at Quicken Loans Arena.
Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert shoots over Philadelphia rookie forward Jahlil Okafor in the Cavs’ 108-86 victory at Quicken Loans Arena.

Last season, in early January, James took a two-week “injury hiatus” to get healthy and recharge for the rest of the regular season and playoffs. Since he returned to action from his two-week break (where the Cavs went 1-6 in his absence) on Jan. 13 for a home game against Phoenix the Cavs have a 34-3 record with the “Big Three” all in the starting lineup.

When James was on his two-week mini-vacation last season the team traded a pair of first-round draft picks for Denver center Timofy Mozgov. They also swapped over-confident, under-talented shooting guard Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City in a three-way trade with the Knicks that brought scorer J.R. Smith and defensive wizard Iman Shumpert to Cleveland.

When Blatt was looking around Sunday he saw Shumpert, who had successfully been cleared for action immediately prior to the game after a short workout, on the bench, ready to go. He saw Mozgov, who had been struggling with a sore shoulder and knee this season, coming off his best stretch of the season that started Dec. 11 with a 17-point, four-rebound showing in just 20 minutes in the Cavs’ 111-76 win in Orlando, continued with a nine-point, 10 rebound, four-block effort in 24 minutes in Cleveland’s 99-77 win in Boston before match-up issues forced Mozgov to the bench and limited his minutes in his team’s 104-100 home win over Oklahoma City.

Blatt had to have noticed scrappy Matthew Dellavedova, who is having the best season his career. The former St. Mary’s Gael is shooting a career-high 46.1 percent from 3-point range and is fourth in the league in assist-turnover ratio among those players averaging 25 minutes per game or more.

Only Mo Williams, who has missed the last two Cavs games with a sore toe, was missing.

“Just the mere fact that we had Kyrie and Shump and Bron and Kev all on the court at the same time…we haven’t seen that for a long time,” Blatt said. “That was a good feeling and I thought the guys played really well together. I thought they moved the ball and that there was pretty good flow for a group that hadn’t played together for a while.

“It was encouraging. We’re going to go through some ebb and flow, some peaks and valleys. It’s not just going to all be fluid and perfect right away. It’s going to take some time. Certainly, what you saw tonight were very good signs of what can again become a very strong team.”

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This season, one of the big questions surrounding Irving’s eventual return was if he would be back in time for Cleveland’s 5 p.m. (EST) tip-off at Oracle Arena against the Warriors on Christmas Day.

Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving scores two of his 12 points in his first action since Game One of the 2014-15 NBA Finals.
Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving scores two of his 12 points in his first action since Game One of the 2014-15 NBA Finals.

“Everyone was speculating when I should and when I shouldn’t come back, whether Christmas was a big-time game,” Irving said. “Honestly, for me it was about getting back when I got the clearance from my doctors, whether that be at Christmas or before Christmas I was going to take their word, trust them and go out there and try to be myself.”

James agreed the impending battle with Golden State had no bearing on Irving’s timetable, that the team has grown quite used to playing the hand it has been dealt.

“It got to a point where it just didn’t matter to us, the next man was up,” he said. “Whoever was in the lineup got us ready to go and we’ve had that mentality all year. Obviously we want to be whole, we want to be healthy and it looks like it’s happening but it’s never been a focus of ours. Guys have been ready to go, even in the absence of a lot of our big-name guys. We’ve been ready to go no matter what.”

Against the Sixers, a team that makes a great case for the NBA adopting the English professional soccer system of relegation, who, at 1-28 after the loss is on pace to shatter the NBA record for futility in a season, the Cavaliers were absolutely ready to go.

After a sluggish start in which Irving missed his first five shots from the floor, Cleveland (18-7, first in the Eastern Conference) closed the second quarter on a 34-8 run to take control. They led 55-38 at halftime, 88-60 at the end of the third quarter and, after a highlight reel dunk by Jared Cunningham off an Irving assist, pushed the lead out to 35 points at 100-65 before the Sixers closed to their final 22-point deficit.

James ended with 23 points, five rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes. Love, playing just 21 minutes and attempting just four shots, scored 10 points while Dellavedova, who got the majority of starts at point guard in Irving’s absence, chipped in 20 points on seven of 10 shooting with two blocks and two steals.

Irving, on a minutes restriction playing the first four minutes of each quarter, scored 12 points and handed our four assists.

Blatt was thrilled to have his regular point guard back on the floor.

“He had a serious injury, not an easy one,” Blatt explained. “He went through a serious surgery and a long, long process of rehabilitation. You see a guy like that every day, just fighting his way back, working hard and going through stages…I think the guys just felt good with him out there professionally and also on a human level.

“I know I did. I was truly happy to see him out on the basketball floor doing what he loves to do.”

Irving was asked, after the game, if he had any nerves taking the floor for the first time since June.

Cavs' forward Tristan Thompson congratulates teammate Matthew Dellavedova during the team's blowout win over the Sixers.
Cavs’ forward Tristan Thompson congratulates teammate Matthew Dellavedova during the team’s blowout win over the Sixers.

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “The first layup going out there, one of my patented layups and I go out there and miss it. It just wasn’t written in the cards for me to make my first five shots but it kept me aggressive in those four-minute spans that I’m playing under my minute restriction, just trying to be aggressive.”

James said he felt like the Cavs are close to being complete.

“We’re almost there,” he said. “It was great. Before the game in the hallway, we had seen so many familiar faces and having Ky back, after the six-seven-month layoff…I know he was very excited. Having Shump back and having almost a full group once Mo returns, it feels good. It feels really good.”

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