Cleveland's "New" Offense

Brian Windhorst mentioned in a recent article about the Cleveland Cavaliers that head coach Mike Brown has been working to revamp the offense.

Windhorst wrote:

The Cavs' coach said he felt like he was back in college over the summer. Determined to rework his oft-criticized offense, the defensive specialist immersed himself in learning more about offense. His professor was famous Italian coach Ettore Messina, who led CSKA Moscow to the Euroleague title in 2006 and a runner-up finish last season.

It included a trip to Italy and CSKA's training camp so Brown could observe the way Messina, who befriended Brown over the past several years, coaches offense. Brown said he read and re-read a translated version of Messina's book "Basket" like he was studying for a mid-term. Not all the concepts translate, of course, but Brown is hoping to teach the Cavs to move more like a European team.

CSKA has several players who can start the offense, which feeds off multiple drive-and-kicks in the same possession. Brown is making that a priority -- an effort to reduce all the standing around when LeBron James is just dribbling -- with plans to employ a different kind of stat to entice his players to continue moving. It's sometimes called a "hockey assist," when a drive or a pass leads indirectly to a basket. His assistant coaches will keep it and, just like with charges, there figures to be a monthly bonus to the player who piles up the most.

There certainly is no question that Cleveland needs to change the structure of their offensive sets. Last season, especially in the playoffs, often times everyone would just stand around and watch LeBron James work. Very little movement or post up game was utilized.

With players such as Daniel Gibson, Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlovic, and James able to effectively get to the basket and Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall able to shoot the ball effectively from the perimter, this offensive concept seems to make sense. The one player who this concept does not apply to is Zydrunas Ilgauskas. With more than $30,000 remaining on a three year contract, it will certainly be interesting to see how Brown works Ilgauskas into the offense.

Looking Back at July 2005 for the Cleveland Cavaliers

In the summer of July 2005, Cavaliers general manager, Danny Ferry, was very active in putting together a team around his new star, Lebron James. That summer, Ferry signed the following four players:

Larry Hughes: $62,190,940 over five years
Zydrunas Ilgauskas: $50,707,542 over five years
(including player option in year five)
Damon Jones: $16,107,296 over four years
Donyell Marshall: $21,950,004 over four years

The four contracts total at $150,955,782 that Ferry committed to four players. Although the Cavaliers reached the finals this summer, I think Ferry would have gone about his July 2005 differently if he could do it over again. Hughes was overvalued after a strong 2004-05 season. Ferry may have been better off signing Michael Redd or Ray Allen or acquire a wing player to put next to James in a different fashion. Ilgauskas' contract was simply too long. At the time, he was an aging, slow-footed big man. Although effective in the league, Ilgauskas is not the greatest fit in Cleveland. Jones' contract was not bloated by NBA standards, but he is simply a standstill shooter, who cannot run an offense or score off-the-dribble. Marshall also became too much of a standstill shooter, who has not provided the versatile defense Ferry and the Cavaliers were looking for. Each player they signed was too much of a specialty player, who cannot provide the type of support that James needs.

The Cavaliers play a flawed, plodding style and will not be able to truly contend for the title without a true point guard. Although Daniel Gibson performed well in the playoffs, he is nothing more than a shooter in a point guard’s body. The cumbersome contracts signed in July 2005, make it difficult for them to make any moves to upgrade the current state of the team. Ideally, Mike Brown ups the tempo on offense and allows James to become a Magic Johnson-type player. They need to get into their offense earlier and attack quick to be successful. When they allow their opponents to setup on defense, the Cavaliers offense, in turn, becomes stagnant.

James needs to stop dribbling as much and the Cavaliers need to work more movement into their offense. Cleveland is much better when James is cutting towards the basket, then they are when he is standing at the perimeter pounding the ball. Coach Brown needs to get James in the post more, where he can take advantage of his size. Right now, he is not comfortable enough down there, so he rarely posts low enough for it to be effective. With the right players around him though, the Cavaliers would be able to take advantage of James’ strengths and create an offense that will allow the result of the NBA Finals to be very different next time.