If you watched any of the Cavs games last year, you knew they were terrible at defense. A couple games stuck out to me, the first being the game where LeBron scored 50+ points and the Cavs lost to Toronto (also known as the last game Paul Silas was paid to coach). The other game was vs NJ, on the road. The Cavs had a big lead all game, then choked it away down the stretch. But they had the lead going into the final play. New Jersey ball, just a second of two on the clock, inbounds from half court.... Richard Jefferson runs a backdoor alley oop.... perfect pass... uncontested layup... game over. That's right, the last play of the game, with 1 second left, the Cavs gave up an alley oop. Well. Done,
As Pluto says:
The basic basketball play is the pick-and-roll, a two-man play. One guy dribbles the ball, the other guy stands in the way of a defender. The hope is to cause confusion for the defense.
A year ago, it sure did for the Cavs, a team that never could decide how to defend the pick-and-roll. Do they want to be aggressive, jump out and double-team the dribbler? Or lay back and take away the dribble-drive to the basket?
Or... what?
Last year, the Cavs often stared at that play like a caveman who just saw someone light a match for the first time. They were utterly dumbfounded, frozen in their tracks.
Exactly.
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