Preseason game 2

 That was… much better.  Still not good, but a W so lets focus on the positives to start, don’t forget its preseason and it doesn’t mean anything unless later it turns out it does.


  1.  Free throw attempts (FTA):  Per game (I don’t have per 100 for preseason games to compare to) the league leader in FTas last year was Washington at 26.2.  The Cavs have 35 and 30 in their two games, so that is a hell of a lot per game, and Free Throws are really valuable. 

  2. Evan Mobley. He’s going to be good defensively.  Really stinking good.  Offensively he is intriguing, he can beat guys off the dribble or on a quick move but out of sets he isn’t productive.  Catch and shoot or post ups aren’t his forte, but he can pass (though his judgement on how much space his length gives him seems to be off in the NBA, that should just be experience).  The last three seasons the Cavs have played a bad rookie as a starter, this year it looks like they have a good rookie and maybe even a guy that is neutral to + in his first year.  That would be a huge relief for watching games and be a large boost to their wins.  

  3. This roster fits Rubio’s offensive skill set very nicely.  He’s found Allen, Mobley, Sexton, Markkanen, Love and even Osman for easy baskets.  If you want some points just cut to the hoop or flare out for a three and Ricky will hit you, and then he will pick up an easy 2 on a reverse layup because the lane was clear and everyone was stuck to their man to avoid giving up another one of those looks.

  4. They barely took any mid range 2s.  30 FTAs, 30 3ptas, and a good number of finishers at the rim.  LM shot a pair of wide open 10 footers as well so even the mid range shots they did take included some good value ones.


The Neutral:


  1. The defensive results were far better but without Young and Capela in the game they weren’t exposed to constant PnRs which was one of their biggest issues against Chicago.  


The Bad:


  1.  Turnovers were still killer.  21 in total, and 15 across their three lead guards who can’t simply be put off the ball or on the bench if they keep that up.  I expect some of this to improve ‘organically’ because Sexton had 7 last night and he has 7+ just 3 times in 3 years, and 5 the night before so he is averaging 6 a night vs his career high of 2.8 a game last year.  


A lot more fun, really good finishing out of Allen and Markkanen (23 points on 11 FGAs and 8 FTAs), and they would have walked away with this one had the 3pt shots fallen evenly for both teams.


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