CLEVELAND: For the second time in as many seasons, the Cavaliers have elected the month of January as a good time for a giant renovation.
They acquired Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith last January, overhauled their pick-and-roll coverages and defended their way to the NBA Finals.
This time they fired their head coach. Now Tyronn Lue, who spearheaded the defensive overhaul last season, is trying to do the same to the offense.
The Cavs are trying to play faster.
They’re trying to use Kevin Love in positions where he’s more comfortable. They’re trying to get Kyrie Irving easy baskets in transition.
They’re not necessarily trying to create extra possessions, Lue said. They’re trying to make the quality of their possessions better.
“When we get bogged down in the half court, it makes it tough on us,” Lue said. “With the athletes we have … we can get out and run and get easy baskets and not have to rely on our half-court offense.”
With Lue as the defensive coordinator last season, the Cavs ran a number of the same defensive coverages Lue used in Los Angeles and Boston under Doc Rivers. When they acquired Mozgov, Lue told then-coach David Blatt what they were doing wasn’t working. Lue wanted to make Mozgov the focal point of the defense and funnel the action toward him.
“You gotta change and you gotta evolve in this game,” Lue said. Which is what the Cavs are trying to now do on offense.
LeBron James compared it to going from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Golden State Warriors. The Grizzlies are a defensive-minded team that walks the ball up the floor on offense and plays through their two All-Star bigs in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
The Warriors play at one of the fastest paces in the league, creating nearly 102 possessions per game with their fast-paced, free-flowing style. The Cavs, by comparison, average nearly seven possessions less per game than the Warriors.
For as athletic as he is, James’ teams typically play slow. He has only ranked in the top half of the league in pace twice in his career — his rookie season and his first year in Miami.
Lue made it clear all three of the Cavs stars need to be in proper shape in order for the Cavs to play faster.
James responded by posting an early morning photo to his Instagram account Monday following a 7 a.m. workout, although he said those are rather routine and had little to do with the Cavs’ new style of play.
“I don’t think I’m in bad shape at all,” James said. “I’m not that far off. I can get there in less than a week.”
Longabardi coming
Lue confirmed assistant coach Mike Longabardi will be added to the Cavs’ staff, although he’s not sure yet when he’ll arrive. Lue and Longabardi, who was fired from the Phoenix Suns last month in a staff shakeup, were both assistants on Rivers’ staff in Boston. He is expected to help Lue with the Cavs’ defense.
“Someone that I know, I’m familiar with, just kind of help me along with the defense,” Lue said. “Just going to bring him in, see where he fits, see what he likes and then go from there.”
Cavs assistant Bret Brielmaier has moved up to the front bench alongside Larry Drew and Jim Boylan until Longabardi arrives.
Dribbles
• Lue is still operating under his assistant coach’s contract. He said he has not yet signed his new deal, expected to be for three years, although he’s not concerned about it.
• Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett missed Monday’s game with right knee soreness.
• Andrew Wiggins, who was drafted by the Cavs, entered the night averaging 31.7 points against them — his highest scoring average against any team in the league.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.