Cleveland Cavaliers starting to find their groove with LeBron

Jay Asser 07:42 27/01/2015
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  • Confident: LeBron James feels the Cavs have become mentally sharper.

     Expectations are still tempered, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are beginning to consistently show flashes of their potential.

    After hitting a low point by dropping six straight and nine of 10, Cleveland have rebounded to reel off six consecutive victories over teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls and most recently the Oklahoma City Thun­der on Sunday.

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    LeBron James outdueled Kevin Durant in the win, going for 34 points, seven rebounds and five assists to notch his seventh straight 25-plus outing – all coming follow­ing his return from knee and back issues two weeks ago James has looked more like his four-time MVP self lately, com­pared to earlier in the season when he tallied 25-plus points in just 14 of 29 games.

    While a rejuvenated James has been essential to the Cavaliers’ turnaround, new faces have also helped the team get on track.

    Shooting guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, along with centre Timofey Mozgov, have plugged the holes in Cleveland’s roster since being acquired in the first week of January.

    Mozgov has averaged 10.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in the six victories and even when he’s been a non-factor in the stat sheet, like he was against the Thunder with two points and six rebounds, the 28-year-old has added tough­ness and has been a paint presence in defence.

    The Cavaliers’ unit as a whole have allowed an average of 93.5 points in their past four games while holding opponents to 39.7 per cent shooting from the field.

    LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots a free throw against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    Offensively, Smith has provided perimeter shooting and floor spac­ing. The former New York Knick hasn’t been shy getting shots up, but he’s averaged 15.3 points with 40 per cent shooting on 3-pointers during the win streak.

    Shumpert, meanwhile, has only suited up in the past two games after missing more than a month with a shoulder injury. In 24 min­utes, he’s scored 11 points total and made 4-of-5 shots, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, but his ability to guard multiple positions will be key down the stretch.

    Cleveland coach David Blatt said of his new trio: “The new guys obvi­ously gave us a real shot in the arm because they were players that not only filled skill-set positions that we needed, just by example Mozgov taking the place of Andy Varejao – a starting centre who we missed for a good period of time and had no one to replace him – but also Iman and J.R. coming in with positive energy and with a good understanding of what they need to do to help this team.”

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