At Golden State on Monday night, it almost felt like we were back to the good old days. The one during which the Warriors shattered their opponent in the third quarter, largely thanks to the quality of their shooters. Except that this time, the Bay franchise is the one that took the blows from afar. The Cavaliers took shelter after returning from the locker room with an outside address found.
A simple heatstroke? Rather the confirmation of a trend which is taking hold, and in proportions which can give a cold sweat to the opponents of the Ohio franchise.
Cleveland signed an 8/14 3-pointer in the third quarter, with a fiery Donovan Mitchell (5/7) like a Steph Curry or a Klay Thompson at their finest. However, the evening did not get off to the best start, at 26.1% in the first period. But the Cavaliers insisted on the new strong axis of their game, never to be worried again during the evening.
It is now a constant for the league leader, who remains on seven consecutive successes. A series during which the Cavs fired at all costs behind the arc, up to 50 attempts against Washington during their first victory of the period, on December 13. What’s next? 47 3-point shots, then 47, 43, 46, 48 and again 47 Monday for the Warriors. A small revolution for a team that averaged 36.8 3-point attempts last season.
As many attempts, more success than Boston
The culmination of this new strategy was reached last Friday in the open house operation enabled by the (non-)defense of Denver (149-135). The 23 long-range baskets scored against the Nuggets marked the fourth consecutive game with at least 20 3-pointers scored by Cleveland. Only… Boston, last season, had achieved such a series in the history of the league. With a champion's ring at stake. And while the Celtics were seen since the start of the season as the absolute champion in the use of shooting behind the arc, the Cavaliers are now looking their main rival from the East straight in the eyes.
On their series of seven successes, Kenny Atkinson's team is trying 51.6% of his 3-point shotson the heels of the reigning champions (51.8%). The Cavaliers are also in second place in terms of address, with a superb 41.8%, just behind the surprising Jazz (42%). But no one scores more than Cleveland by far over the period, averaging 19.6 3-pointers per game. His runner-up, Memphis, has “only” 17, Boston 16.3. That is to say a delta of almost ten points in a match, an asset that has become a master.
After the offensive orgy against the Nuggets, Donovan Mitchell had no trouble explaining the good shape of his team's attack. “ We did the right deeds over and over again » welcomed the rear. “ We played with intensity from the midfield and kept it up. If we want to be the team we want to be, we have to play like this for the entire 48 minutes. This helps when you put your shots in. And it helps when Evan Mobley makes his 3-pointers off the dribble. »
The Evan Mobley Revolution
The interior of 23 years is the absolute symbol of this mutation increasingly removed from the circle. While the Cavaliers have been waiting for him to add a reliable outside shot to his arsenal, that time finally seems to have arrived. Over the last seven games, he is shooting 50% from distance, with an average of 3.3 attempts per game, three times more than his career average. And this, in all situations, in the corner as well as at the head of the racket, coming off the screen or if the defense leaves him alone while he has the ball.
“ Don't leave me open » warned Evan Mobley after his 4/6 in the exercise against Denver. “ Don't leave anyone open on this team. When you look at the density of our squad, everyone can shoot. And the quality of our shots is one of the best in the league, we don't force 3-pointers, we simply take the right positions night after night. This is the direction the NBA is going. If we can get that many long shots, we'll take them every time. »
This new approach offers one more option to the Cavaliers, who can spread the game even further since their racket is no longer the one labeled “cluttered” by the Evan Mobley – Jarrett Allen tandem. And almost everyone benefits from it:
As if that wasn't enough for the opponent, sniper Max Strus was finally able to start his season by playing his first four games. Even still a little rusty and clumsy (26.3% from 3-point range), the former Heat player is too big a danger in outside shooting for defenses not to monitor him closely. His teammates can then better take advantage of his power of attraction, like that of Evan Mobley, to obtain spaces… or other even more open shots.
