Ball Scrutiny: No LeBron, No Problem!

The Cavs isn’t just about LeBron James.

 Aaron Gordon about to slam the ball against Iman Shumpert

Coach Ty Lue decided not to send LeBron James as well as Kevin Love to the court against the Orlando Magic but still snatched the victory. Finally, the Cleveland Cavaliers got their first win after 5 games. And it was even more surprising that they got the win when LeBron and Love didn’t play.

Jose Calderon bolstered his play off the bench, finishing with 18 points including 4 treys. Kyle Korver also contributed 11 points off the bench and another double digit off the bench contribution from Ante Zizic with 10 points. Cavs’ starters aren’t that explosive, Dwyane Wade was the only one to dish out double digit production.

The Cavs major players only had minor minutes during the game yet they ended up with a win. How did this become possible?

Bench Team Play

Star players tend to carry the team by themselves but bench players are more likely to execute a team play impeccably, they do not hesitate to pass, their offense will not be focus on one man, their aim is not to get one man open, but just find any open man and let him take the shot.

False Anticipation

Orlando Magic least expected that the Cavs will attack not with their main men. Thus they are unprepared because their anticipation before the game is different from what the realm turned out.

Magic’s effort ended up in vain especially for their starter Aaron Gordon, scoring 21 big points but ended up as the loser. All Orlando starters scored double figures but they were one step short in bench production – which was the Cavs winning dagger. Thus, it result to an unfortunate loss against the Cavs which is not in their true form.

It still isn’t  a bad game for the Orlando Magic. Despite the lost, it is evident that they had a tight and great performance. Looking at the statistics of the game, they outscored the Cavs in almost every aspect except for one, free throw shooting.

They gave away too much fouls giving the Cavs a hoard of easy baskets to keep them within striking distance and finally, bench’s team play prevailed, 113-106 in favor of the Cavs.