The Cleveland Cavaliers received well-rounded contributions from top to bottom on Saturday night, earning a 125-109 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each scored 27 points, which is nothing new for the two starting All-Stars, but the bench came through all night long, as the Cavs played four solid quarters on both ends.
Even without Iman Shumpert (and J.R. Smith), Cleveland’s bench scored 33 points.
DeAndre Liggins, not known for his offense, put up nine points as the starting shooting guard.
It could just be an anomaly, but one of the new faces in the locker room has already made a good impression in his first three days, and it may not be coincidental that the second unit, which ranks 28th in the league in scoring, has put up 65 points in two games.
Derrick Williams signed a 10-day contract on Thursday morning, arrived in Oklahoma City, and scored 12 points on the same night.
Although he only scored seven points (all of which came in second quarter) in his home debut in Cleveland, the 25-year-old made his presence felt.
Cleared for takeoff! ✈️#CavsNuggets | #DefendTheLand pic.twitter.com/6iFqlLvoD1
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) February 12, 2017
A few short weeks ago, LeBron commented that the Cavaliers were a “top-heavy” team.
Adding Williams on a 10-day contract isn’t going to turn the Cavs into a team with six guys in double-figures every night, but it certainly provides a spark to a group that has gone through its fair share of offensive struggles this season.
Keeping in mind that it’s only two games, maybe Williams’ production so far is just a flash in the pan and perhaps these will be two of his better games in a Cavs uniform.
Only time will tell, but if there’s one thing we’ve seen about this Cavaliers’ team (and generally the case around the league), it’s that the more time guys spend on the court together, they start to jell and become a cohesive unit – See: Kyle Korver’s 29-point performance against the Pacers.
Channing Frye took a few weeks to get accustomed to Cleveland last year. He ended up scoring 27 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
If Williams continues to put up these productive minutes (which by the way takes the load off of LeBron’s 37-plus minute average), the 2011 No. 2 overall pick could find himself playing some meaningful basketball in two months, after spending six years on some of the worst teams in the league.
Small sample size or not, Williams has done everything the team could hope of him up to this point and is having fun in the process after what could politely be described as a “rough” start to his NBA career.
Just 60 hours into his @cavs tenure, @DWXXIII is already fitting in and having fun. pic.twitter.com/0UK3gaNuZw
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) February 12, 2017
Korver scored 14 in the win over the Nuggets and Frye added eight, which may have been the case with or without Williams, but it’s worth noting that the trio of Williams and the sharpshooters have combined for 56 of Cleveland’s 65 bench points in the last two games.
If the Cavs can get three guys off the bench scoring like that consistently, it could alleviate the burden on the shoulders of the stars.
One of the biggest flaws of the Cavaliers’ roster this season has been a lack of depth.
When Smith went down in mid-December, that issue gradually became more prevalent throughout January.
But Smith was seen working out before and during the game Saturday. If he meets the projected timetable of his thumb surgery rehab, he could be back on the court by late-March.
Is it possible this Cavs’ bench goes from a weakness to a strength when Smith’s back?
Shumpert’s been reliable all year. Korver’s just starting to get rolling. Frye’s been locked in since the start of the season.
But Williams, the wild card, could add another dimension to this group.
No one’s expecting Williams to be matched up on Kevin Durant in the Finals, but in the mean time, keeping LeBron fresh for that series is a key priority for the rest of the regular season.
Between Williams and Richard Jefferson, the Cavs appear to be in a better spot to manage LeBron’s minutes.
Now that the team looks like it has one problem improved, the next step is to figure out who’s going to fill the backup point guard hole, as well as rid LeBron of the duties of handling the ball when Irving takes a breather.
All things considered, the Cavs aren’t in a terrible spot for a team that didn’t even start the year with a true backup point guard.
The trade deadline is on Feb. 23 and Cleveland has (some) options to acquire a proven facilitator.
If nothing else, the Cavs can see which players become free-agents in the coming weeks and find a way to clear up a roster spot, whether through a trade involving Chris Andersen, one of the guys on the back end of the bench, or even just simply cutting the losses and getting the spot filled.
At the time of the Williams signing, it may not have seemed like the biggest priority on the team’s list, but after seeing a brief glimpse of what he can bring to the table, we might be witnessing the start of the next chapter of an ongoing series, JunkMasters: David Griffin Style.
Finding guys who had underwhelming stints at their most recent stops and turning them into quality pieces who fit into a championship puzzle is Griffin’s calling card.
See: J.R., RJ, Frye, and maybe even Korver to some extent. This isn’t to say that the other teams viewed those players as junk, but they clearly thought they didn’t need them in their bigger picture.
Three of those guys won championships last year.
Kover and Williams could be next. While we’re at it, whatever point guard Griffin digs up has a good shot of joining that list.
Seven days from now, Williams could theoretically be off the team, but there’s only two games left in that time frame, so unless his performance is practically polar opposite of his first two games with the Cavs, he’s in a good position to spend March-June in Cleveland.
We’ll see how Williams fares against the Timberwolves on Valentine’s Day in Minnesota. Tip-off is set for 8 pm ET on NBA TV.
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