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NBA: 4 Key Takeaways From the First Week of Play

By John Bauman

Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after scoring a layup while being fouled in the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after scoring a layup while being fouled in the first quarter against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James throws chalk in the air during his pregame ritual prior to the game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James throws chalk in the air during his pregame ritual prior to the game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cavs aren’t going to be an offensive juggernaut right out of the gate

Many NBA pundits were predicting a historically great offense from the Cleveland Cavaliers right out of the gate this NBA season. On paper, that prediction makes a lot of sense. The Cavs have the best basketball player in the world, one of the better point guards in the league and one of the best shooting big men to work with and a deep bench to draw from to spell the Big 3. But through two games, the Cavs offense has looked very pedestrian. Remember, this is just a two game sample, of which one game came against one of the better defenses in the NBA in Chicago. But nobody expected Cleveland to struggle like they did.

That team needs time to gel and figure out their rotations to maximize all the talent they have. Through two games, the Cavs most used lineup is Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Anderson Varejao, Kevin Love and Dion Waiters. The next two most played lineups both include Matthew Dellavedova, which is pretty surprising. Dellavedova provides shooting and is a gritty defender, but I didn’t expect him to be a major cog in the rotation coming into the season. Head Coach David Blatt has to figure out how best to use Dellavedova and other tricky pieces to fit like Tristan Thompson, Shawn Marion and Waiters.

It is going to take Blatt a few games to get a good rough draft for the rotations, but it won’t be until the playoffs until he really sets the rotations in stone, when he has a season’s worth of numbers to go off of. Until those rotations are set, the Cavs won’t hit their stride on offense. It is going to take until around the All-Star break until the Cavs really take off, and when they do, it will be something special to watch offensively.

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