The Cavs and Jazz: A Tale of Two Teams on The Rise
- Brennan Valladares
- Jan 29, 2024
- 6 min read
Just over one month ago, the Cavaliers were riding a three-game losing streak and the Jazz were the 12th seed. Fast forward to Jan. 29 and both teams have been two of the hottest in the NBA. Cleveland is 9-1 over its last 10 (14-4 since Dec. 16) and the Jazz have won 14 of 20. How have both teams made these leaps? What schematic changes have taken place? Here is how these teams went from playoff doubts to playoff contenders.
Is Cleveland Better without Mobley and Garland?
Last season, Cleveland won the fifth most games in the league and was top ten in offensive and defensive efficiency. To start this year, though, the Cavs were in ninth place and were bottom five in offensive rating by Dec. 14. While their defense was still effective, it seemed that the redundancy of two small guards and two non-shooting bigs (a problem that hurt them last postseason) was limiting the team's offensive potential. Since Darius Garland and Evan Mobley have both been out, the Cavs' on-court personnel makes more sense.
The overlap of skills between Garland/Mitchell and Mobley/Allen has limited Cleveland's offensive options while those four were on the floor. Mitchell and Garland are both driving guards who excel with the ball in their hands, and while both have been above-average shooters for their careers, this season their percentages have dropped, decreasing their off-ball value (Garland more so, who has gone from 44% on catch-and-shoot threes to 34% in one season). Mobley was supposed to be the big that extended his range, but so far in year three that has not happened (20 3P%). With two ball-dominant guards running pick-and-roll and constantly seeing bodies, more problems arise than solutions. Until there is only one of each.
Not only has Cleveland won 14 of their last 18 games, but they are also in fifth place with the eighth-best offense and number-one defense over that span. When watching the games, each player has a role on the floor, and the more efficient shooting (second in made threes and 13th in three-point percentage) has been a sight for sore eyes. With Donovan Mitchell handling most of the creation duty, there is an established hierarchy of how Cleveland operates. Dean Wade, who has been starting in place of Evan Mobley, provides size and shooting in the front court next to Jarrett Allen. Isaac Okoro is the team's designated partial 3&D wing ("partial" because he is still growing as a shooter), Max Strus provides movement shooting, and Allen anchors the paint. All of this shooting accompanied by the Cavs' off-ball action presents the opportunity to run more complex sets.
The Cavs are already one of the league leaders in hand-offs and off-screen possessions (second and ninth respectively) and in the play above, they use Strus' gravity coming off the handoff to open up a wide-open three for Wade. What's important to note here is how head coach J.B. Bickerstaff utilizes his players to cause pause and confusion among the defenders. Jalen Green starts off guarding Wade on this play, but he has to jump out on Strus (35.8% on catch-and-shoot threes) because he sees the hand-off coming. The problem is that Jabari Smith, who is guarding Allen, also jumps out to stop the shot, leaving Dillon Brooks alone to tag Allen and recover to Wade. Brooks has to tag Allen (65th percentile in points per roll) because, along the baseline, Mitchell (35.8% on catch-and-shoot threes) is coming off an Okoro screen, preoccupying both Fred Vanvleet and Alperen Şengün who would be responsible for stepping over on Allen. All of this movement and chaos forces a defensive miscommunication and gives Wade (42.3% on wide-open threes) a clean look at a three (wow that was a lot).
This added shooting and consistent off-ball movement maximize Mitchell's driving ability (94th percentile in drives and 94th percentile in points on drives since Dec. 16). By asking Mitchell to be the designated creator, the Cavs have unlocked his playmaking ability. While he is still pouring in buckets (currently averaging 28 per game during this stretch) it has been more impressive to see his assists uptick. Mitchell is currently averaging 7.6 assists over his last 14 games, and his assist percentage is at a career-high of 35.5%, which would rank sixth in the entire NBA. He is more efficient on his drives (72nd percentile), and the Cavs as a whole are getting to the paint more often, creating more wide-open three-point attempts (12th from 28th on these shots).
It seems obvious but surrounding your best players with shooters and allowing them to dictate the game often leads to good offense. Mitchell's explosive playstyle puts the defense in a constant state of worry, and Cleveland has done an excellent job of placing its key role guys like Wade, Sam Merrill, and Max Strus in shot-ready positions. By eliminating the redundancy in personnel, the Cavs have unlocked Donovan Mitchell as a playmaker and have a difficult decision to make about the future of their stars.
The Jazz is Better Than Expected
After a sub .500 start to the season, Utah has won 14 of its last 20 games, boasting one of the most efficient offenses in the NBA. The list of opponents they have beaten over this stretch is as follows: Lakers, Nuggets, Bucks, Sixers, and Mavericks (all by double digits, albeit with Damian Lillard and Joel Embiid missing time). As head coach Will Hardy has tweaked his lineup, he seems to have found the right mix of shooting and driving to maximize his team's talents.
While the Jazz are still not efficient from three (17th in percentage), they have generated better offense thanks to Collin Sexton's driving ability. Over the last month, Sexton is 14th in drives per game and is averaging 9.8 points on these plays, the 12th-highest mark. With this volume and efficiency (68th percentile in drive field goal percentage), Sexton has been given the green light to use his burst to blow by opponents and make plays out of these situations.
In the play above, Sexton draws the attention of all five Nuggets defenders, allowing Lauri Markkanen to slice through the line, opening the passing angle for a Kris Dunn three. Now, the Jazz's success cannot be solely credited to Sexton, but his ability to puncture defenses augments everything else Utah does on offense.
Markkanen is an interesting centerpiece in all of this because he is not the prototypical lead shot creator good offenses tend to have. Instead, he is an elite off-ball big with size and athleticism that keeps Utah's offense flowing from one action to another. On the year, Markkanen leads the NBA in made catch-and-shoot three-pointers (116), while also ranking in the 79th percentile in efficiency on these shots (41.2%). He is deadly away from the ball, giving Utah options as he comes off pin-downs or receives flare screens. But all of this movement and action isn't just reserved for the Finnish big. Utah utilizes the concepts that have made Markkanen an all-star as the foundation for their offense.
As a team, the Jazz are second in off-screen possessions and seventh in cuts. The constant motion and screening have helped them increase their attempted shots in the paint (from seventh to first) and their point output on these shots (ranking first since Dec. 20). Overall, their field goal percentage has increased dramatically and it's hard not to believe it's because of the more efficient shots they are taking. They have limited their midrange attempts all year, and have increased their pace of play. By playing faster, the Jazz can generate much easier looks compared to playing against an established defense in the half-court. And it all comes back to who the Jazz have on the court.
Without having a traditional ball-dominant superstar, Utah has been forced to use the majority of its roster in innovative ways to get the most out of its star, Lauri Markkanen. The pace and space era is no more noticeable than it is in Salt Lake City, and Will Hardy is the shining example of the phrase "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". The players on Utah's roster are in the NBA for a reason, and all they needed was a coach to identify their strengths and place them in positions to be successful.
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