LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love started 60 games together. They were 46-14 in those games, a .766 win pct. That is a 63-win pace over the course of 82 games. They played 1,441 minutes together and the team’s net rating was +12.6. That ranked as the 35th best trio on the team (min. 50 min played).
JR Smith was traded to the Cavaliers in January from the Knicks. His PER increased 26.1% after the trade to Cleveland. Smith’s effective field goal percentage went from 46.6% to 55.5% in large part because he was taking three-pointers at a rate 85.8% higher than in New York.
The Cavaliers isolated on 12.1 plays per game, 9.0% more than any other team. Much of that was LeBron James. He was isolated 6.6 times per game, second only to James Harden among individuals. The Cavaliers were very efficient in isolation, ranking behind only the Clippers.
Timofey Mozgov was traded from the Nuggets to the Cavaliers on January 7. Mozgov played in 46 games for Cleveland and the Cavaliers were 34-12 (.739 win pct) in games he played. Just in the time he was there, Mozgov’s impact was incredible, lowering the team’s defensive rating by 3.0% while he was on the court. The team’s net rating was +4.1 without him on the court and +11.0 with him on the court.
The Cavaliers were heavily reliant on their starters last season. In fact, just 23.5% of the team’s total points came from the bench, lowest percentage in the league.
Peter Newmann is an analyst and writer who spent 10 years at ESPN, 8 as the NBA senior researcher working 24/7 on the league. He wrote game notes for crews, articles for ESPN.com, analysis for studio shows, and regularly assisted reporters and writers. Follow him on Twitter, and check out his Web site, www.peternewmann.com.