It is amazing how a win can overshadow the use of a highly questionable strategy.
Such was the case in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night in Oakland.
A bounce of the ball in a different direction, a made uncontested dunk by Golden State Warrior reserve Marreese Speights, or LeBron James not continuing to have an all-time type of a game, are all things that could have made Monday’s storylines a bit different than what they happen to be. The simple fact that Cleveland won, though, does not mean everything was gravy for the Cavaliers.
LeBron played great. This part can’t be understated. He’s been so good that I can’t wait to tell my children’s children about the time a guy with a receding hairline went bonkers on other members of our species. Merely hours after people were hurling dumb narratives around, James was playing body snatcher to Golden State’s willing host; Matthew Dellavedova became America’s new favorite “grit” hero of the planet after shutting down Steph Curry; Timofey Mozgov was great — until he didn’t play all that much in the second half.
Wait… what?
Mozgov hasn’t played since 1:50 left 3Q.
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 8, 2015
That tweet came during the final few minutes of the fourth quarter. When David Blatt pulled him late in the third, refusing to put him in until the game was nearly over, Mozgov already had 17 points and a manly 11 rebounds. So, yeah, what was the deal with him sitting an entire quarter?
We are going to mostly ignore this move by Blatt because Cleveland won. As silly as that actually is, by not allowing for the nuance which helps understand everything going on in the game, this move was barely even a blip on fans’ radars during the game itself.
It did work out, however. It will be interesting to hear Blatt’s reasoning for the decision, but one can assume he will cite Cleveland’s defensive strategy against Steph Curry or something along those lines. That, or he may claim something about Mozgov needing his legs to be rested (he played 29 minutes in Game 2). Neither of those explanations, though, make any sense considering how well the Russian has played during these NBA Finals.
In only two games of the Finals, Timofey Mozgov is averaging 16.5 points, 9 rebounds, and 31 minutes per outing. All of those swell numbers honestly don’t even begin to do justice in helping to describe how impactful he has been in this series.
That said, Blatt has seemed to be slightly increasing his minutes per series.
During Cleveland’s conference quarterfinal series, Mozgov averaged 9.8 points and 8 rebounds, while playing 24.5 minutes per game. The conference semifinals saw the big man score 7.7 points and scoop up 6.5 boards, during 25.7 minutes per game. Finally, Mozgov scored over 10 points and grabbed 7.5 boards during the Eastern Conference finals, playing 26.5 minutes a night during the series.
While his points and rebounds per have varied from series to series, his level of play has elevated over each game, which has resulted in Mozgov getting 33 minutes per night in the NBA Finals, up eight minutes from his regular-season average of 25.
Maybe that is the explanation. It would be the simplest.
David Blatt, whom Mozgov played for on the Russian international team, knows his center’s limits more than we do. And, to be fair, Blatt has done a good job of sightly increasing Mozgov’s workload game over game.
No matter. Slight increases in minutes aren’t good enough — not if Cleveland wants to ride the momentum of stealing Game 2, splitting the home-arena advantage Golden State had, and is looking to take over the NBA Finals as it goes to Cleveland for the first time since LeBron James took his talents to South Beach.
No, Timofey Mozgov isn’t the greatest player in the world or a guy you are going to tell your grandkids about when you’re sitting around a campfire (maybe you should, though?), but he’s an incredibly important player for the depleted Cavaliers. He has developed into the type of center which has been a catalyst in getting Cleveland to the Finals.
As for David Blatt — the Cleveland coach who has been the butt of many running jokes of his own — he shouldn’t use Cleveland’s Game 2 victory as a way to justify his sitting of Mozgov. With the Cavaliers currently having a roster which has little to no depth, and LeBron carrying the offensive workload as though he is literally the only player allowed to have limbs on that side of the court, Blatt can’t continue to roll the dice of having Mozgov ride the bench for “reasons” — no matter how smart they seem in hindsight.
Here is the thing: Some people are refusing to adapt to Mozgov — they’re stuck on previous incarnations of him in Denver, where he was clearly misused (and underutilized) by Brian Shaw, a guy who ironically wants in on the Golden State coaching staff when Alvin Gentry goes to New Orleans.
But that shouldn’t matter — especially not for Blatt.
The proof is in the pudding, with the pudding being delicious with little factoids such as Mozgov having 33 points and 18 rebounds during the first two games of the Finals while his Golden State counterpart, Andrew Bogut, has a mere 6 points and 17 boards. Seriously, who had the former winning the battle by that wide of a discrepancy?
Timofey Mozgov is only 28 years old, has developed substantially in his four-year NBA career, and is a vital piece to whatever success the Cavs plan to have during the rest of the NBA Finals. Maybe, you know, they should start treating him — and his minutes — as such. It’s really not all that complicated. Play your best players because there’s as little as three tomorrows left, Cleveland.
Oh, and did you know LeBron played 50 minutes in Game 2? Yeah. Might want to redistribute the minutes coming off a short turnaround and plane flight before Game 3 on Tuesday.
Put Mozgov in, Blatt… A LOT MORE.
