Here's the whole article. Altman's quotes really are quite good.
Cleveland Cavaliers go back to their old, fun bombs-away style
By Chris Fedor, cleveland.com
cfedor@cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The stretch immediately after deadline deals is often referred to as a "honeymoon phase," with new energy, enthusiasm and hope sweeping through an organization.
The Detroit Pistons went through it, ripping off five straight wins after trading for Blake Griffin. Now it's the Cleveland Cavaliers' turn.
A team once known for a lack of effort, incessant finger-pointing and frightful defense has won three straight games, including a spirited 22-point blowout victory over the second-seeded Boston Celtics in the official debut of Cleveland's overhauled roster.
The new juju could eventually wear off. After all, the previous version of the Cavs -- a flawed and aged roster -- went through a brilliant stretch too, winning 18 of 19 games. Sure, it coincided with a soft schedule and happened before Isaiah Thomas' debut that threw everything out of whack, but that stint was dotted with chest bumping, sideline celebrations and smiles.
There were no agendas. LeBron James looked happy, even singing in the locker room while getting dressed. Fans were going crazy thinking about the possibilities while the players lavished praise about playing the right way.
That was all before a miserable month of January, which led to the recent shakeup. How quickly we sometimes forget.
On Sunday, there were four new players, and all of them showed why they were trade targets. The youth and athleticism was obvious. But the style might have been most important.
It looked like Cavaliers basketball again, the approach the three-time Eastern Conference champions used during the best stretch of the season.
For years, the Cavs were built to bomb 3-pointers and shred opponents with an excess of offensive weaponry. The spread floor, which allowed playmakers to attack a less-crowded paint, was too much for most teams. The drive-and-kick game started with downhill attackers, rather than hesitant and inefficient drivers. Understanding its own defensive limitations, Cleveland was typically able to outshoot and outscore its mistakes.
Somewhere along the way, in between Kyrie Irving's trade demand and the February trade deadline, the Cavs abandoned -- or lost -- that identity.
They have embraced it once again.
Of the six players sent away by the trade deadline Thursday, Channing Frye was the most prolific range shooter, shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc. Jae Crowder, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert and Isaiah Thomas were all below 33 percent this season. Some were underperforming, likely to increase the numbers in the second half. Others were just odd fits.
Those same questions don't seem to exist with the new guys. George Hill entered Sunday's marquee matchup against Boston ranked third in the league in 3-point percentage. He went 2-of-4 against the Celtics. Rodney Hood, hitting a career-best 39 percent while in Utah, was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Even Jordan Clarkson, the worst outside shooter of that trio, only missed once on four long-range attempts.
In all, the Cavs were 16-of-30 from 3-point range. James was the offensive maestro, putting the defense in a consistent bind and dishing out 10 assists. He, again, had three other shooters surrounding him at all times and Tristan Thompson setting menacing screens. The ball moved all over the floor, and the Cavs sprinted up and down the floor, outscoring Boston in fast-break points (12-9).
If it looked like the Cavs were having more fun, it's because they probably were. This style of ball has that kind of effect.
It's what general manager Koby Altman envisioned when making the deals Thursday.
"We were sort of 18-1 and free flowing with (Kyle) Korver and Channing and lots of 3-balls were going up and the spacing, that was just fun and that's been Cavaliers basketball for a large portion since I've been here," Altman said. "A lot of it is on me in terms of the roster I constructed originally to start the season. It didn't fit. Maybe I needed to have more spacing and maybe I needed to have more athleticism.
"In this day and age in the NBA -- and gosh has it changed so fast -- you need everyone to be a live body. It's not fun when you're getting beaten down the floor for layups and you're missing a 3-ball and it turns into a layup or you get a turnover and it turns into a layup or a 3. That's demoralizing. That's not fun.
"I needed to put a lot more live bodies out there and be way more active and quicker to the ball and still scoring and hopefully we return to some of that fun."
Shooting 53 percent from 3-point range is unlikely to continue. Clarkson, a career 33 percent long distance shooter, going 3-of-4 is fool's gold. JR Smith has been inconsistent all season so 6-of-7 from the field with a massive dunk is an outlier showing.
But whether shots are dropping or not, it appears the Cavs have finally accepted who they are again, and few teams in the East seem equipped to hang with them on the offensive end.
Defense remains a question. But there were signs there as well.
"Just flying around, helping each other out, it was big," Hood told reporters. "When a guy got beat, a guy came over. We really talked well. As we get to know the terminology, I think that's the biggest thing for me, getting the terminology and everything right, we'll be that much better.
Even though the Celtics have one of the league's worst offenses and are clearly in a pre-All-Star-break rut, the Cavs were able to hold them under the 100-point mark. It's the 13th opponent the Cavs have kept below that number. The Celtics shot just 40.4 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Asking for that performance each game is a bit much. But with an explosive offense, being respectable at the other end might be all that's required to get back to the Finals.
James doesn't need much help, but he benefits from this style as well. He played the power forward spot on Sunday afternoon, surrounded by shooters. That's what James has always wanted. That's what Altman's protege David Griffin searched for relentlessly. It's always been the best way to maximize James' unique playmaking ability.
In the first half, his teammates went 6-of-6 on passes from him. His new teammates -- Hood, Clarkson, Hill and Nance Jr. -- were 4-of-6 on his passes overall.
"I think we're going to get a rejuvenated LeBron James and that's the key," Altman said recently. "This guy is so good he dictates outcomes.
"That was the hardest part for me was seeing him . . . and I don't want to say he didn't believe in this group and want to be careful in saying that because he's going to compete every night and try to get whatever teams he's on to the Finals, but I wanted to see a renewed sense of joy in him and I think he's excited and I can see a renewed sense of excitement and joy in him when he's in the building and we will see that translate to some fun basketball because he's the key.
"He's the guy that is going to take use back to the Promised Land, so you want to put the right pieces around him."
It took a few months, but it appears Altman has done that. The first look was a wild success.
The Cleveland Big Three era is over. But Cavaliers basketball, which never should have changed, appears to be back.
