A team can be historic without being an anomaly. Sometimes, various factors all manage to coalesce at the same time. Take, for example, the Cavaliers' recent three-point barrage.
The Cavs are connecting on 16.8 treys per game in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. That's three more than the Warriors hit per night in shattering the previous record for three-pointers in a year. Despite launching so many bombs, the Cavaliers are still converting 46 percent from deep. This red-hot shooting has made their offense unguardable, leaving the Hawks and Pistons scrambling for answers as they were knocked out in four games.
Fundamentally, Cleveland's offensive profile hasn't changed since the end of the regular season. Though it hasn't come with as much fanfare as the Warriors, the Cavaliers have also relied on three-point shooting all year. Their offense is built around the dynamic talents of two of the league's top drivers in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. The rest of their roster features multiple role players who are most effective when allowed to spot up from long range.
That formula leads to a ton of threes: only the Rockets and Warriors attempted a higher percentage of their shots from behind the arc during the regular season. The Cavaliers didn't connect as frequently as they have been during the playoffs because no one in history can keep up that pace over 82 games, but the three-pointer was still a major weapon before they caught fire against the Pistons three week ago.
Still, Cleveland has increased its reliance on the long ball thus far in the postseason. Nearly 43 percent of its field goals have come from deep in the playoffs. No team has ever taken more than 40 percent of their shots from downtown in a full season in NBA history, according to SB Nation's Cavaliers site Fear the Sword
Can the Cavaliers keep this up?
It starts with the King
There's no one reason or explanation for the Cavaliers' sudden hot streak. That said, it's always a smart idea to look at LeBron James first. In this case, doing so does provide some answers.
Being that this is the playoffs, it should come as no surprise that LeBron is seeing more minutes per game (38.8 compared to 35.6 during the regular season) or that he has the ball in his hands more frequently, per NBA.com. That's what's supposed to happen when the calendar turns to May and the games begin to actually count.
Not only does LeBron have once-in-a-generation court vision and the strength to make cross-court passes that no other player can, but there isn't a player in the league more adept at perfectly firing passes into his teammates' shooting pockets, even if they're standing 20 feet away.
Notice how that pass comes off dribble penetration, the largest catalyst for this hot streak. LeBron is dishing the ball out of drives 41 percent of the time, per NBA.com's player tracking data, a 12 percent uptick from his regular season numbers. This change of style has benefited shooters like Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith, who's had 12 of his 33 postseason buckets come via James assists.
There's a reason Smith and the rest of the Cavaliers are getting tons of clean catch-and-shoot looks even with Cleveland actually playing at a slower pace than it did during the regular season. LeBron and Kyrie Irving are both seeing more playing time and relentlessly attacking the rim. With LeBron in particular now using all the extra attention devoted to him as a means to get his teammates open shots, the Cavaliers are playing an offensive style that would make both Daryl Morey and members of the Old Knicks blush. While there are fewer possessions overall, each one is being treated like a block of gold.
It's Gregg Popovich "good to great" philosophy, only with LeBron as the trigger man. Good luck stopping that.
Good looks lead to good results
The Cavaliers aren't just dribbling the ball up the floor and launching pull-ups over outstretched arms from 28 feet away. A good chunk of these shots are coming in favorable situations. The Cavaliers are taking more than 12 three-pointers per game from the short corner in the playoffs, a mark that would have easily led the league in the regular season. The team as a whole is also shooting 49 percent on catch-and-shoot looks, per NBA.com, another number that would have been tops in the NBA.
This is the point where you're supposed to scream dispiriting Stats 101 phrases like "sample size" and "regression to the mean." Yes, it's unlikely everyone of the Cavaliers' role players continues to shoot like the second coming of Ray Allen.
At the same time, nearly every one of the players currently making it rain can be considered a knockdown shooter. That's essentially Love's primary role these days, especially in small lineups. Smith is actually 17th all-time in three-pointers made. The only reason Frye is still in the league is because he's one of the best big man shooters in the world.
Coach Tyronn Lue's decision to deploy Frye in lineups alongside Love has opened up the court, as well. The two played just 30 minutes together in the regular season, per NBA.com. They've already shared the floor for 29 minutes in the playoffs, and lineups featuring that duo are scoring 133 points per 100 possessions.
Chemistry shouldn't be discounted either. For the first time in nearly two years, the Cavaliers do seem to actually enjoy playing with each other. Winning and winning this way will certainly do that to a team -- it's always hard to separate cause and effect. But Cleveland's players say they're happier now, as do the members of management that are around the team every day. Whatever triggered that change is irrelevant. What does matter is that the Cavaliers have reached that point where they genuinely seem to enjoy sharing the ball.
* * *
Odds are that eventually all these shots cease to fall. That could happen because the Cavaliers run into a defensive stalwart like the Warriors, who can switch everything on defense and thus eliminate the need to leave shooters in order to help. They could happen because someone like Smith or Frye goes cold.
Then again, that's why the Cavaliers have put together such a deep roster. They can withstand an off-week from a player.
And anyway, LeBron and Kyrie aren't going anywhere. As long as they're in town, the rest of the Cavaliers will continue to get open looks against the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond. Given their background, there's a good chance they'll continue to knock them down.