-
Tim BontempsESPN
PHILADELPHIA — When Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lamar Stevens was called for a defensive three-second violation — resulting in a technical foul on Cleveland, and a free throw for the Philadelphia 76ers — with 3 minutes, 58 seconds to go in the second quarter of Wednesday night’s game, Wells Fargo Center was virtually silent as James Harden walked to the line to take the charity shot.
At least, that was the case until Jarrett Allen — Cleveland’s center and defensive anchor — raised his right fist in the air and screamed, “Yeah!”
Fifty-six seconds later, while Allen guarded 76ers superstar Joel Embiid, forward Evan Mobley shaded over into the paint to help him out — and he, too, was hit with a defensive three-second call. And, once again, Allen celebrated.
On its face, such an act — cheering on the opposing team taking a free throw — doesn’t make any sense. The whole point of defense, after all, is to stop the other team from scoring.
For the Cavaliers, though, those defensive three-second violations are a matter of pride. Why? Because it is proof they are staying true to their defensive philosophy to protect the paint at all times — no matter the cost.
“Our thing is to protect the paint,” Allen said with a smile after Philadelphia’s 118-112 victory. “We have two bigs in the game at all times, and that’s where most of the points are scored. So if we can protect that, we have a good chance.
“So I’m just celebrating that we’re doing the defense like we are supposed to.”
And — in defense of both Allen and the Cavaliers — it’s hard to argue with their approach. Cleveland enters the All-Star break with the NBA’s best defense, allowing 109.3 points per 100 possessions, a group that’s anchored by two of the best and most mobile defensive big men in the league in Allen and Mobley.
Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff has made it clear a single defensive three-second call isn’t going to change anything — especially when weighed against the number of opportunities that can be negated by having a rim protector waiting for a scorer at the rim.
“It’s something that we’ve done all year,” Bickerstaff said. “We’ve begged our guys to protect the paint. And we’ve told them we don’t care if we get defensive three seconds because it takes away so many other baskets and attempts.”
After Wednesday, the Cavaliers broke out of a tie with the Milwaukee Bucks for the most defensive three-second violations in the league.
Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the team that is tucked in behind Cleveland in second place in defensive rating? Yes, it is the Bucks.
Bickerstaff said it is an approach he picked up not only because he has two elite big men in Allen and Mobley, but something he took from the great Celtics defenses led by Kevin Garnett a decade ago.
“The year the Boston Celtics won the championship [2008], Kendrick Perkins led the league with 19 of them,” Bickerstaff said.
“So you imagine how many times he was in the paint and they didn’t call it. So, in our minds, as we think about it, just stand in the paint. They shoot 19 free throws on the year, they make 14 of them, you give up 14 points, but think about how many you take away. So that’s kind of our mentality.”
It’s one that takes time to get used to.
“I was shocked when I saw everybody’s reaction to it the first time,” Donovan Mitchell said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘What the hell are y’all cheering about?’
“But then I realized it’s a sign of our defense starts there. … No matter how we feel or how we play, always having that in our back pocket, that we have each other’s back, it’s just a sign, and it’s dope.”
Mobley, the second-year prodigy who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft and the runner-up to Toronto’s Scottie Barnes for last year’s Rookie of the Year award, admitted it took him a while to adjust to being all right with being penalized.
“A little bit,” he said, when asked if it was awkward at first to be OK with being called for it. “But you just got to buy into the system, the defensive system, and just trust the defense.
“It’s been a conscious thing since I got here”
Cleveland is on the verge of its first playoff appearance without LeBron James in more than two decades — and has a real chance to win a playoff series without him for the first time in 30 years. The Cavs are hoping it is their defense, and their willingness to stick to their principles, that will get them there.
“It’s been successful,” Allen said. “I do still think we have a long way to go. We still have a lot of mishaps, a lot of things we can clean up and a lot of things we can improve on.”