INDEPENDENCE: LeBron James has a rule for all of the Cavaliers’ role players: If you catch it, shoot it.
That’s what he told Channing Frye last season after the Cavs acquired him from the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline and it’s what he told Mike Dunleavy after the team acquired him over the summer.
James’ rule is simple. He won’t pass it to a shooter unless he’s open. So if James delivers the ball, he expects guys to take the shots. Dunleavy has heard that message loud and clear.
“I’m aware of that,” Dunleavy said with a chuckle Wednesday. “I think there’s a whole slew of guys that are in that boat. That’s what we’re here for, to knock down the open 3s when guys sink in on him, Kyrie, Kevin, guys like that. I’m fully aware of what I’m supposed to do.”
Dunleavy broke out a little bit with a pair of 3-pointers in the Cavs’ 128-120 victory against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. Dunleavy got off to a sluggish start with the Cavs, missing six of his first eight shots through the first three games — including some wide-open misses in the fourth quarter of a win over the Orlando Magic.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t think Dunleavy is pressing, but just thinking too much.
“He’s just trying to understand where shots are going to come from. Learning the offense,” Lue said. “When you’re thinking, it’s hard to just play. I think now, learning the offense, getting it down, knowing when we play with pace and play with speed, he’s going to get open shots in transition. Out of timeouts we’ll try to run a few things for him. I think he’s picking everything up.”
One of the numbers that appealed to the Cavs when they acquired Dunleavy was that he shot 53 percent on 3-pointers last season (21-of-40) when the nearest defender was at least six feet away. The belief was that his looks with that type of space will only increase given who else is on the floor.
J.R. Smith remarked at the amount of space he had to shoot when he first arrived in Cleveland. Dunleavy said Wednesday he hasn’t seen a significant change in space from opposing defenses to this point.
One reason could be that Smith has typically played with the starters since coming here, while Dunleavy is playing with the reserves. He will, however, eventually receive his fair amount of minutes playing alongside guys like James and Kyrie Irving. Lue has structured his rotation so that at least one member of the Cavs’ Big Three is usually on the floor at all times.
“I’ve definitely had some open looks, but it hasn’t been earth-shattering. I would just say when I’m open, especially when LeBron has the ball, you get the ball. That’s nice,” Dunleavy said. “It’s a long season. It’s just been a few games.
“You always feel better when you’re knocking down shots, especially with this group. It’s a long year. There will be some ups and downs, some nights where you make everything and some nights you can’t make anything. Just gotta roll with it.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.