we are playing great. we need to compete for 45

>> this is how you come back. a nice, strong sunday for the clippers. we start off with the liberty for play of the game. here it is, late second quarterback king james hammering at home -- late second quarter. king james hammering it home. welcome to our post in coverage. i'm andy baskin alongside head coach of brush high school, chet mason. your thoughts on today's 'game? >> be playing the weight coach lou preaching -- the way coach lou been preaching. they was able to get to the rim and that opened them up to

>> they put on a clinic today for three point how much is this a part of part -- coach lou's let's get in there? push, push, push. >> i mean, that's their goal. the goal is to get up those numbers and points. they want to still play defense of the highest level but pushing the ball opens up threes like they had tonight. >> let's take a look at final stats. lebron james 27 points, five assists. j.r. smith 17 points, one rebound and five assists. i want to run through a number of talk -- topics with you. you have spent a lot of time around the cavaliers playing summer league. your thoughts on lou? >> i love thai lou. he is a point guard.

he no what it takes -- he knows what it takes to take the cavaliers where they want to go. >> lebron james was all over the place. only 31 minutes. i love when he doesn't have to play the whole game. today, lebron james ends up at 27 points. do you think lebron james is getting to the next level? >> he is efficient. that's lebron james. like i said, he started off going to the basket and it opened up so he was able to go three for four for the three- pointer. he is still the best basketball player in the nba. >> do you expect him to turn it up to the next level of playoffs? we have been watching him. i'm not saying lebron james is bored with the regular season, but maybe fans are looking at this and the players are like let's just get through the regular season. what you think is mindset is right now? >> to get through the regular season. he knows when to turn it up,

it's really time to play. not to say he doesn't give it all every night but it's another level. >> let's catch up on kai reed irving. he came up with 17 points back i think people forget he missed the first few months of the season. talk about his flow and where he is heading for the stretch run. >> he is getting the back. the guy is human. with his process, he is getting his form back, getting his conditioning back. i think you will be ready. >> is he getting enough touches? >> yes. he got 17 shots up today. >> let's talk about j.r. smith.

the third quarter and jr -- i love the way he plays. he has been consistent, tough and he never complains. i think he is a work with -- a workman just like cleveland. >> coming to cleveland was great for him because it helped him develop his character. now he is the best character. he's not doing some of the stuff he was doing in new york. it's starting to show. >> maturity, is that when year -- word? he is a mature leader. >> yes. it's a really good spot check >> let's move forward. how about kevin love? he is still struggling for the play. everybody was in his face the other night but they are playing great on the road right now. he had a great win today over the clippers. what is love's best role?

adapt to the run, the up-tempo offense. he will be fine. he is liable to go five from eight. more of him is going to be the condition and being able to get it up and down more. he is going to adapt to it. >> i want to go back to thai lou . you played with charlie coles back where is thai? how hard is it to get your system in? we are looking at a different system, defense oriented versus offense is oriented. >> it's going to take time. people say we ain't got that much time but that's why those guys are professionals because they can adapt to it. going from playing to coaching, what i had to learn is a totally different thing and

you have to wear many hats. he is adapting to it and i think the team definitely looks at him as a leader. >> you have play for a lot of great coaches. as you coach this season, what is the biggest thing you have learned? >> coaches win in practice, players when in games. that's what i preach to my kids. >> we're just getting started with our post in coverage. we're probably going to head out to los angeles here and hear from brian one horse --

time now for our quickstart. the player with the hottest start this afternoon was kevin love, first quarter, six points. welcome back to our post gain

we are talking all things cavaliers. our good friend brian winhorse, he broke down the cavaliers and as they move forward, what they need to do to get back to the nba finals. >> first, let's talk about the cavaliers down the stretch. it appears they are playing good basketball and they are heading toward gelling for the playoffs. >> their offense has really come alive. this is exactly what highly wanted when he got control of this team. the last five or six games, they are playing at the fastest pace of lebron james's career. he has never had this many possessions in a game so you have to really expect -- respect that thai lou's game plan is starting to win out and we are seeing them become a really dangerous looking offense of team. i am a little bit concerned that their defense has been sliding. wind high lou took over, they

the league. he was the reason for that. he was the defensive coach. since that time, they have had the number 11 defense in the league and history shows if you are going to win a championship, you've got to be a top 10 defense and that's something i am concerned about that on his west coast trip, the cavaliers look like they are finding a rhythm. >> let's talk about channing frye. it seems like they are going to work him into this a little bit. >> one of the reasons he is looking so good right now is because kevin love has not been hitting his shots. he has really been struggling from the three point range only shooting about 20% since the all-star break and that has really not enabled the calves -- cavaliers to spread their offense like they like to. so you plug channing in and all of a sudden the offense looks so dynamic because you can't

he is going to get open because defenses can't cover him but the thing i will say about channing frye is remember he only averaged five points a game with the orlando magic. don't consider that he is going to do what he has done these last few games every single game but having that weapon is important and i think thai lou has got to make sure he is in the rotation. >> how do they get kevin lee moving again? how do they get him as part of the big three and do you expect him to be able to turn it on for the playoffs? >> that has been the big question since they traded for him. kyle odom -- thai lou talked about running sets with him and he has done not a little but primarily love is getting his touches, he is just not getting the shots. he is shooting about 51% from the restricted area, that area around the rim and that sounds like it's a good number but the league average is 60%. one of the things going on his kevin love is not having a

you can sort of understand why you are not so interested in throwing him the ball when it matters. it's sort of a chicken and egg thing. i think for the cavaliers to be at their best, they got to get kevin going and that has to continue to be a priority like it has the last couple of months. >> what do they need to do to have the right frame of demand, -- kind of mind to get to the playoffs? >> they have done a pretty good turnout. they need to make sure their defense gets better. there has been so much talk about where lebron james is plan, how he is interacting, whether the offense is playing fast and all of that matters in their getting wins but out of everything i am sitting right now, the only red light i see is that defense keeps sliding backwards. at one point, they were the lead defensive team. it hasn't happened when thai lou has been the coach. i wonder if thai lou regrets

the middle of the season. but average -- over the last few weeks, the cavaliers really need to focus on getting that defense consistent. that's what they did last year which help them become one of the best teams going into the playoffs. >> thank you very much. we have much more coming up. we will talk more about lebron

time now for the bounce back player of the game. j.r. smith scored 17 points against the lakers. loved la, great performance. your akron children's hospital rebound player of the game. i am joined by chet mason as the cavaliers picked up a win. about jr because we were talking about this earlier, one thing about him is what we don't get to see. >> he puts in more work then he used to. i think he is in the gym way more than he used to be. he is way more focused about the task ahead. >> just a better situation all

let's go over to warren pearl -- warren -- lauren pearl. >> reporter: it does not appear that lebron james's drive to win has lessened in any way. 31 years old, one of the best to ever play the game and with the statistics to prove it. yet still, lebron james is known for his tireless work ethic. >> it's about my craft and what i do. >> reporter: his recipe is -- his recipe for success is not one he is afraid to share with the world. >> it's about structure. >> reporter: but most important, he is trying to lead this year's team to a championship while they sit atop the east. they struggled at times against top teams in the west. lebron james doesn't see the

>> it builds character. just execute what needs to be done. >> reporter: but there is still a long ways lebron james would like to go with this team and his career. the king does appreciate how far he has come. >> you've got to know the story. 40 miles south of here, a beautiful family and beautiful teammates. >> reporter: if you follow king james on twitter or any social media, you know he often talks about driving for greatness in putting in the time. clearly, he is a naturally gifted athlete. he says he puts in the work to try to take his game to another level. still to come, we will look at what is next for the cavaliers as they stay out

here is your cavaliers schedule plays out. tomorrow, but the utah jazz insulate. wednesday, back home to take on the dallas mavericks. then, hitting the road to florida for a couple games. then, orlando and lebron james returns on saturday. time for final thoughts.

cavaliers won against arguably the fourth best team in the west . what is going on in san antonio and the golden state? how much could you give cavaliers fans? samhsa concern they can't -- fans are concerned they can't beat golden state fix the quality totally different game, totally different pace. they held the clippers to 40% shoot. they played some d. >> is that i getting in there -- is that thai getting and their -- in there and say we've got to step up? >> before, he was the defensive coordinator. now he has to find time to do both. >> brian talked about that as well. would he have been better

coordinator and the head coach? i think it's hard to do everything. >> he is definitely ready to be a head coach. he put in his work and time. i think he is definitely ready. he's just got to figure out how to battle the two. >> did you have fun? you have 15 seconds. >> we've got the best staff organization, superintendent read. mike moore see. -- mike hersey, my wife. >> thanks for watching the

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