The Cleveland Cavaliers Are Playing Too Soft

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been playing too soft.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been struggling lately. After their close loss to James Harden and the Houston Rockets Sunday night, the Cavs have dropped five of their last six games.

(*Editors note: post written before Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons on March 14, 2017)

Despite the recent struggles, the Cavs are still in a strong position to capture the top spot in the Eastern Conference, thanks in part to the recent struggles of many of its strongest challengers. While the team still has its championship aspirations well in tact, it may be worthwhile to examine what could be causing some of these struggles.

The Cavs’ have been a below-average team in several key defensive categories this season. Cleveland is allowing 106.6 points per game, which ranks 21^st in the NBA; the Cavs ranked 4^th in the league in opponent scoring last year, allowing only 98.3 points per game. The Cavs also rank 21^st in defensive efficiency this season, compared to 10^th in its championship season.

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No championship team in the last ten years has ranked worse than 10^th in defensive efficiency.

If we look beyond these baseline statistics, the below-average trend continues. The Cavs rank 17^th league-wide in defensive rebounding, and 21^st in total rebounding. Cleveland was a lot stronger on the glass in 2015-2016, ranking 11^th in defensive rebounding and 9^th in total rebounding. The Cavs are near the bottom of the league in other defensive categories: they are 30^th in steals (6.8 per game), 27^th in blocked shots (4.1), and 28^th in turnovers forced.

All these statistics illustrate a team that is mediocre-at-best defensively. What gives? Why are they performing so much worse defensively than last year? Could the Cavs be playing soft?

It is hard to believe a team with such championship pedigree could be playing soft, but a closer look at the stats makes that claim easier to believe. In addition to its defensive rebounding woes, Cleveland has been struggling on the offensive glass, ranking only 19^th in the league. The Rockets won the offensive rebounding battle against the Cavs Sunday night, 20-4; this is the biggest margin in any NBA game this season.

The Cavs also have committed the second-fewest fouls in the league this year.

While fouls generally have a negative relationship with team success, their lack of committing fouls could suggest that the team is not being aggressive enough.

Another stat that may show their lack of aggression is their three-point shooting. The Cavs are attempting 34.0 three-pointers per game this season, which third-most in the NBA and significantly more than last year.

While the Cavs have been successful from the perimeter, their offensive style may show that they are less willing to go to the basket and play the tenacious style of basketball that led to their championship.

It is not time for the Cleveland faithful to hit the panic button yet, as there are obvious reasons to remain optimistic about this team.

After all, they are the defending champs. But the statistics show that Cleveland is going to have to change its approach and effort level if it wants to repeat. Adding Kevin Love back to the team, as well as getting J.R. Smith more acclimated to playing more minutes, should help this team return closer to its championship form.

The personnel on this team proved that it can get it done when it counts but the effort level is clearly going to have change.