Will Tyronn Lue, the Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, show his defensive schemes that he says he can’t use yet, or will he show them in the playoffs?
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Washington Wizards Saturday night, 127-115. The Cavs have given up 100+ points in the last five games. The last time the Cavaliers held a team under 100 points was against the Utah Jazz where they held the Jazz to 83 points.
In the past five games, where the Cavs are 2-3, the Cavs have given up 118.6 points per game. While giving up 118.6 points per game, the Cavs, in the past five games have allowed opponents to shoot 51.4% from the field.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Quotes were obtained by Cleveland.com Joe Vardon on Lue’s secret plan.
"“We’ve got to hold back. We can’t show our hand early because … these are some good teams and we don’t want them to be able to come into a series and be able to adjust to what we do. We just have to be able to play our normal defense until we get there and then we will see what happens.”"
Also:
"“I think the rebounding hurt us. Rebounding. But it will be different once some other things happen. … Their two-guards, their threes, they still crashed the boards. But we have something to fix that. Just not right now.”"
Rebounding has been an issue for the Cavaliers lately. It really hurt them in Saturday night’s game against Washington. They let Washington get some offensive rebounds by not even boxing out, or even trying to box out. I have been a Tyronn Lue believe from day one and I understand trying to keep some secrets away from other teams until the playoffs. However, the Celtics are now tied with the Cavaliers for the number one see in the East.
If the Cavaliers really care about seeding and the number one seed, Lue should start using the secret defensive schemes he has not been using yet. By using some of the schemes now, it can help the Cavs be consistent on the defensive end heading into the playoffs, they can also start being consistent on the offensive end as well.
The Cavaliers have two huge games coming up: tonight at San Antonio and on April 5 at the Boston Celtics.
Will those schemes work? Lue isn’t sure.
“I’m not confident, but we’ve got to” get the defense fixed, Lue said. “We have to.”
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Whether it will work or not, Lue needs to start using the schemes now in order for the team to be consistent on the defensive end.