What needs to change in order for the Cleveland Cavaliers to dominate again
In order for the Cleveland Cavaliers to keep winning, there are a few issues that need to be addressed.
Back in August, when the Kyrie Irving trade first happened, most people thought the Cleveland Cavaliers had won this trade. However, the best pieces of that trade were not available immediately, due to the realities of owning a draft pick and the injury of Isaiah Thomas.
As a result, the only pieces immediately available from the Irving trade were forward Jae Crowder and center Ante Zizic. In retrospect, it’s reasonable to say that the Cavaliers were certain to be worse for wear during the opening months of the 2017-2018 NBA season. The only immediate assets they acquired were Crowder, who has been underperforming (although he’s been catching his stride in recent weeks), and Ante Zizic, who hasn’t been getting enough playing time in the absence of Tristan Thompson.
Even though the Cleveland Cavaliers just ended their four-game losing streak and are currently on a six-game winning streak, there are many issues that need to be solved in order for the Cavaliers to be thought as the very best in the East again. Throughout the past week or two, the Cavaliers have been playing excellent team basketball, getting everyone involved on offense. But is this enough to make Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue sleep again?
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Of course, the offensive contribution is just one part of the equation that wins you games and ultimately the NBA championship. The other part is defense.
Unfortunately, the Cavs have been underperforming on the defensive end. There’s an old saying: Offense wins games, defense wins championships. Even though the Cavaliers weren’t a great defensive team when they beat the Golden State Warriors in 2016, they were by far better than the current team when it comes to defense.
The Cleveland Cavaliers currently have the worst defensive rating in the NBA, placing them lower than teams that have no chance at a record above .500. A true indicator of that is the fact that Cleveland’s opponents score an average of 110.7 points per game (28th in the league).
To make things even worse, the Cavaliers have yet to play a great offensive team like the Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Minnesota Timberwolves.
That’s concerning.
By watching Cleveland’s games this season, the team’s focus on scoring efficiently is obvious. Try to score at least 110 points, because they’ll give up at least the same amount of points on the other end of the floor. Cleveland’s front office inexplicably let defensive-minded players like Edy Tavares and Richard Jefferson walk away while keeping Channing Frye, a player that can do nothing but score.
Of the best defenders in this Cavaliers team, only LeBron James, Jeff Green and Iman Shumpert live up to their billing. Thompson and Rose picked up injuries already and Crowder just hasn’t been playing to the level most of us hoped he would. As a result, the Cavaliers have been torched by guards like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schroeder as well as centers like Nikola Vucevic and Enes Kanter. Those are solid players but against the Cavs, they looked unstoppable.
Furthermore, it appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers usually come out of the locker room looking sluggish. The Cavaliers have played 18 games so far in the 2017-2018 NBA Season and in 8 of those they have trailed by 10 points or more in the 1st quarter, 5 of which were are the Q. It would seem that the reigning Eastern Conference Champions are just too cocky when it comes to playing against weaker teams like the Atlanta Hawks or the Chicago Bulls.
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Another issue the Cavs need to address as quickly as possible is the rotation. One-fifth of the season has already passed and no player on the Cavs has a specific number of minutes they get to play every game. This simply has to change. Players like Green and Kyle Korver get to play 25 minutes on a given night and fewer than 15 in the next game. When a team establishes a steady rotation, every player learns to play better with his on-court teammates, something that the Cavaliers desperately need right now after a summer of many transactions.
Lue has yet to find the exact role of valuable pieces on the team’s roster. Players have, and will continue, to move from the starting lineup to the bench back and forth. LeBron has dominated as the starting point guard, only to be replaced by Iman Shumpert in the following game.
Yes, the team has been very unlucky when it comes to injuries, but injuries are a part of the game and something you always have to keep in mind. Lue simply – or maybe, not so simply – has to make the most of the players he has currently available, who are by the way championship-caliber players.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers picked up Thomas, Rose, Crowder, Green and Dwyane Wade in the offseason, no one thought that the Green would end up being one of the most valuable addition so far. The veteran from Georgetown University has proved to be an incredible asset to this Cavaliers team providing the team with explosiveness off the bench. Green has been averaging over 10.2 points per game while coming off the bench. Along with Wade and Korver, he’s one of three second-unit players averaging at least ten points per game.
Therefore, it’s quite clear that Lue needs to play these three consistently, no matter what.
Last but not least, the Cleveland Cavaliers need to solve the center spot, and not just in the starting lineup. Kevin Love is clearly an incredible rebounder and low-post scorer but he lacks assertiveness, awareness and physicality as an interior defender. Thompson will be out for a short while longer and Zizic will most certainly not be used during the big games.
As a result, the Cavaliers really need to consider trading the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round draft pick to add a true center, like DeMarcus Cousins.