What’s wrong with the Cleveland Cavaliers? Quite a few things, actually.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing terrible basketball and can’t seem to get it right. They’re 3-9 since losing to the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day. In this time, they’ve lost three games by 24 or more points and seven games by double-digits.
In other words, the Cavs are getting smacked around.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have come to a point in the season where change needs to be made to keep LeBron James around and even if that wasn’t their priority, James was right.
The Cavs would easily be bounced out of the playoffs if they started next weekend.
He was also right in that their issues were compounded and that ranking them is too tough when there are so many kinks they need to work out.
However, while the King didn’t list what he believes the problems were, we here at King James Gospel will.
1. Lack of motivation and belief in the gameplan
This is where the question, and answer, of whether or not Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue should begin.
On the one hand, while his hiring was supposed to usher in an era of accountability, the Cavs have done two things in the regular season with Lue as head coach: (1) not take lesser opponents seriously in the 2016-2017 season; (2) fail to play with the necessary defensive effort this season. When guys don’t even look inspired and confident in their ability to battle back, it’s telling.
Furthermore, even on the toughest offensive or defensive nights, sheer effort can make up for quite a few mistakes. When those 50-50 plays are what can tip the scales, your players need to play hard. The Cavs just don’t do it.
Don’t give me that “they’re bored with the regular season” jive either. The San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets and attack the regular season with gusto despite being elite teams.
Part of the Cleveland Cavaliers issues can also be traced to their lack of confidence in the game plan. Cavs shooting guard J.R. Smith and point guard Isaiah Thomas alluded to players not executing or believing in the gameplan on Saturday and when players begin to lose confidence in the coaching staff, you can see the writing on the wall. Saturday wasn’t the first time players have questioned Lue either, as players have been questioning lineup decisions all season.
2. A glut of personnel who are defensive liabilities
Let’s face it.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a couple of players who are notoriously bad individual defenders in Isaiah Thomas and Kevin Love.
They have a couple of more players who aren’t living up to their billing on the defensive end in J.R. Smith, Jae Crowder, Tristan Thompson and, at times, LeBron James.
They have a few guys who are old, in Dwyane Wade, Kyle Korver, Channing Frye and Jose Calderon.
In short, the personnel for the Cleveland Cavaliers does not lend itself towards elite defense. Not even if the players were to execute their team defense to a T, making their rotations on a string.
Part of that issue is that while Smith and Crowder have had a lot of forgettable nights on the defensive end, midseason frustration caused by his teammates’ poor individual defense has caused James to play with less effort on team defense. Yet, at this point, team defense is what will save this group of players.
Ultimately, when you go down the list, it’s more or less obvious that the Cleveland Cavaliers need to make a trade to bring in some defensive talent on the perimeter at the least.
Team defense is a problem and while part of that is a lack of effort, the other part of that is there are a lot guys who aren’t capable of flying around on defense. Or who don’t trust each other to compensate for the other’s defense, or lack thereof, by helping.
3. The lineups
Maybe I’m wrong but it seems as if Lue speaks of things he has no intention of doing.
These could be things like playing Frye even after Thompson’s return as he said he would. It could also be things like saying he wants players to play without an ego although he clearly plays guys based on their name rather than their fit. While that speaks to Lue’s failures to follow-up his words with the necessary actions and is something players will notice, these lineup issues are issues with his gameplan.
To start, Lue’s decision not to play Frye in a second unit that was thriving the point where they were consistently outplaying the starting unit is baffling.
Since he’s been benched, no mainstay in the second unit, be it Wade, Korver or Jeff Green, has looked the same on offense. Part of this is due to Thompson’s lack of skill and versatility when compared to Frye, who is a better shooter, low-post scorer and passer. Another part of it’s due to the natural chemistry these wily veterans had on the court.
Lue’s decision to play Thompson incessantly, like his decision to yank Jose Calderon from the rotation in favor of Derrick Rose, shows Lue’s inclination to play a “name” rather than a “fit”.
This is nothing against Thompson or Rose, as Thompson was a necessary component to the Cavs’ success last season and Rose has continued to play to his strengths upon returning but is no longer head-hunting for shots. However, Frye and Calderon were better fits for the team.
While the Cavs can still right the ship, Lue’s lineup decisions might just sink it anyways.
4. Isaiah Thomas’ Napoleon syndrome
I couldn’t help but notice that on Saturday, when Thomas started getting it going in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder, James went without touching the ball for astonishingly long periods of time. Then, when James would get the ball, he seemingly wouldn’t even look Thomas’ way.
This isn’t because the two don’t like each other but because James was miffed at being reduced to a bystander as Thomas attacked.
Sure, a lot of Thomas’ shots were going in and with the Cavs getting blasted, they needed all the points they could get. However, I don’t think I’ve ever seen James be so uninvolved in an offense without being purposely passive. It’s almost as if Thomas forgot he was in Cleveland, Ohio and not Boston, Massachusetts.
Thomas’ volume shooting has also affected Love’s play, which surprised me because I didn’t think he could take so many shots away from Love. An issue compounded by Thomas’ field goal attempts in the first quarter, a period that the Cavs usually use to feature Love as a scorer (which will also boost his energy for his effort on the defensive end).
I can appreciate Thomas’ game and his leadership. However, he needs to play for the team and not just for himself.
On the defensive end, Thomas’ inability to stop opposing point guards is a nightmare but his assertion that it’s not a one-on-one battle but those point guards have to stop him too is absurd. You cut off the head of the snake, which is a team’s primary playmaker or playmakers.
Team defense goes a long way towards slowing down an elite player but stout individual defense isn’t something Thomas should gloss over.
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