King James Gospel
Fansided

Cleveland Cavaliers: Lessons from yet another loss in Hollywood

By Jackson Flickinger

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: LeBron James
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: LeBron James /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 11: (L-R) Jordan Clarkson #8 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Julius Randle #30 of the Los Angeles Lakers laugh in between quarters the at Staples Center on March 11, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 11: (L-R) Jordan Clarkson #8 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Julius Randle #30 of the Los Angeles Lakers laugh in between quarters the at Staples Center on March 11, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images) /

The Cleveland Cavaliers dropped their second straight game in LA with an embarrassing 127-113 loss to the Lakers. With the loss, the Cavs have dropped to fourth in the Eastern Conference.

The Cleveland Cavaliers played this game without four rotation players and it showed. They spent the night running lineups that probably belong in Canton and not the NBA. Despite the lack of depth, the lack of effort was the biggest reason for this lopsided score.

LeBron James was fantastic once again on the offensive end of the floor in the midst of the #LAbron mania. He finished the night 24 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists.

Isaiah Thomas had a good offensive night against his former team. He put up 20 points and nine assists.

The Cavs didn’t put in the effort to win this game, and the results speak for themselves. Here’s what we learned from the uninspired performance.

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Lesson No. 1: Defensive effort is lacking

The biggest issues with the Cavs right now is their health and lack of defensive effort.

The Lakers got whatever they wanted offensively. The Cavs’ defense broke done time and time again because of miscommunications and late rotations.

Coach Lue is trying to implement an aggressive defense that double teams the ball handler. However, this defense is the worst possible defense to run when your team isn’t hustling.

LeBron was fantastic offensively Sunday night and he’s putting up one of his best offensive seasons on that end of the floor, but he often doesn’t bring that same effort to the defensive end. James was lazy Sunday night as Julius Randle, his primary defensive assignment, torched him finishing with 36 points. Not all of those points came directly against LeBron, but LeBron does deserve a majority of the blame for his night.

James is the leader of this team and the defense feeds off of his effort. When he isn’t making the extra effort defensively, neither will the rest of his team. There’s a reason James finished the night with a 128.1 defensive rating.

LeBron is a great player and the only reason why the Cavs have been able to keep this nightmare regular season afloat. But, if I had to point to one reason why the Cavs defense was bad in LA I would have to point to his lack of effort.

The bright side is that there’s reason to believe that the defense can actually turn around when James is engaged. They do have the personnel to be a good defensive team. But no matter how much improved the personnel is, there still needs to be some effort.