Cleveland Cavaliers: Give the defense a bit more time for corrections

The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t pleased with their defense, and they shouldn’t be. Let’s give them a bit more time, though; there’s been three games.

If you weren’t aware, the Cleveland Cavaliers have lost their first three games of the 2018-19 regular season. The first couple of contests has featured disastrous second quarter outbursts by all three of their opponents in the Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Atlanta Hawks, and I get what you’re thinking: this is really, really, really, awful.

Well, like you, I agree, but I’m not going to completely be in for the Cavs throwing in the proverbial towel yet. We know that the upper management of the team wanted to compete for a postseason birth, or at least said so, and head coach Tyronn Lue echoed that philosophy in training camp.

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The Cavaliers don’t project to be a top 10 defensive team; sorry, Tristan Thompson, that’s just not a feasible goal at this point. Quite frankly, not many people would have seen that being the case for this team.

There’s too many moving parts on the defensive end, and the Cavs don’t have great size as a team in general, particularly in regards to rim protection and on the wing.

That being said, what they can improve on is their pick-and-roll coverage and off-ball defense through proper communication and team instincts.

That communication, or disconnect, really, seemed to be an issue in the last game, and Tristan Thompson expressed how the Cavs need to get better in talking through their switches and playing more physical.

Here’s Thompson’s soundbite, per Basketball Insiders’ Spencer Davies (pardon me for the profanity in the second Tweet, but Thompson has a point here).

The Cavs probably don’t have the most ideal roster for a “switch everything” scheme, but Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. are decent on switchouts against a good amount of opposing primary ball-handlers.

Nance missed Cleveland’s first two games due to a reported right ankle sprain, and I’m not saying having him active makes the whole defense go for the Cavs, but when he’s 100 percent, he can make a considerable impact in knifing into passing lanes and making sure the perimeter defenders are more attached to cutters. Nance, Kevin Love (who needs to step up as the team leader right now), and Thompson must be very vocal defensively to help out the younger pieces.

According to Lue, Collin Sexton took it upon himself to stay attached to Trae Young in PnR, and with the Cavs wanting to switch, it hurt the team as a result. That seemed to be a common theme in the last contest, and PnR defense in general needs to get better.

Here’s the full bit, per Fox Sports Ohio.

Sexton and the rest of the perimeter guys should get better as the season goes on, and once Cleveland implements their blitz packages, the weak and strong side help can react more, and think less. That will help the Cavs have better technique in their closeouts, and decrease their opponents’ assist rate.

Cleveland has a very good perimeter and team defender in David Nwaba they have yet to use (other than for just two minutes thus far this year), and that will help decrease penetration, too. On the bright side, from a rebounding perspective, they should be okay.

The Cavs are currently tenth in defensive rebounding percentage, per NBA.com, and although the Hawks had some key ones in the last game, as Cleveland gets more in-tune with their help defense (i.e, icing in PnR’s and switching off-ball when it’s feasible), there should be less extra possessions for opponents.

The Hawks made a franchise record 22 three-point shots in the last disgusting Cavs’ loss, and that wasn’t exactly a shining endorsement of the Cleveland defense getting better; they currently have the worst defensive rating in the NBA.

Nonetheless, if Cleveland can put out a veteran like George Hill in the second unit instead of Sexton, and put Sexton in with more length alongside Rodney Hood and Cedi Osman in the first unit, the Cavs’ miscues defensively should decrease. Nwaba should get some run at the 2 or even 3 with his seven-foot wingspan as well, and with his strength and athleticism, he projects as at minimum, a plus defender for Lue.

The Cavs will get better conditioned in regards to playing with their increased pace in the coming weeks, and that should help their transition defense. If it doesn’t well, then, I’ll totally get the point of jumping ship, too.