All Cavs can do is have ‘1-0’ approach to get out of slump

This season continues to be a tough one for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it’s not going to get much easier.

At this point, the Cleveland Cavaliers have to know that this season isn’t going to produce many more W’s. In a long month of December with 16 games and a barrage of injuries to key players, the Cavs had a 4-12 record and in two of the last three games, Cleveland was blown out by the Miami Heat. Quite simply, the ever-struggling Cavs might just be hitting the mid-season wall and they have to find a way to dial in and pull out a win.

That is much, much easier said than done, obviously and I feel sorry for head coach Larry Drew right now. The Cavs continue to struggle mightily at both ends of the floor, but at least the effort appears to be there every night with their lack of star talent and constant lineup turnover.

Cleveland has really had problems offensively in recent weeks.

Collin Sexton (who shot five-of-15 last night against Miami) continues to have issues finishing near the rim, although his passing is getting better on a game-by-game basis for the most part, which is a positive.

Cedi Osman, like Sexton, is not best suited to be playing at a methodical style in the halfcourt without the spacing the still-injured Kevin Love provides, and Cleveland’s playmaking opportunities in general have been drying up with opponents consistently packing the paint.

Zone defenses have clearly given the Cavs, who rank 28th in both true shooting and assist percentage (per NBA.com), fits.

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For Cleveland to stay competitive throughout games and perhaps pick up a win, they’ll need to speed up the pace of the game.

That would allow players such as Sexton, Osman, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, Larry Nance Jr. and Patrick McCaw to get out for less-contested looks in transition.

Having Tristan Thompson (who returned last night against Miami from a reported sprained foot) back healthier helps to secure extra possessions and allows for more pick-and-roll mismatches for pick-and-roll ball-handlers, but the Cavs still need much more.

Nonetheless, Cleveland does not have the necessary personnel when it comes to dynamic primary playmakers and scorers to win games against bigger teams with better depth and wing shooting.

Defensively, the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have much going for them, as we’ve noted here at KJG since the beginning of the season. Not having David Nwaba healthy is a big loss for trying to contain opposing penetration from the perimeter.

While Alec Burks has done a commendable job of that in Nwaba’s absence due to a reported ankle sprain, based on a recent report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, there’s a “decent chance” Burks (and Hood as well) are traded by the February 7 trade deadline.

In the paint, it hasn’t been a stellar showing, either on D, and with Cleveland’s lack of rim protection, I’m not really sure where the answer is for Drew other than continuing to help against physical bigs from the wings and forcing ball swings (when they concedes open three-point shots).

Considering the lack of physicality from Cleveland, opponents have gotten a consistent number of extra possessions, and that’s resulted in more easy looks with the Cavs already lackluster defense scrambling even more.

The Heat had 13 offensive rebounds last night, and Drew highlighted that lack of physical play as a culprit, per Basketball Insiders’ Spencer Davies.

I believe pushing the pace could work for the defense, too, in forcing opponents’ possessions to shorten after the Cavs pressuring in the backcourt and dwindling down the opposing shot clock with McCaw, Nwaba (when healthy), and Matthew Dellavedova. The Cavs are last in forcing turnovers and generating points off of turnovers, according to NBA.com.

If the Cavs can continue to get healthier, force the issue on both ends and find a way to get their bench in more favorable scenarios, they could squeak out a few wins this month (don’t hold your breath).

They’ll have a matchup with recently traded Kyle Korver and the Utah Jazz on Friday night. We’ll see if they can make less mistakes and show some more grit on the defensive glass.