Moses Brown can help the Cavs with their rebounding woes

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Moses Brown, Cleveland Cavaliers. Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images /

When Jarrett Allen fractured his finger last weekend, it revealed a quiet weakness of this Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster: their volume of playable centers. Earlier this season the Cavs replaced Tacko Fall’s two-way spot with a point guard, Brandon Goodwin. To start the year they elected to sign Ed Davis, a locker room veteran who could play some spot minutes at center. Kevin Love is the only player healthy who plays most of his minutes at the 5.

That is why many expected the Cavs to add a big man in the wake of Allen’s injury, and add one they did. They signed young Moses Brown, a hyper-athletic big who has bounced around the league but offers energetic upside. He won’t have a large role unless Evan Mobley (playing more center with Allen injured) or Kevin Love miss time, but he will help to shore up one problem area for the Cavaliers.

The Cavs have a rebounding weakness despite the size of their rotation. How can newly-signed center Moses Brown help shore it up?

The Cavs are functionally one of the biggest teams in the league. They start two 7-footers at the 3 and 4, both effectively the largest starters at their respective positions. At times they have even played nominal power forwards (Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens) at the 2. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has leaned into his roster’s size, and it has clearly worked for this Cavs team, currently on track for a playoff berth.

That size has helped them protect the paint on defense. Cleveland ranks fourth in the league in defensive rating and fifth in opponent effective field goal percentage. Close to the basket, the Cavs dominate the opposition: offenses shoot just 60.7 percent from 0-3 feet, per Basketball-Reference, by far the lowest in the league; the second-place Memphis Grizzlies are closer to 18th than they are the Cavs in first.

With their size, you would expect the Cavs to also dominate the glass, but they…do not. The Cavs rank just 18th in defensive rebounding percentage and 20th in total defensive rebounds. They struggle to end possessions, giving opponents multiple chances at scoring. Look back to many of their close losses, and you will see multiple offensive rebounds down the stretch.

Why is this the case?