3 ways the Cavs can have a successful home stand

#1: Cavs bench has to play better

Having to make some shifts in the lineup with all the various injuries that have hit the team recently can make everyone’s role on the team even that more important. There are veterans like Kevin Love and Cedi Osman that have been regulars off the bench. Cleveland forward Dean Wade has come off the bench but also been pushed into the starter’s role more times than not. Fellow guard/forward Lamar Stevens has also returned to get some decent minutes off the bench.

Overall though the dependability of the bench and not only producing points but also stepping in and playing good defense have all been waning of late. It continues to baffle me why, especially after the Cavs got a big win on the road against the Indiana Pacers early last week, where the Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff used his best defenders late in the game to pull off the win, that Bickerstaff doesn’t roll with that same lineup more.

You didn’t see that best group of defenders that includes Isaac Okoro, Stevens, Wade, Mobley, and Garland on the floor much, especially in the last two games where the team was only down by 10 points or less. It’s nice when Love and Osman are rolling and scoring baskets, but neither is a good defender, and Bickerstaff’s lack of understanding this is troubling.

Love and Osman have got to get their shooting touches back because that ingredient has been missing of late and the team has been struggling. In six of the last 13 games, Love hasn’t scored in double figures. His seasonal average is down to 13.8 points per game.

From there, Osman hasn’t been any better in that stretch and has been all over the map with his points scored per game. He’s missed double figures as well in six of the previous 13 games. In one game he’d score 17 points and he’d follow that up with zero points the following game.

It’s this type of inconsistency that is really becoming a problem for the team.