3 reasons Cavs have stumbled and lost two straight games

3 reasons Cavs have stumbled: Slow starts

The Cleveland Cavaliers went into halftime tied with the LA Clippers on Monday night, not because their offense was shaky but because their defense gave up 64 points. It was worse in Sacramento, where the Kings scored 34 points in the first quarter and 69 for the half. The Cavs tightened up in the second half in both games (55 and 58 points, respectively) but much of the damage was done.

The narratives are laying out in the open to pluch and drop into a headline. A young team heady with its own success doesn’t come into games locked in. Playing Donovan Mitchell so many minutes during the winning streak has left him tired. J.B. Bickerstaff isn’t preparing his guys well for opponents and has to scramble to make halftime adjustments.

One or none of these narratives might be true, but the reality is that the Cavs are spotting their opponents points and then fighting to recover in the second half. While they have defensive issues in the backcourt, their two bigs have been incredible to start the year, and the ability is within the starting group to defend well.

How to fix it: Start Dean Wade over Caris LeVert. He is more of a defensive difference-maker, and the Cavs don’t need LeVert’s scoring with Garland and Mitchell on the court. The Cavaliers need to be able to match up better with guys like Paul George and Harrison Barnes, and Wade is one way to accomplish that goal. Bringing him off the bench means he is often taking on less-impactful opposing players.