Just a few short days ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked unstoppable. They were riding an eight-game winning streak, with the only loss by three points on opening night. Donovan Mitchell’s supernova scoring carried the Cavs’ through five games with Darius Garland out, and the supporting cast even came together to clobber Detroit when Mitchell and Garland sat.
Then Monday night the Cavs let go of the rope against the LA Clippers, and Wednesday lost their second in a row to the Sacramento Kings. It was a disappointing pair of results against two teams off to rough starts this year, and it dropped the Cavs to a less magical 8-3 on the year.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost two straight games. Why have the Cavs fallen short and how can they work to fix their issues?
That’s still a great start for the Cavs, but just like wins against the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards early on were the start of a winning streak, losing to the Clips and Kings could be the start of a losing streak if the Cavs don’t identify the reasons they lost and work to address them.
Losing two road games is not the end of the world, but those two losses have had a few concerning similarities that could grow into something greater. What are some of the reasons that the Cavs have stumbled over their past two games, and how do they solve those problems?
3 reasons Cavs have stumbled: Darius Garland is struggling
Last season Darius Garland broke out in a major way, making his first All-Star game and averaging 21.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. More impressively, despite operating as the primary focus of opposing defenses, he shot 38.3 percent from deep, 51.2 percent from 2-point range and a sharp 89.2 percent from the free-throw line; his true shooting percentage of 57.6 percent was incredible given his role and youth.
This season it just hasn’t been the same. Even with Donovan Mitchell drawing defensive attention, Garland has struggled to find his groove. He is averaging only 16.4 points per game, lower than not just last season but two years ago as well. He is hitting 32.4 percent of his 3-pointers, 42.1 percent on 2-points and 81 percent from the line, all career lows. Defensively he has been a sieve, and he is both turning the ball over and fouling at career-high rates.
As such, when Garland is on the court the Cavs are being outscored by 2.5 points per 100 possessions according to Cleaning the Glass. For a team to be leading the NBA in net rating and have a starter in the negatives is a big red flag.
Those struggles were the most stark in the two recent losses. Garland was 8-for-17 on Monday but committed five turnovers and was a mess in crunch time. Then on Wednesday he was just 1-for-9 from the field with another four turnovers and only six total points.
How to fix it: The solution here might just be a little bit of time. There is no precedent for Garland to shoot this poorly, and it’s possible his eye may be bothering his shot a bit, on top of the minor injuries and sickness he has been dealing with. His usage is only down a tick from last year, so there isn’t a huge overhaul that needs to happen to get him more touches, but perhaps some sets designed for him vs Mitchell could help too.
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.
3 reasons Cavs have stumbled: They can’t stop fouling
The LA Clippers took 28 free throws on Monday night, propelled by 21 Cleveland fouls. Evan Mobley fouled out of the game, Donovan Mitchell ended with five, and Isaac Okoro managed to get three fouls in just 18 minutes. Then on Wednesday the Sacramento Kings shot a whopping 35 free throws, with 23 Cavs fouls. All five starters committed at least three fouls in that game.
Both of those FT totals would rank first in the league this season, and from the Cavs’ perspective, giving up 35 FT attempts would rank dead-last in the league (and 28 would rank second only to the floundering Golden State Warriors). When you factor in that the Cavs’ averaged just 20.5 free throw attempts in the two losses, and the disparity at the line was something they could not overcome.
How they fit it: Part of not fouling is strategy, and another part is mental preparation. More than the shooting and early-game defense, the coaching staff can have an effect here motivating this roster to foul less often. That also means managing fatigue among his best players, playing them fewer minutes or giving them rest games in order for them to be at their sharpest when on the court.
The reality is that the Cavs have lost just two games, are still 8-3 and look like a great team. Nitpicking their issues from two games they lost by a total of nine points is a way to shore up small weaknesses, not to suggest there is a gaping hole in the Cavs’ ability.