It's clear the Cleveland Cavaliers are steps behind where they were last regular season with or without injuries.
The Cavaliers are beginning to get healthy. Darius Garland is back to himself most of the time. Donovan Mitchell is still enjoying an elite-level season. Jarrett Allen is healthy, and so is his co-partner Evan Mobley. The only player yet to make a season debut is Max Strus, but the Cavs have found reliable help in players like Jaylon Tyson and Sam Merrill to fill in the wing rotation.
With a relatively healthy squad, the Cavs have still looked nothing like the team that won 64 games last year. It's not just the fact they have a worse record. Last year, Cleveland saw three players named to the All-Star team and two named All-NBA. Despite Mobley's continued defensive prowess, offensively he has regressed is hardly even a fringe All-NBA talent. Garland is back to being an arguable option for All-Star, but his late start to the year will keep him out.
Mitchell is the only star Cavalier who looks like an All-Star. That is a problem for the Cavaliers as a team stuck in the second apron and expecting to chase the NBA Finals.
The Cavaliers' issues span beyond just All-Stars and role players. The commitment to playing winning basketball is vanishing, and Cleveland's defensive identity is gone.
The Cavaliers' defensive identity is gone
Through 39 games, the Cavaliers hold the league's 13th-best defense with a 113.9 defensive rating. They have the 11th-worst defensive rebounding percentage (68.6), allowing rival teams to collect an average of 11.6 offensive rebounds per game.
On the perimeter, the Cavs simply cannot stop anybody from scoring. Teams are shooting the league's highest three-point percentage (38.2) against the Cavaliers while they are shooting 35.1 percent on their own threes.
The Cavaliers' situation is untenable. What was once a team built on defense and star talent has no identity. In the last 10 games, Cleveland's opponents are shooting 42.5 percent from deep and forcing 15 Cavaliers turnovers on average. While the Cavs' defense allows open threes and easy points, they are crumbling under the weight of any defensive pressure on the other end.
Although the Cavaliers are starting to regain momentum in the Eastern Conference, their calling card to be a true Finals contender simply doesn't exist.
Despite the worst season of the core four and a rapidly inflating cap sheet, the Cavs are staying quiet on the trade front. Trae Young's recent trade out of the Atlanta Hawks spells trouble for the future of trades revolving around imperfect players on big contracts, but the Cavaliers may be steering towards that direction as they continue to ignore reality that the team is not frustratingly underperforming.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson cannot entirely fix the defense with better rotations or schematics. Cleveland's prized offseason acquisition Lonzo Ball was meant to solidify the perimeter defense and orchestrate the bench's offense, but he cannot even get on the court most nights.
De'Andre Hunter is catching his stride offensively, but he has hardly been a valuable asset on defense. Jaylon Tyson may be Cleveland's only consistent defensive wing with Strus still out. With a poor defensive backcourt and Lonzo's disappearance, the Cavaliers are sorely unprepared for postseason basketball with a middling offense and disinterest in trades.
The Cleveland Cavaliers set lofty expectations for themselves in 2022 by trading for Mitchell. Cleveland has seen much success by taking that risk, but as they grow increasingly risk averse ever since adding him, results are waning. This season will test the Cavs' resolve and challenge their proclaimed defensive identity.