Maybe it’s the holiday season, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Cleveland Cavaliers could be sitting with a three game losing streak this morning after a loss at Miami against the Heat last night. After struggling on Christmas Day against the terrible Wizards, and having to overcome a ten point deficit to win Sunday night against Dwayne Wade’s crew.
Last night, the Cavs couldn’t overtake Miami after trailing at halftime by 16. A second half rally got the wine and gold within two before they finally succumbed, 104-95, ending a six game wining streak. The Cavs now sit at 26-5 on the season, the second best record in the NBA. Is it just holiday malaise, or are some weaknesses starting to creep up?
A little of both, actually. As WTAM’s Jim Chones pointed out over the weekend, this is a tough time for NBA players, with a lot of distractions around the holidays. Family members visiting, lack of practice time, and the general excitement of the season have players not at their best. The usual hustle plays for the wine and gold have been missing these last three games. Want proof? The Cavaliers are normally one of the league’s best rebounding teams, but were hammered on the boards last night by a Miami team that doesn’t play anyone over 6"10" in their regular rotation.
However, Cleveland has also been plagued by turnovers and an over-reliance on the three point shot. Since they have been red hot from outside all season long, it is easy to think these long range shots will continue to find the bottom of the net all year. Last night, the wine and gold hoisted 30 shots from behind the arc. Way, way too many.
Other teams are starting to zone the Cavaliers to prevent LeBron James from dominating the game close to the basket. Now, Mike Brown and "offensive coordinator" John Kuester have to find the seams in the zone instead of just jacking up long distance jumpers. The Cavs need to continue to attack inside. If they continue to maintain spacing and floor balance, there are most definitely open spaces at 15 to 18 feet where the ball can be entered, and the defense can be attacked. This is especially true if they would put James at the high post.
Since Zydrunas Ilgauskas has returned from his ankle sprain, the Cavs have gotten away from their normal practice of establishing the big man’s presence early in the contest and working the outside game off the inside game. The Cavs need to go to Z right off the bat and make the opponents react to him.
It also appears that Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, and Wally Szczerbiak have forgotten to take the ball to the basket after setting up on the three point line. All three players have the ability to drive to the basket, but are settling for the three. West, in particular, can be very effective taking the ball to the hoop. Gibson’s outside shot has been struggling all season long, so he needs to drive more often. It will create more space on the outside shot if team respect him going into the paint.
These aren’t huge problems, and likely will be solved by a little more time on the practice floor. Actually, it’s a testament to the toughness to this group that they pulled out wins against Washington and Miami despite not playing well in either game. The Cavs will be fine, but it’s kind of a shock after their dominant start to see the wine and gold struggle even a little bit.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 