Cavs Need to Shore Up "D"

The NBA playoffs are not designed for teams to sweep.  The past two years were the exception, not the rule for the Cleveland Cavaliers, as they swept Washington and Detroit in the first rounds in 2008 and 2009.  So, it wasn’t a surprise that the Cavs lost a game to Chicago this year. 

It’s the way they have lost that is puzzling.

Last night, the wine and gold dropped a 108-106 decision to Chicago, but still hold a 2-1 game lead in the best of seven series.  However, for the second game in a row, the Cavs’ defense failed to show up, and it’s time for Mike Brown to make an adjustment.

Chicago is using its athleticism to get in the paint easily, and either scoring or passing out to open shooters at the three-point line.   Luol Deng and Joakim Noah played well again, but not as well as in Game 2, but Kirk Hinrich stepped up with a 27-point evening, hitting nine of twelve from the floor, including five of eight from behind the line.

The main culprit though, is Derrick Rose, who is an emerging superstar.  Rose scored 31 points and dished out seven assists, and caused havoc by getting into the paint at will.  The coaching staff simply has to find someone who can control him, whether it’s Delonte West, Anthony Parker, or perhaps using Jamario Moon’s length to keep him outside. 

Maybe LeBron James can guard him in the fourth quarter, because yesterday, Rose staved off the Cavalier rally with several key buckets at the end of the game.

Noah was active again, getting 10 points and 15 rebounds in 32 minutes.  It’s clear right now that he is quicker than both Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and it’s hurting the team.  Brown might give some minutes to J.J. Hickson to try to match the athleticism of Noah.  Hickson is currently the odd man out in Brown’s rotation, but he showed in the regular season that he could help.

Of course, it didn’t help that Anderson Varajao got into foul trouble and played just 20 minutes, scoring three points and getting just six boards.

Offensively, the Cavs were way too dependent on three point shots, taking 35 for the game.  That’s about 20 too many.  Granted, some of these shots came when the wine and gold were trying to catch up from a 21 point second half deficit, but Cleveland needs to attack the basket more often. 

They also need to handle the Bulls’ zone defense better.  There is no rule saying a team has to shoot from outside against zones.  A good design, such as putting James at the free throw line, can dissect a zone.  The Cavs are settling for jump shots.

The Bulls have no one on the interior that should put fear in the hearts of Cavalier players driving to the basket. 

The other thing that came back to bite the Cavs was the free throw shooting.  They missed 11 freebies, including an almost 50% night from LBJ (7 for 13) and a 2 for 5 performance from Mo Williams.  In a game that ended up being decided by two points, this is a killer.  Hopefully, it’s a one game aberration.

It’s not a panic situation, because most people thought the series would not be a sweep.  However, for teams as good as the Cavaliers, the job becomes how well you perform in comparison to your potential.  In that series, the wine and gold is down 2-1.  They need to raise their level of play Sunday afternoon in Chicago, and put themselves in a position to close it out in Game 5.

JK