Cavs’ Season Ending On Upward Note

The Cleveland Cavaliers have just five games remaining in the regular season, three more on this western swing and then home for games a week from tomorrow and the following Tuesday.

And really, the season couldn’t be ending any better. The better case scenario for the Cavs is to play very competitively and then lose in the end, so their odds in getting the first overall pick do not lessen.

Outside of yesterday’s blowout loss to the Clippers, the wine and gold’s fifth straight loss, three of the other four defeats were close games until late in the fourth quarter, and were to playoff teams, the Clippers, Celtics, and the Spurs.

By the way, Monday’s game at Phoenix is a big game in the reverse standings. A loss would move Cleveland within a game of the second worst record in the league.

Despite the record, the front office and coaching staff should be commended for the effort of the squad despite the terrible record.

Larry Drew has held the team together through a series of changes to the roster and injuries. Kevin Love has missed more than 50 games, and you would have to be devoid of basketball knowledge not to see what a difference he makes to the team.

David Nwaba, another keeper for next season, has missed 30 games, and Larry Nance Jr., who continues to show what an all around talent he is, has been out of the lineup for 15 games.

Drew also deserves some kudos for the development of rookie Collin Sexton, who is going to end the year, averaging over 16 points and shooting over 40% on three pointers for his season, marks no one saw coming in November and December.

The front office deserves a shout out because they’ve assembled a roster without knuckleheads. After JR Smith was asked to stay away, there hasn’t been any complaining about playing time or frustration about losing among this group.

That said, it is doubtful Drew will return next season, and that will be a mutual decision. The Cavs want someone to guide a young team for the next two to three seasons, and at 60 years old, Drew probably wants to be somewhere winning is ready to happen.

We would want and expect the front office to bring in at least an assistant coach with a defensive mindset because that has been a huge weakness for the team over the past three seasons.

There is no reason to get into a long diatribe about Mike Longabardi, who is supposedly in charge of the defense, but the team’s inability to defend the most basic basketball play, the pick and roll, effectively, has to be addressed at some point.

If we were GM Koby Altman, we would want to find our version of the Nets’ Kenny Atkinson (20-28-39 wins in three seasons) or Orlando’s Steve Clifford (Orlando won 25 games last year, this year they have 38) to guide a young team through a growing period.

Don’t forget, it is very likely the Cavs will add another young, talented player through the draft, even if it isn’t Duke’s Zion Williamson. There are still players like Ja Morant, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Jarrett Culver from Final Four participant Texas Tech, that look like they should be able to help.

It also says here that having guys like Love, Nance, and even Matthew Dellavedova, veterans who play the right way and have a good attitude will make the new coach’s job easier.

It is true the record isn’t good, but much of that has to do with injuries. If Love were available most of the year, the Cavs could have been just a notch below the 6th to 8th seeds in the East.

So, the future does look bright with the right moves. It’s up to Altman to make those moves.

Identifying Cavs Of The Future

There is no question this has been a lost season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. While you can question whether or not they could’ve been a playoff contender when the regular season started, you can’t debate having Kevin Love miss 50 games has put the wine and gold in contention for the worst team in the NBA.

Now that Love has returned, there has been progress, much to the dismay of draft lottery fans everywhere.

Yes, the most of the recent wins by the Cavs have come over fellow dreck squads in New York, Phoenix, and Memphis, remember the wine and gold lost three of four to the team immediately above them in the standings, the Chicago Bulls.

Even in the midst of a terrible season, has the organization found some players who could be a help to the team when it makes its next playoff run?

Certainly, Love has shown he not only can still be a productive player, but he seems to have embraced the leadership role he has now. He took a backseat in that regard when LeBron James was here, but he is relishing being the Cavs’ go to guy.

And you can hear other players talk about Love and fellow veteran (and a member of the ’16 title team) Matthew Dellavedova speak about ball movement and playing the right way. Both of them are praising rookie Collin Sexton publicly when he makes the correct decisions on the floor.

In fact, we would keep Love to start next season to provide leadership, and if he wants to move on, the trading deadline might be where you get the most for him.

The most improved player from day one of this season has been Cedi Osman, who we thought could be a player last year. Since January 1st, Osman has hit 50% of his shots from the floor, 43% from three point land, and is scoring 15.1 points per night.

Plus, he has an enthusiasm for the game. He wants to get better, and we feel he will continue to do so.

We have also long lauded the intangibles of Larry Nance Jr. and he hasn’t disappointed. Nance is averaging 9.1 points and 8 rebounds per game, and he and Love are unquestionably the best passers on the team.

Plus, on a bad defensive squad, he is probably the best defender, even though he plays out of position a lot, because he’s not a center.

And he’s adding range to his shooting, and we feel he will be a much better shooter in 2019-20.

An unsung player we like, although he’s missed a lot of time is David Nwaba. We understand Nwaba isn’t a starter, but we believe he can be a solid bench player for the foreseeable future.

He’s a wing defender by trade, but Larry Drew has used him to guard power forwards because of the lack of players with a defensive attitude on the team.

We wish he would shoot less threes (there’s a reason he’s open), but we would like to have him back next season. He and Dellavedova have the toughness good teams desire to have.

What may stand out is who is not on this list. Many would include Jordan Clarkson, but to us, all he’s demonstrated is he can score on a bad team. His performance during the playoffs last season causes us to doubt him.

We would like to see more of Ante Zizic, and would lean toward bringing him back, but his defensive shortcomings are a concern.

And we didn’t mention rookie Collin Sexton, who we haven’t given up on, like many of the so-called basketball people in Cleveland, but if you draft Murray State’s Ja Morant, and you think he’s better than Sexton, why wouldn’t you move him.

We would like to take a second look at guys like Marquese Chriss, and we haven’t seen John Henson at all.

It is important to have veteran leadership for young players, and we would like to see Dellavedova stay around too.

There are building blocks for the Cavs. The four we mentioned, plus a high draft pick could be part of the group that starts the climb back up the standings for the wine and gold.

Cavs Need New Defensive Scheme…Now!

There is no question the Cleveland Cavaliers are shorthanded. They don’t have their best player in Kevin Love. Tristan Thompson just returned from missing games, and he is their second best player.

David Nwaba is the Cavs’ best perimeter defender and he has been more out of the lineup than in it for most of the season. And last night, Rodney Hood and Matthew Dellavedova missed the contest with injuries.

That left coach Larry Drew with nine healthy bodies. One of those, Jalen Jones, is a two-way player, and Pat McCaw just joined the team after signing as a free agent.

There is no question it is a very difficult situation for Drew.

The wine and gold have lost nine in a row, and six of the nine have been by 15 points or more. So, for the most part, the Cavaliers are getting boat raced on a nightly basis.

In only one of those games, a 95-87 loss at Memphis, did the Cavs allow less than 110 points. Not 100 points, a 110 points.

As a point of contrast, in the 18 games prior to and including Cleveland’s last win over Indiana, opponents were held under 110 points 11 times.

In this nine game losing streak the defense has been atrocious.

There is no question the Cavaliers are the NBA’s worst defensive team. They are worst in field goal percentage against, and the only reason they aren’t last in the league in points allowed is they are 29th (second last) in the NBA in pace.

They play very slow, which is by design because it is their best chance of pulling out a few wins.

The defensive issues aren’t anything new either. Cleveland ranked 29th in the NBA a year ago with a team that had LeBron James on it. The year before? They were 21st.

The last time the Cavs ranked in the top ten in the Association was in their championship season of 2015-16.

That’s when Tyronn Lue was in charge of the defense. Since then, Mike Longabardi has been in charge and it’s time for a change there.

Why now? There is no question the coaching staff will be blown out after the season and Longabardi will be replaced then. Why not wait it out?

This is a very young basketball team, and they aren’t learning basic, sound defensive concepts. Collin Sexton is statistically the worst defensive player in the league (by defensive win shares), and Jordan Clarkson is second worst.

The worst three defensive ratings on the team belong to Sexton, Dellavedova, and Cedi Osman. We know Delly can play defense, and Lue used to use Osman for defense at the end of games a year ago. All of a sudden he can’t defend?

Look at the last few games–

1/5 vs. New Orleans: 61 points against in first half, 72 in the second half
1/4 vs. Utah: 48 points against in first half, 69 in the second half
1/2 vs. Miami: 58 points against in first half, 59 in the second half
12/29 vs. Atlanta: 57 points against in first half, 54 in the second half
12/28 vs. Miami: 56 points against in first half, 62 in the second half

See a pattern, the coach sees what a team is doing in the first half, makes some adjustments, and they do worse after halftime?

We understand this season is a rebuild and should be the basement for awhile. But we are concerned about bad habits going forward.

We still believe Osman can play, and we think Sexton has ability. However, they could be harmed by what’s going on with this season.

It’s not too late to make a move. Use the second half of the season to lay a defensive foundation for the future. And hold the players accountable too.

Cavs’ Slumping And Defense Is Still An Issue

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a decent stretch of games from December 3rd, a win over Brooklyn on the road, through December 18th, another victory on the road over Indiana.

The wine and gold went 4-5 in that span, and the losses were pretty much against the NBA’s best squads, two losses to Milwaukee, and defeats at the hands of the Warriors and 76ers.

No one can complain about losing to those teams.

However, since the win over Indiana, the Cavs have lost to Charlotte, Toronto, a depressing home loss to Chicago, and Memphis.

The injuries appear to have taken its toll on the roster. Of course, Kevin Love has missed most of the season, but now Tristan Thompson is out as well, and David Nwaba and Rodney Hood have been out of the lineup in the past couple of weeks.

That’s two of the team’s best players, their best perimeter defender, and perhaps their best perimeter shooter. You take those spots off of any NBA team, and they will struggle, so it is no surprise the Cavs’ performance has dipped as of late.

The slump has coincided with rookie Collin Sexton hitting the proverbial rookie wall too, which hasn’t helped the team’s showing either.

Sexton has made just 20 of his 64 shots in those four games (31.3% compared to his season total of 42.9%), and he’s hit just one of his last 12 three point attempts, covering seven games.

His assist totals are up though, accumulating 15 in the past four contests, compared to 2.6 dimes per game for the season.

He’s also not getting to the free throw line either. In six of the last 10 games, he failed to get to the charity stripe, something that failed to occur only seven times before this stretch.

While many people have written Sexton off because he didn’t play like Kyrie Irving immediately, we still think the 19-year-old can still be a good player.

That said, it may be time to bring the rookie off the bench for awhile so he can watch the game develop before he gets in there. Besides, most of the time, the offense at the beginning of the game runs through Larry Nance Jr. and Cedi Osman a lot of the time anyway.

Hood and Nwaba are “day to day” and Thompson and Love will return after the first of the year, so help is on the way.

We were curious about a statement Nance made the other day about the team’s defense. It is funny that two of the team’s best defenders are Nwaba and Nance, two players who both joined the team in the last calendar year.

NOTE: The six best defenders, according to Defensive Rating are Nance, Sam Dekker (traded), Love, Nwaba, Thompson, and Jalen Jones, recently called up from the G League.

It is odd that only Love and Thompson are holdovers, and both came to the Cavs before Tyronn Lue brought Mike Longabardi on board to handle that side of the ball.

We have been critical of the team’s defense over the past few years, and although a lot of the faces have changed, one that hasn’t is who is coaching it.

One move we would love to see made after the season is bringing in a new mindset defensively. Cleveland is last in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage and defensive rating.

There are teams that play good defense in the league without having superstar players. Utah ranks 5th, Memphis is 6th, Miami is 8th.

It can be done.

This team doesn’t have an identity defensively, meaning a concept to hang their hat on. The points per game allowed is down due to the slower pace Larry Drew has the team playing at.

Until they establish solid defensive concepts, they are going to struggle to win.

Solid Efforts Starting To Appear For Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won two straight and now no longer have the worst record in the NBA. Add in a very close loss at home to the Lakers on Wednesday night, and you have three consecutive solid efforts for Larry Drew’s crew.

Once again, the chief reason for this is slowing down the pace. Cleveland is now 28th in the NBA in pace. We have said it before, if you are short on talent, it is ludicrous to try to run up and down the court with squads that have more talent than you.

The Cavs are taking better shots too. They are up to 17th in the league in field goal percentage, and although they don’t take many three point shots, they are last in the NBA in attempts at 23.6 (the Rockets and Bucks both take more than 40), they are 7th in the Association in percentage made at 36.3%.

They have cut way back on the number of possessions in which they just come down the floor and jack up the first open shot, no matter if it is one the shooter can reasonable make.

They run when they get the opportunity, and if the numbers aren’t their, they are patient. They are also third in the NBA in offensive rebounds, led by Tristan Thompson, who is second in the league in that category, so they extend a lot of possessions.

First round draft pick Collin Sexton is playing much better too. The rookie, who was getting criticized heavily by some veterans, has settled down and shown he has game.

He’s scoring 14.6 points per night, and since moving into the starting lineup when George Hill got injured, he’s just under 20 per night, shooting 50% or better in six of those eight games.

Yes, we would like him to average more than 2.4 assists per game, but none of the Cavs have gaudy assist totals. Kevin Love still leads the team at 3.5 and Hill is next at 3.0. Sexton is fifth behind a pair of forwards, Larry Nance Jr. and Cedi Osman.

Right now, opposing teams are playing off of Sexton, seeing if he can make the jumper consistently. If he continues to do it, that will open up driving lane and hopefully, the rook will get defenders to collapse and then find the open man.

Another change Drew has made is dusting off a guy we have been begging to play more in David Nwaba.

The soon to be 26 year old from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo isn’t spectacular, but he’s the best perimeter defender on the roster, and having him, Osman, and Thompson on the floor at the beginning of games gives Drew a defensive presence.

Putting Nance in there provides another.

Teams are leaving Nwaba open from beyond the three point line, and we would like him to not concede and shoot that shot. He is open for a reason. We know the long range two is not a good shot analytically, but a made 22 foot shot is better than a missed three.

We understand the Cavs are going to have ups and downs, but the last three games are encouraging and yes, watchable.

You are starting to see some roles develop. Thompson is becoming a leader. Jordan Clarkson is become a go-to scorer in the fourth quarter. Nance and Nwaba are energy guys.

That’s a good sign.

The Cavs are 4-8 after losing their first six, and it looks like Drew has provided a trusting voice for the players. Beating two playoff teams in a row in Philadelphia and Houston should solidify that trust.

What Does Drew Do With Returning Cavs?

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their best game of the season Tuesday night when they beat the Charlotte Hornets convincingly at Quicken Loans Arena.

They followed that up the next night getting hammered by the Washington Wizards on the road.

That’s the life of a team trying to discover themselves after they lost the beat player in the league. They have to realize what happened the night before has no bearing on the next game.

You have to have sound habits and solid defense every night to win in the NBA. Consider that game one of the “lessons” former coach Tyronn Lue talked about when training camp started in September.

Larry Drew’s next challenge will be fitting in the returning injured players. For whatever reasons, and we know analytically it doesn’t make sense, the Cavs have played better with Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. at the big man spots.

So, it would seem putting Cedi Osman back at the small forward spot is a no-brainer. JR Smith has played well defensively, but he is still shooting just 35% from the floor, and just 32% from three. Osman hasn’t done much better, but might be better served with the slower pace, taking more mid-range jumpers and getting to the rim.

And, we have always thought Osman was a solid defender too.

Kyle Korver should be back tomorrow night, but Drew has already said David Nwaba will not lose playing time, and why should he?

Nwaba has the highest offensive rating on the team (which we would say is not sustainable), and has the second best (behind Nance) defensive rating. He’s shooting 51.5% from the floor, which isn’t likely to continue, but it is what it is.

It is also hard to imagine Collin Sexton will go back to the bench when George Hill returns.

Since becoming a starter, the rookie has averaged 18.8 points per game. We would like to see more than 2.5 assists per night, but he’s shooting 48% from the field, and has made 7 of 10 from three.

And for people who said Sexton couldn’t shoot, he’s making 92.7% of his free throws. People who can’t shoot don’t do that.

Whether or not Hill will be happy coming off the bench could be an issue, but at least for now, Sexton should get the majority of the playing time.

He still needs to get better defensively, but he does seem to make an effort on that end of the floor.

Sam Dekker is still a ways from being back, but we felt he was miscast as a power forward before he was hurt, but maybe he fits better as Osman’s backup after deals are made to move veterans like Smith and Korver.

And of course, when Kevin Love returns, that will cause Drew to make another adjustment, probably moving Nance to the bench.

The point is finding the right combination of players who can play together with the new pace of play established by the new coach.

It also appears that Tristan Thompson is taking a leadership role in the locker room, something very important for a younger group of players. They need one of their own to hold players accountable.

We aren’t saying the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to make the playoffs this season, but we also don’t think this is a 2-12 team either, the Wizards’ game notwithstanding.

More changes will be coming, as it would not be shocking to see Korver, in particular, moved to a playoff contender soon. But it looks like Drew is open to seeing who is playing well, and giving them more time.

That’s how it should work.

To Get Better, Cavs Must Improve Defense

It is no time to panic yet, because the Cleveland Cavaliers have played just three games.

The players are still getting used to not having LeBron James having the ball in his hands most of the time on offense, and it is also the first training camp for many wearing the wine and gold, including those acquired in the deals at the trading deadline.

However, there is still something that was a problem a year ago, and has been a big issue during the opening three games on the schedule, and that is the defense.

The Cavaliers rank second to last in the NBA (ahead of only Dallas) in defensive rating this season. This is the exact same place they were a year ago, only then they ranked ahead of only Phoenix.

We thought some of the defensive issues in the regular season came out of trying to get rest for James for the playoffs. No reason to exert a lot of effort on that end of the floor when you know the end game is playing into June.

But James is no longer here and the defense hasn’t gotten any better.

Tyronn Lue’s squad has allowed more than 130 points in two of the three games played. Opponents are shooting almost 50% from the floor (49.5%) and almost 44% from beyond the three point line.

Lue and his lead defensive assistant, Mike Longabardi, have said they want a defense that switches at every position. We believe that approach is foolish.

The only way it works is if you have a solid defender at every spot. Golden State can do it because Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are great defenders. But, remember the Cavs took advantage of it in the 2016 Finals by setting screen until they got Steph Curry on James.

Sunday night, the Hawks forced the wine and gold to switch until they wound up with Kevin Love guarding rookie Trae Young. We don’t think Love is as bad of a defender as his reputation is, but there is no way on God’s green earth he can guard Young 20 feet away from the basket.

It seems that defense is an afterthought for Lue, which is odd because he was in charge of that side of the ball as an assistant under David Blatt.

Instead of imploring his squad to play fast, why not make the identity of your team a defensive one? Let that be the foundation of the team.

It was humorous that rookie Collin Sexton’s instinct is to fight over screens, which we feel is the correct way to play defense. Switching is a lazy principle.

The Cavs signed David Nwaba, guy regarded as a solid defender during his time in the NBA during the summer, and to date, he has played all of two minutes.

We believe the Cavaliers have some talent on the roster, and they are more athletic than they were a year ago, so there is no reason they shouldn’t be good on defense. Our thought is it just isn’t emphasized the way Boston does with Brad Stevens, or Chicago did with Tom Thibodeau.

For a young team, defense should be something the team can hang its hat on every single night they take the floor.

Again, it’s only three games, but it doesn’t look like that is the case. We felt the defense would be improved, and that was our reason for some optimism.

Unless it improves, it’s going to be a long season for northeastern Ohio basketball fans.

Changes should be made sooner than later. Really, that end of the floor should have been emphasized from day one. Unfortunately, they have seemed to ignore it since they won the title in 2016.

Cavs Focusing On Youth and Athleticism

The rebuild of the Cleveland Cavaliers continued in the past week with the acquisition of two more young players. And they also continue to add wing players, which should make for great competition during training camp.

Last week, they signed David Nwaba, who played for the Chicago Bulls a year ago, as a free agent.

Nwaba is 6’4″ and will start the season at 25 years old. He averaged 7.9 points per game playing 23.5 minutes a night, including 21 starts. He also gathered almost five rebounds per game, and was one of the Bulls’ better defenders.

On Sunday, GM Koby Altman traded a trade exemption to the Los Angeles Clippers for former first round draft pick Sam Dekker, who is 6’9″ and just 24 years old.

Dekker, who played the first two years of his career in Houston, saw a loss of playing time with LA, dropping from 18 minutes per game with the Rockets, to just 12 with the Clips.

His three point percentage also dropped from 32% in 2016-17, to just 16% last season.

He is certainly worth a gamble, especially because the Cavs gave up nothing to take a look at him.

These pick ups are just an example of the wine and gold collecting a bunch of young players and hoping at least a few of them will become the core of the next playoff team in Cleveland.

They have surrounded Kevin Love with a bunch of athletic players in their mid-twenties. In addition to Nwaba and Dekker, you also have rookie first round pick Collin Sexton (19), Larry Nance Jr (25), Cedi Osman (23), Ante Zizic (21), Rodney Hood (26 at the start of the season), and Jordan Clarkson (26).

And don’t forget another rookie in Billy Preston (21 shortly after the season starts).

Coach Tyronn Lue has always talked about playing faster, but the Cavaliers ranked 12th in pace this past season and they were 15th the previous season. When your roster is headed by a superstar in his early 30’s, and he is surrounded by veterans, it is tough to play fast.

That will no longer be a factor in this season. Our guess is that this season’s edition of the Cavs will feature pushing the ball at all times, looking for easy baskets.

It will be a season of learning and judgment for the coach and GM, trying to figure out who has a future with the Cavs and who won’t be able to fit in with Lue and Altman’s vision.

Make no mistake, there are more roster moves coming. There are rumors that Altman is shopping two more veterans. Kyle Korver, still a threat from long distance, but now 37 years old, is rumored to be heading to Philadelphia, and JR Smith, who will turned 33 years old next month, has been talked about in a deal with Houston.

We also would not be surprised if Tristan Thompson is elsewhere when the season opens in mid October, but only if another big man comes in return.

Don’t forget, they have Love, Frye, Nance, and Preston who can play the four, and we are sure they want to get Zizic more time at the five.

On the other hand, they may pair Thompson with Love/Frye, and team up Zizic with Nance. Our guess is Preston plays a lot in Canton.

If nothing else, this year’s Cavs will be interesting to watch at the start of the season. The question is, will they win enough early on to stay interesting.