First Impressions On The Wine And Gold

We understand the NBA schedule is just two games in, so it is very early to make definitive proclamations about any team, and that includes the Cleveland Cavaliers.

However, we have seen some things we have liked in the first two contests, and we hope they will continue as the season goes on.

The first is defensive improvement. It would be hard to be worse that last year’s complete crap show, organized by “defensive” assistant Mike Longabardi, so there’s that.

However, the first thing we have noticed is no longer are we seeing opponent coasting down the lane for dunks without any resistance from people wearing a Cleveland uniform.

The Cavs have not allowed 100 points in either game, a vast improvement. Last season, for the entire 82 games, the wine and gold allowed less than 100 points just nine times. Nine games out of 82!

There was only one time all of last year where the Cavaliers allowed less than 100 points in consecutive games, November 7-13, when they held Oklahoma City, Chicago, and Charlotte under the century mark in three straight.

The last time they did this period, was March 3rd when they held Orlando, this year’s opener opponent to 93 points.

The Cavs’ defensive rating was a league worst 117.6 in 2018-19, and after two games, they sit at 97.1.

Now no one thinks that will continue all season, but it is a good start.

Last night, there was a stretch in the third quarter where new coach John Beilein had John Henson, Larry Nance Jr., and Matthew Dellavedova on the floor together and the defense was suffocating.

When was the last time you could say about the Cavs?

Also, the offense is working more inside out.

Last season, Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson led the Cavs in shots per game, combining for 29.3 per night, about 1/3rd of the team’s total.

After two games, Cleveland is averaging 84 shots per game, with Sexton and Tristan Thompson leading the way. Yes, we know Thompson hit a three last night, but most of his shots are in the paint.

And Beilein said after the opening game that Kevin Love should be getting more shots, which we were happy to hear. Love is the team’s best player, and he should be getting the most shots.

The offense should run through Love, Sexton, and Darius Garland, and Love getting nine assists last night is another example of the coaching staff stressing points to the players.

We have complained over the years about Tristan Thompson’s lack of development on the offensive end, so we are happy to see some improvement. No, we don’t need Thompson firing too often from beyond the arc, but when he gets the ball inside now, he is putting the ball in the basket.

And, Darius Garland has some range. Sexton has made more three after the first two games, but the rookie can knock it down. As he gains experience, we can see him being the type of player who other teams will have to guard from five feet beyond the three point line.

Whether or not these trends can continue, who knows, but we were a little concerned during the exhibition season about the offensive structure, and that could still rear its ugly head.

However, it looks like the coaching staff isn’t going to let any thing slide thus far. And that’s a good thing with a young team.

Cavs Need Size To Improve Defense Too.

In the past week or so, there has been a spotlight put on the defense played by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or really, the lack of it.

Giving up 133 or more points in three of the last four games will cause that, especially when your team gives up 140 points in back to back outings versus New Orleans and Houston.

Among the reasons for the issues is the inexperience of the roster, but that is a lazy excuse because the Cavs’ problems in this area have extended since the championship season of 2015-16.

They ranked 21st in the NBA in the following season (2016-17), and dropped to 29th last season (2017-18), and now rank 30th.

In the first two of those seasons, Cleveland was a veteran team, led by LeBron James. No young players received more than 1000 minutes in either of those two seasons.

What was the reason for the poor results in those years?

We have in the past pointed the finger at assistant coach, Mike Longabardi, and though we still think his schemes are a main cause for the problem, there is another reason for the defensive issues.

The Cavaliers have a problem with height on the roster. Meaning they don’t have much of it.

In a sport where size matters, even in today’s game, the Cavs’ front office has basically ignored it since Tyronn Lue took over the team.

When the wine and gold won the title, they had Timofey Mozgov on the roster, a legitimate seven footer. By the end of the year, he wasn’t a factor, but he could provide an inside presence if needed.

Channing Frye (6’11”) and Tristan Thompson (6’10”) also received post minutes, and of course, Kevin Love (6’10”) was a mainstay at power forward.

The following season, Mozgov was gone, and the front office signed Chris Andersen to replace him. Andersen (6’10”) got hurt early in the year and never was replaced.

In the meantime, Golden State, who everyone praises for their small ball approach, had three players (JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, and Kevin Durant) over 6’11” that received significant minutes.

This season, with Love out because of injury, only two players, Thompson and Ante Zizic (6’11”) rank in the top ten on the team in minutes, and Zizic is 10th.

Most nights, Larry Drew starts Cedi Osman, who is really a wing player, at power forward. Osman showed good defensive instincts a year ago for the Cavs, and Lue used him as a defender at the end of games last year, but he’s not a power forward, and shouldn’t be expected to guard players taller and thicker than him effectively.

Looking at the top teams defensively this season, the top rated teams are Oklahoma City, who have Steven Adams (7’0″) and Nerlens Noel (6’11”) along with other long players like Paul George, Jerami Grant, and Patrick Patterson.

Indiana, with Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis (both 6’11”) anchoring the middle, and they have Kyle O’Quinn and T.J. Leaf getting minutes as well.

Third is Milwaukee (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Ersan Ilyasova, and Thon Maker), and next is Utah with Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors.

For the Cavs, Zizic is kind of an afterthought for this staff, and Thompson made his reputation as a guy who can defend out on the floor better than in the paint.

Larry Nance Jr. can block shots, but his slight build makes him a bad matchup against true post players.

Our recommendation going further would be for the Cavs to get some big players, people who can guard the rim.

They need a new defensive plan, but without someone on the back line, it still could be problematic.

They can’t ignore size any longer.

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.

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.

Even The Best Coaches/Managers Aren’t Perfect.

Being a beat reporter for a professional sports team has to cause a lot of internal conflict.
You have a job to do and that is to present the facts regarding individual games, individual players, and the circumstances surrounding a professional sports entity.

If you are around the same group of people everyday for eight or nine months out of the year, you would be unbelievably callous if you didn’t develop some sort of relationship with players or coaches.

Assuming the person involved isn’t a first class jerk, you want them to do well, it’s just human nature.

Here is a fact. There is no such thing as a perfect coach/manager. Even the best of them have weaknesses, even though sometimes the beat writers don’t want to admit it.

For example, Terry Francona is recognized as one of baseball’s best managers, and rightfully so. He’s won two World Series with Boston, including their first in 86 years, and took the Indians to another one.

It is one thing to guide the Red Sox, one of the sports’ big market teams to two pennants, but taking the small market Indians to one shows he is the real deal as a skipper.

We believe most baseball fans would agree there is no one they’d rather have managing the Indians, but that doesn’t mean every move Tito makes is the correct one.

Francona is famously patient, we have said at times this patience starts to become stubbornness. That’s a fine line for every coach or manager.

In essence, they are the same as the beat writers. They have been through successful seasons with the players and they want to give them the benefit of the doubt. By this time, watching Tito for more than five years in Cleveland, we can usually tell what players will or will not get the benefit of the doubt in terms of playing time or pitching usage.

As for the Cavs, Tyronn Lue coached the Cavs to a world title in 2016. He is a much better playoff coach, and does a good job designing plays after timeouts.

However, the Cavs’ defensive schemes in the regular season are atrocious. Lue’s loyalty to Mike Longabardi should be called into question. At least to the public, the coach continuously talks about pace, but never a defensive mindset.

Lue also is a loyalist, favoring the players who have won for him in the past. JR Smith and Tristan Thompson have had tough years, but at least the former doesn’t seem to lose playing time.

Right now, it seems that no matter what the question is, the answer is Jeff Green. Lue named him a starter for the rest of the regular season and playoffs the other day when he doesn’t even know the playoff match ups.

Lue’s other weakness to us is a feel for the game. He stays too long with players who clearly do not have it on that day. We aren’t talking about LeBron James or Kevin Love. We are talking about the role players. For example, if Jordan Clarkson doesn’t have it that day, he’s not making shots, then try someone else.

Even Hue Jackson, despite having the worst record in NFL history over the past two seasons has defenders in the media. Again, Hue seems to be a good guy, but defending a 1-31 record should call credibility into question.

The point is even the best coaches or managers aren’t perfect. Just because fans question these weaknesses, it doesn’t mean they want them fired.

We also understand the world of social media has people who fire Francona or Lue each and everyday.

We know it can be tough for the media to ask a tough question about strategy, and guys like Lue won’t answer them anyway. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be called into question.

Lue Reaching The Loyalty Vs. Stubbornness Line

One of the toughest things for someone in charge of a sports team is recognizing when it is time to replace a veteran player.

Likewise, it is difficult to see when a plan of attack you have used for years needs to be changed.

The greatest coaches/manager understand that. They see what kind of talent they have on the roster, and use it to the best advantage.

Bill Belichick famously released Bernie Kosar when he was coaching the Browns because he saw that the quarterback was not the same player as he was when he took the team to three AFC title games in four seasons.

The great coaches think totally with their head and take emotion out of the equation.

That’s what Tyronn Lue seems to be facing right now.

Since he was elevated to the head coaching position in 2015-16, the Cavaliers defensive rating has slowly decreased. The wine and gold are currently 29th (out of 30) in defense in the NBA.

Lue was in charge of the defense during the first run to The Finals for the Cavs (2014-15), but when he got promoted, he brought Mike Longabardi in to run the defense.

Longabardi has good credentials. He was on the Boston Celtics’ staff with Lue under Doc Rivers from 2007-13, and the Celts were one of the league’s best defensive teams.

He went to Phoenix from there, and initially the Suns improved dramatically too, but they got worse from there, although to be fair, the Suns got younger in that three year span.

With the Cavs, the defense has never been as good as it was when Lue was running the show, and it has been reported that Lue provides more input once the playoffs start.

Whatever they are doing on that end of the floor, it isn’t working very well. Yes, the Cavs are an older team, but over the years, younger players seem to have more of an issue on the defensive end than veterans.

Cleveland struggles in transition for sure, and we have said for the past two years that no team depends more on their offense for their defense than the Cavs.

However, the defensive issues have now gone on for two years. Look at Jae Crowder, who was considered a solid defender with Boston in Brad Stevens’ system, which by the way, has also made Kyrie Irving better than he’s been in his career.

Crowder looks lost in Cleveland. Did he forget to play defense as soon as he put on a Cavalier jersey? We doubt it. It’s just that the scheme the wine and gold is using is not effective.

Lue faces the same situation with players like JR Smith and Tristan Thompson. Both were important cogs in the championship team of 2015-16, but they don’t look like the same players now.

Smith has dropped offensively and defensively from the past two seasons, and the changing game appears to be hurting Thompson, who isn’t as effective guarding smaller players on the pick and roll, and hasn’t been able to handle bigger players near the basket.

Right now, Lue seems reluctant to make changes in his playing rotation. Cedi Osman seems to do well in limited minutes, but there are nights he doesn’t even play.

Smith and Crowder are two of the reasons the starting lineup is struggling.

Right now, Lue is being stubborn. This isn’t a one week slump, the Cavs fortunes seemed to have changed when Thompson came back, and that’s been almost a month.

Luckily, there are still three months for the coach to turn things around.