Do the Cavs have enough to make a run through the playoffs?
Even though the Cavs got Isaiah Thomas and Derrick Rose back in the lineup, the team is still struggling, especially on defense. Cleveland gave up 148 points in a recent loss to the Thunder–the most points scored this season in a non-OT game. “I’ve never in my basketball life gave up 148 points, not even probably playing video games,” LeBron James said.
148 points! (photo, Amico Hoops)
The Cavs have lost 7 out of their last 10 games as opponents scored an average of 116.9 per game. And the Cavaliers currently rank 28th in defensive rating, giving up 112.1 points a game.
“In Boston, we were a much better defensive team, We tried harder. I don’t think we trust each other right now,” said Isaiah Thomas on the Cavs’ team defense–a squad that’s playing without an elite perimeter defender, Iman Shumpert.
Adding to the situation is a demanding upcoming schedule–five games in eight days, all against plus-.500 teams–starting tonight against the Spurs on the road. The other match-ups include:
January 26 (Friday) vs. Indiana
January 28 (Sunday) vs. Detroit
January 30 (Tuesday) @ Detroit
January 31 (Wednesday) vs. Miami
Perhaps what’s most shocking about Cleveland’s defensive woes is that this team seemed to have the pieces in place to be good defensively–with Jae Crowder, J.R. Smith, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Jeff Green, and (of course) LBJ.
So what’s going on? First of all, it’s early and the Cavs are still competitive in the East (good for third best in the conference). But, let’s face it: other Eastern teams are getting better, including Toronto, Indiana, Wizards and, of course, the Celtics.
At stake is whether the Cavs will have enough to make a run through the playoffs and get to the 2018 NBA Finals. Neither will happen unless team defense improves.
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Sources: Bleacher Report, ClevelandCavaliers.com, Basketball-Reference.com
