The Cleveland Cavaliers are continuing to move downward in the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings. It’s one thing for a team to have a bad week or even two bad weeks, but by now nearly a month’s worth of basketball has been played. By this time, some signs of improvement should have been seen, right? Instead, this team enters Monday on a shocking four-game losing streak.
Why are the Cavaliers in such a bad state at the moment?
1. LeBron James Is Starting From Scratch
This is the biggest reason why Cleveland is stalling. It’s not that LeBron is failing or being foolish. LeBron is simply trying to build something new with a new team and it’s important to realize that in the first few months with the Miami Heat back in November and December of 2010, there were lots of questions about how the Heat were going to function. LeBron and his new teammates got through all of that, but they certainly did struggle for more than just a week or two.
The other point to make on the heels of this 5-7 start is that there’s no guarantee LeBron’s going to solve everything right away. He has been used to playing for a team with hardened veterans who focused on defense in Miami. Now he’s playing for a very different kind of team and this is leading to a tentative style of play in which LeBron is trying to gather information.
The risk is that it is affecting James more than the superstar might privately admit. LeBron is not the same player he was in Miami – not through the first 12 games of the Cavs’ season. He’s not attacking the basket or getting to the foul line the way he should be. He’s deferring too much, and while his teammates appreciate the focus on team basketball, the Cavaliers are losing points because their best offensive player isn’t taking matters into his own hands. When LeBron goes four straight games without scoring more than 22 points, as has been the case during Cleveland’s four-game losing streak, something’s clearly amiss.
2. Defense…What Defense?
This was the most anticipated problem for the Cavaliers this season. The Cavs are very much unlike LeBron’s Miami team, as mentioned above. The hope for Cleveland was that while the defense came along, the offense would average close to 110 points per game. That hasn’t been the case as they’ve been a middle-of-the-pack scoring unit, averaging under 102 per game. The defense, as expected, has allowed over 102 per game, giving the Cavaliers a negative average per-game point differential.
Kyrie Irving is an offensive point guard, not a tough perimeter defender. Dion Waiters, who really looks like a player who will be traded at some point during the season, is a sieve on defense. The Cavaliers are too frail at too many positions on the court, and while their veterans – guys like Mike Miller and Shawn Marion – know how to play defense, they can’t log extended minutes. The pieces just don’t fit on defense for this team.
3. Kevin Love Has Been Good, Not Great
The other big acquisition the Cavs made needs to be giving this team more than 16.5 points per game. We’re talking about a guy who averaged 26.1 points per game last season, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Every one of those averages is down including his scoring, which is nearly 10 points per game less at 16.5.
Cleveland was expecting Love to be more dominant in late-game situations – especially with low-post touches. Love needs to be a more commanding presence on this offense. That’s a far cry from what he’s done including last week when he chipped in only 10 points at home against the San Antonio Spurs. That’s not what the Cavs brought Love to Cleveland for. Love is not playing like an All-Star. He’s been solid, but this trio is supposed to be three superstars, not three solid guys.
