Biggest Concerns for LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers Through 3 Weeks

The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a, ahem, less than ideal start to the 2017-18 campaign.

A 5-6 record with losses to some of the NBA's bottom-feeders, combined with the league's worst defense has some (many?) panicking that the Cavs' demise has finally begun.

With the season still in its infancy and All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas yet to return from a hip injury, there's still plenty of time to right the ship—but that doesn't mean there aren't a fair share of concerns.

At some point, the Cavaliers (ninth place in the Eastern Conference) will have to win a few games and get back into the upper echelon of a still predominantly weak East.

The best way? Fixing the five following problems as quickly as possible. 

5. Lack of Trade Ammunition

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Trading Kyrie Irving meant losing the best available resource to upgrade the team. Now, Cleveland is limited in making any sort of significant trade.

There's no way the Cavs don't make a move (or desperately try to) before the February trade deadline, as early results show this team still needs a ton of help to have a chance against the Golden State Warriors.

This is where the Cavaliers are limited. Yes, they have the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected 2018 first-round pick (currently projected sixth overall), but Cleveland isn't going to flip that for just anyone. Certainly not anyone with an expiring contract (looking at you, DeMarcus Cousins).

Kevin Love's name will come up, but few contending teams (Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers?) actually need a power forward. Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic carry some upside, but neither have proven anything at the NBA level to date.

The Cavs can dangle their own 2018 first-rounder (provided they keep the Brooklyn pick), but they can't part with another until 2021. Given the uncertainty surrounding the roster four years from now, general manager Koby Altman won't trade that pick without some sort of protection.

Instead, Cleveland may have to count on internal improvements and growing cohesiveness more than ever. An aging supporting cast (Dwyane Wade, Kyle Korver, Channing Frye) will need to hold on for at least one more playoff run, while a new Big Three of LeBron James, Love and Isaiah Thomas shoulders the load. 

4. Regular-Season Enthusiasm

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Making three straight trips to the NBA Finals can hurt a team in the regular season. Just ask the Golden State Warriors.

What? They're still winning? OK, bad example.

The Cavaliers are once again stuck in their don't-give-a-damn mode, playing down to the level of their competition while getting killed coming out of the gate. Their 116.9 first-quarter defensive rating ranks last in the NBA. 

The problem? We're seven months from the start of the 2018 Finals, and the Cavs know it. When asked if Cleveland plays like every game matters, JR Smith told ESPN's Dave McMenamin, "As a team, no, we don't. We have to gain that."

This is brutal honestly from Smith, and it's the main reason the Cavaliers have dropped games to lottery-bound teams such as the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets.

This would be more of a concern if we hadn't seen it already. The Cavs slopped together 51 wins last season with a roster that should have easily won 60, then proceeded to go 12-1 in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

"It's simple. They aren't mentally checked into the season yet," one NBA scout recently told Bleacher Report. "It's just an effort thing. They aren't trying yet. [Teams] just beat them up and down the court in transition. That's just effort.

"All the pick-and-roll numbers and talk is pointless until the team checks in. It's a long season. LeBron teams do this a lot...coast into the season."

While playing hard every night and developing good habits to take into the playoffs would be ideal, James and company appear to be in no hurry yet again.

3. Which Isaiah Thomas Will We See?

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While Kyrie Irving has led the Boston Celtics to 10 straight wins, Isaiah Thomas can only sit and watch his teammates struggle.

Thomas has made significant progress in his return from a torn labrum over the past few months. When the Cavaliers traded for him in August, he wasn't even cleared to run. Now, Thomas participates in various practice drills including both running and shooting as he hopes to return before his original January projection.

While Thomas won't directly improve the team's defense, he gives LeBron James a dynamic scoring option on the wing and better aligns Cleveland's entire offense and rotation.

The concern with Thomas isn't whether he'll return, but rather just how close he'll be to the second-team All-NBA performer we saw with Boston a season ago.

For Cleveland to cement itself as the best team in the East, Thomas must return to near All-Star form. His outside shooting and pick-and-roll abilities expand the team's offense while JR Smith and Iman Shumpert look to cover up his defensive deficiencies. Thomas and former Celtics-turned-Cavs teammate Jae Crowder posted a plus-6.7 net rating in nearly 1,800 minutes together last season. Adding James and Kevin Love to that mix makes for a dangerous four-man combo, no matter who else head coach Tyronn Lue puts on the floor.

A healthy Thomas means a break in ball-handling and playmaking responsibilities for James, who's now logged more career games than Michael Jeffery Jordan.

Thomas doesn't need to be as good as Irving was for Cleveland. Being himself should do just fine.

2. Derrick Rose's Style of Play

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The Derrick Rose purists out there will point to his 14.3 points on 47.0 percent shooting as a sign the former MVP is enjoying a great start to the season.

In a vacuum, Rose can still be a rotation player. His days as a starting NBA point guard, however, should be over.

Despite undergoing more operations than a Hasbro board game, Rose is still a dynamic slasher who can get to the rim and finish in traffic. In doing so, however, he often ignores all other teammates who are cutting, spotting up or have become open after this penetration.

Rose is averaging 1.7 assists this season, good for 70th among all NBA point guards. He has more total turnovers (19) than assists (12).

A good floor general elevates the play of those around him, but nearly all other Cavs have suffered when sharing the floor with Rose, according to Mike Zavagno of Fear The Sword. Jeff Green is the only rotation member who has a positive net rating with Rose in the game, per Zavagno. Cleveland is 15.6 points per 100 possessions worse with Rose this season.

His defense has made Kyrie Irving's look like that of Chris Paul, as guards regularly blow by him to get into the paint, forcing all others to compensate.

Can Rose be molded into a solid bench contributor in limited minutes when Thomas returns? Absolutely. For now, however, the Cavs are suffering because of his play.

1. Defensive Ceiling

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The Cavs are the NBA's worst defensive team, led by poor effort, a lack of communication and iffy personnel.

But things will get better, right?

Cleveland's 30th-ranked defensive rating should go up when the team starts taking games seriously.

Jae Crowder has struggled to get comfortable in his new digs, as he's been moved in and out of the starting lineup while being asked to play both forward positions. He should settle in and become a plus defender as the season progresses. Tristan Thompson's return from a calf injury will help as well.

The Cavs eventually will improve on defense, but by how much?

This isn't a Golden State Warriors or Boston Celtics-esque roster full of quality defenders. Finishing in the top half of teams would be an accomplishment at this point.

We won't know just how good (or bad) the Cavs will be on that end of the floor until the postseason.

For now, Cleveland has to clean up the three-point line (league-worst 13.4 makes allowed on 41.9 percent shooting), closing out to shooters (closest defender within two feet only 9.0 percent of the time, 27th in NBA) and getting back in transition (214 total points allowed, eighth-most in NBA). 

This team will always scrape by on its offensive firepower, but the defense has to improve at some point.

Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers lead writer for Bleacher Report. Stats provided by NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.