Cleveland Cavaliers Need Help That Ray Allen Can't Provide
Six wins, seven losses and countless questions that are simultaneously premature and unavoidable.
By the numbers, the Cleveland Cavaliers' first month of new-look exploits has left something to be desired. In times like these, superstars cite the importance of patience, coaches get metaphorical and the rest of us wonder if there's a way to fix this in short order.
CBSSports.com's Ken Berger recently refloated one possibility that had emerged this summer.
"Additional help could be on the way, with still-unsigned Ray Allen weighing whether he'll return to the floor for what would be his 19th season," Berger wrote. "If he does, the Cavs are the undisputed favorites—and have a gaping hole in their bench unit that is ready-made for Allen to fill."
Superficially, one can't help but relish the notion of Allen in a Cavs uniform. It would be a story if nothing else—one more prominent name alongside LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. One more weapon to compensate for sixth man Dion Waiters' uneven output. Another veteran joining forces with Mike Miller and Shawn Marion.
That's enough oldie-but-goodie star credentials to film another sequel to The Expendables.
The real problem with signing Allen isn't that it raises the Cavaliers' average age. Nor is there any risk he'd actually make the team worse. This would be safe move, and it's hard to argue with that.
But Allen wouldn't be the solution. Despite his two championships, 10 All-Star selections and 2,973 three-pointers, he isn't the answer to all those premature and unavoidable questions.
That answer is likely to be found at the defensive end.
Through their first 13 games, the Cavaliers are yielding 105.1 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com—just the 22nd-best mark in the league. They're giving up 17.6 field goals per game from within five feet of the basket (ninth-worst league-wide) and allowing opponents to make 64.3 percent of their field-goal attempts from that range (third-worst in the league).
Even if you're somehow convinced Allen can still turn in first-rate defense, he's no rim protector.
"We're not a team that has great shot blocking," head coach David Blatt conceded to media earlier this month, per Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group. "On the other hand, if you look at our schemes, we can protect the rim. It's jut not necessarily with shot blocking. But that's an area we have to do a better job."
Keeping scorers out of the paint will require better team defense. Disrupting those scorers once they get into the paint may require a savvy acquisition on the trade or free-agency market—an acquisition instead of an addition to Allen.
Making a competent defender out of Love is another story altogether.
Big men Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson have been doing their parts. Love, however, has continued to earn his reputation as one of the league's most porous stoppers at the rim. Among the 50 players who have defended against at least five field-goal attempts per game so far this season, Love ranks 48th in opponent field-goal percentage—allowing a 61.1 percent rate of success.
By comparison, Dirk Nowitzki has only given up 52.3 percent of those interior shots, and he's by no means a model of rim protection.
"But here's the thing—this isn't new," Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry recently wrote. "Love was among the least effective volume rim protectors in the league last year, too. Like it or not, he is who we thought he was, and any team leaning on Love to help protect the paint will be exposed."
Given Love's transcendent shooting ability and top-shelf rebounding, he's going to get his minutes.
And pointing the finger may not be very productive—especially with broader defensive deficits also taking their tolls.
"Of course you want to have somebody to protect the rim," Varejao told reporters this month, per Haynes. "I believe our problem right now is not because we don't have a shot blocker, it's because our defense is terrible. We're doing a bad job on defense. That's what is killing us."
A recent 110-93 loss to the Toronto Raptors put Cleveland's defensive struggles on full display. James and Co. gave up a career-high 36 points to sixth man Lou Williams. Williams and starting point guard Kyle Lowry combined to attempt 27 free throws—a robust indication of the Cavaliers' desperation to stop penetration.
Love had five fouls in 34 minutes.
Assuming the Cavaliers can channel all that defensive energy into a more rule-friendly effort, perhaps this team can at least begin addressing its shortcomings internally—especially as it grows more familiar with its new pieces and coach. Otherwise, help may be needed.
Just not of the Allen variety.
Sure, he might help an offense that already ranks ninth league-wide with 105.2 points per 100 possessions. But chances are that production will steadily grow in time either way. Every game is another step toward the kind of chemistry that helps an offense hum.
Allen is a luxury item, perhaps even a redundancy.
Officially, there's still no guarantee Cleveland will land Allen—even if his close friendship with James ostensibly gives the organization some inroads. ESPN's Chris Broussard recently tweeted that "Cavs, Bulls, Wizards, Spurs among the 7 teams interested in Ray Allen," adding that "Allen's in Miami, keeping himself in shape."
Allen himself has made it clear he's in no hurry to make a decision.
"I've just been home, taking my kids to school," he told reporters in October. "I'm working out, taking care of my body. I'm in great shape. I'll just watch how the season progresses, and if I do feel the desire to continue to play, then I'll decide what situation is viable for me."
Allen's former coach, Doc Rivers, (now with the Los Angeles Clippers) suggested the icon shooter may be waiting to see how the season shakes out for his respective suitors, comparing his available opportunities as they take further shape.
"Honestly, I think he's making the right decision," Rivers told the Sun Sentinel earlier this month. "…That's why he's doing it. I think it's a good reason."
Maybe Allen's next decision will involve the Cavaliers, and maybe it will be a good one. But if Cleveland is serious about starting the shopping season off right, it'll be on lookout for a defensively minded big man who might be had for the right price—a Larry Sanders or Robin Lopez—to tag team with Varejao.
Barring such an addition, Cleveland's only other hope is harder to quantify. Will leaders step up? Will the youngsters learn? Will Love exorcise his defensive demons?
The Cavaliers' championship upside depends more on questions like these than on signing Ray Allen.
Statistics courtesy of NBA.com.
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