5 Problems Cleveland Cavaliers Must Fix Before NBA All-Star Break
Just when it looked like the Cleveland Cavaliers were starting to establish some much-needed continuity in the midst of an eight-game winning streak, David Blatt's club received a rude awakening.
Since ripping off eight consecutive victories, Cleveland has dropped three of its last four, including an excruciating 127-98 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night.
Following the eye-opening contest, LeBron James told reporters that while his team still has enough raw talent to go the distance, it needs to maintain intense focus moving forward, according to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin:
"If we continue to get better, every individual, if we continue to make strides every day, it's who we have. The guys in the locker room is who we have, and I think we can compete against anybody when we're playing at our best. But it's going to take us to maintain our focus every single day because we cannot afford to take a step backward, because a lot of teams are just better than us as far as chemistry, as far as the camaraderie they have over the years, and we don't have that.
So we do have enough talent, but talent doesn't win anything.
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After being exposed—to a degree—by a Hawks team that's quickly emerged as one of the league's most efficient, Cleveland now has a clear set of problems it must address.
From lackluster rim protection to a potential starting lineup tweak, there are several issues Blatt and the team's front office have to remedy in order for Cleveland to emerge as Eastern Conference favorites.
Rim Protection
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Entering the regular season, it was well established that the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to need defensive reinforcements.
General manager David Griffin admitted as much back in August in an interview with Fox Sports Radio, via CBSSports.com, when questioned about Kevin Love's defensive prowess.
"I have concerns relative to our ability to protect the rim, and that's not just a Kevin question," Griffin said. "We're going to need to add that. But I don't have any concerns about Kevin's ability to be in the right place at the right time from a team defensive perspective."
So far, that concern has manifested itself in the form of troubling results.
To date, the Cavaliers rank 29th in opponents' field-goal percentage at the rim (56.8), just fractional points ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to NBA.com's player tracking data. Consequently, Cleveland has surrendered 44.9 points in the paint per game, which ranks 24th overall, according to TeamRankings.com. And over their last three games, the Cavaliers are hemorrhaging a staggering average of 52 paint points.
Anderson Varejao, who was considered Cleveland's one sure thing in the rim-protection department, hasn't been immune to defensive struggles either. According to NBA.com, opponents are shooting 1.5 percent better than the league average against the Brazilian big inside of six feet.
Frontcourt Depth
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Since Cleveland's frontcourt rotation has been limited to the implementation of three conventional bigs (Anderson Varejao, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson), there remains a glaring need for low-post bruisers.
As a result, the Cavaliers already appear to be putting out trade feelers in advance of the Feb. 19 deadline which comes shortly after All-Star weekend (Feb. 13-15).
According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Cavaliers are interested in acquiring Memphis Grizzlies reserve center Kosta Koufos in exchange for one of their more polarizing shooters:
"That's why Cleveland, sources say, has been inquiring with the Memphis Grizzlies about the availability of reserve center Kosta Koufos among their various trade pursuits.
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Sources say that the Cavs are well aware landing a quality big man likely depends on selling on potential trade partners to take back polarizing shooting guard Dion Waiters. Cleveland rates Waiters' talent highly, but sources maintain that the Cavs have let a number of teams know they are prepared to surrender him if they can acquire a difference-making center in return.
Koufos isn't the only name on the Cavaliers' holiday wish list, though.
According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, "The Cavs have been trying to acquire center Timofey Mozgov." Of course, Cleveland was rumored to be interested in acquiring Mozgov's services back in August, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, via CBSSports.com, so this shouldn't come as a major surprise.
With Koufos' contract expiring at season's end and Mozgov possessing a team option worth $4.9 million for next season, per ShamSports.com, Cleveland would also gain a smidgen of financial flexibility next summer by shipping Waiters out for a robust center.
Rebounding
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As was the case with LeBron James' Miami Heat teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been repeatedly gashed on the boards.
Through 24 games, Cleveland ranks 20th in offensive rebounds, 27th in defensive boards and 29th when you combine the two. Compared to last season, the team's overall rebounding mark has decreased by 6.7 percent year-over-year, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Digging deeper, the Cavaliers are pulling down 58.6 percent of their rebounds per chance, defined as the number of rebounds a team recovers compared to their total rebounding chances, per NBA.com. By comparison, the Portland Trail Blazers rank No. 1 overall at 64.3 percent and the Detroit Pistons (59.4 percent) sit at the league average.
Of course, this all ties back in to Cleveland's dearth of imposing physical presences around the rim.
Should Cleveland make a power play for Kosta Koufos or Timofey Mozgov, perhaps those numbers will tick up ever so slightly. But after LeBron's similarly undersized Heat squads ranked 21st, 30th and 30th in total boards during his last three years in Miami, there shouldn't be much optimism abounding regarding the Cavaliers' rebounding prospects.
Instability at the 2
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David Blatt's conundrum at the 2 is truly a double-edged sword.
On one hand, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 5.6 points better per 100 defensive possessions with Shawn Marion on the floor, according to NBA.com. Conversely, the Cavs are 2.4 points worse per 100 offensive possessions with Marion in the lineup.
As Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor noted following Cleveland's 127-98 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, the Cavaliers' 2-guard production has been among the league's worst:
"The Cavs' shooting guard position is averaging 15.7 points per game. That's low, really low. Only Sacramento and Philadelphia are getting less production. The 40 percent shooting mark from the position is 24th in the league. A rim protector might be near the top of the list, but a capable shooting guard, who can also defend on the perimeter, shouldn't be far behind.
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However, it's not like plugging Dion Waiters back into the starting lineup is going to mask any of those deficiencies. Overall, Cleveland is producing 103.7 points per 100 offensive possessions (three points worse than Marion's total) with Waiters on the floor, a mark that pales in comparison to the team's total offensive rating of 107.9, per NBA.com.
"I got to tell you the truth; it doesn't seem like the starting lineup is the problem," Blatt told reporters on Thursday, according to ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin. "We seem to be doing pretty good starting. But in order to change other things you may have to do that. So we're thinking about some different things."
Since there isn't a better alternative on the roster, expect Blatt's preferred five-man unit to continue starting for the foreseeable future with rotational tweaks made later in games to help generate more consistency.
Second-Half Scoring Woes
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Speaking of consistency, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a serious second-half scoring problem.
Despite leading the NBA in first-quarter scoring at 28.5 points per opening frame, the Cavaliers have succumbed to lethargy far too often down the stretch.
Case in point: Cleveland ranks 18th in second-half scoring (49.1 points), which is contributing to an average scoring margin of just plus-one (No. 14 overall) during those quarters, according to TeamRankings.com.
Wednesday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks served a perfect microcosm of the apathy that's enveloped the Cavaliers far too many times this season.
After jumping out to a 34-26 lead through 12 minutes and trailing by five at halftime, Cleveland simply collapsed during the final two periods. Over the last 24 minutes, the Hawks outscored the Cavs, 62-38.
Six days earlier it was the same story. Although the Cavaliers jumped out to a 26-18 lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Scott Brooks' club torched Cleveland in the third and fourth quarters, 56-47, en route to a nine-point victory.
It's horribly cliche, but the Cavaliers truly need to kick the indifference aside and play 48 minutes of quality basketball on a regular basis. Until they do, disappointment will continue to crop up against inferior competition.
All statistics current as of Dec. 19 and courtesy of NBA.com unless noted otherwise.
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