Cleveland Cavaliers' Multiple Areas of Concern Being Exposed at the Wrong Time
CLEVELAND — It's hard to pinpoint just one area where the Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling.
Losers of five of their past seven games, the Cavs have a plethora of concerns. Point guard Kyrie Irving, who left with a sore back in Sunday's 109-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, was asked following the game if health was the biggest problem for the Cavaliers.
"It's one of them. We have a long road ahead of us and getting guys healthy and figuring things out and continuing to get better every single day."
At 19-15 overall, it's not like the Cavaliers are a bad team; they just haven't lived up to the incredibly unfair expectations bestowed upon them. The pressure began after Irving signed a max contract last July, multiplied when James returned and reached even greater levels with the trade for Kevin Love.
A record of just four games over .500 at this point in the season means that there are a lot of adjustments left to be made, especially if the Cavaliers still expect to contend for a title this year.
Health
After making it through the first 25 games of the season relatively injury-free, Cleveland has been bitten hard by the injury bug as of late.
Starting center Anderson Varejao has been lost for the year with a ruptured Achilles. James is currently in the middle of a two-week (or more) rest period to nurse a strained knee and back. Irving will miss at least one more game if not more. Love (back spasms), Dion Waiters (back), Shawn Marion (ankle) and Matthew Dellavedova (MCL sprain) have also sat out at times.
While the bench is passable enough to get by with a mostly healthy roster, now Cleveland's lack of depth is coming to light.
The Cavaliers are just 1-4 without James this season, averaging just 91.2 points in that time. For a team that gives up 99.5 a contest, that simply won't do.
Defense and Rim Protection
Speaking of defensive woes, Cleveland is 22nd in the NBA this season with a defensive rating of 105.5. Its issues primary lie in the paint, where the Cavs allow a whopping 56 percent shooting at the rim, per NBA.com. Only the 5-27 Minnesota Timberwolves are worse (56.2 percent).
New starting center Tristan Thompson is the team's best defensive option down low, even though he's listed at just 6'9" and 238 pounds on the Cavs' website.
Behind him are veterans Brendan Haywood and Lou Amundson, both of whom coach David Blatt has rarely used. Instead, it's Thompson who's been getting the majority of the work since Varejao's season-ending injury December 23.
When asked about Thompson's usage now with Varejao out, Blatt said: "Tristan has been doing a great job. Obviously the loss of Andy was a big thing for us because the two of them were kind of the two-headed monster for us at the position. Lou and Brendan have seen some minutes, but we're going to play the way we think we need to to win games. Tristan is a workhorse. On the other hand, obviously we don't want to work him into the ground, so we've got to keep our eyes on him, yes."
One person who doesn't seem too worried about the center situation or lack thereof is Thompson himself, telling Bleacher Report: "No not at all. Last year and before I started and played a lot of minutes, so this is nothing new. Even when I was not starting I still prepared myself as a starter and made sure I had my conditioning."
This latest game once again perfectly reflected the Cavaliers' lack of depth or, at least, lack of trust in that depth. Thompson played 39 minutes against Dallas, the most of any Cleveland player. Amundson only saw four minutes in the fourth quarter when the game had been decided, and Haywood never left the bench.
When asked before the game whether Blatt had discussed his role or minutes with Varejao out, Haywood told Bleacher Report: "Not really. I haven't talked to him about it. I just go game by game, and if he calls my name I go out there and try to do the best I can to help the team any way possible."
Blatt has to be careful how much he uses Thompson. Anything close to the 40 minutes a night he's been receiving could be particularly harmful come playoff time, when the team will need Thompson the most.
Schedule, Possible Trades, Exceptions and Possible Solutions
Cleveland also has a nasty schedule to worry about over the next few weeks. Opponents include the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls, among others. Six of its next seven contests are on the road.
While health is out of their control, the Cavaliers should instead set their sights on acquiring an additional big. While Thompson has been incredibly durable throughout his three-plus seasons, even one minor injury would be catastrophic for the team.
With a lack of reliable bodies down low, general manager David Griffin knows a trade may be forthcoming.
"Clearly we came into the year talking about our need for rim protection before Andy got injured. I think it's very clear we have a need for more size. Our team is versatile in that we can play multiple positions, but we're not terribly big, so I'd like to improve that."
If one positive aspect came out of Varejao's injury, it's that the Cavaliers asked for and were granted a $4.9 million disabled player exception, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com. They can use this to trade for or sign a player whose salary falls below this amount. Cleveland also possesses a $5.3 million trade exception, stemming from the preseason deal of Keith Bogans to the Philadelphia 76ers.
While the pair cannot be combined, they do represent two unique opportunities to add talent without having to send any back in return. The disabled player exception expires on March 10 (after the February 19 trade deadline), while the trade exception can be used until September 28.
"I do think they give us incredible flexibility, regardless of how attractive they are or aren't. It gives us the kind of flexibility to build deals in lots of creative ways," Griffin said.
Big men who would fit into those exceptions include the New York Knicks' Samuel Dalembert, Bismack Biyombo of the Charlotte Hornets and Ian Mahinmi of the Indiana Pacers. All three are shot-blockers with size who play on teams with losing records.
Is David Blatt on the Hot Seat? Not so Fast
Obviously, health and size are issues for the Cavaliers, but apparently the head coach is not. Griffin addressed the media shortly before tipoff against the Mavericks to squash any questions regarding Cleveland's lead man.
"This narrative of our coaching situation is truly ridiculous. It is a non-story. Coach Blatt is our coach, he's going to remain our coach. Do not write that as a vote of confidence. He never needed one. It was never a question."
Griffin spoke to the media for about 12 minutes, with a large portion of it used to defend his coach.
He didn't read off a script and took time to answer questions. It's natural for Griffin to be defensive about Blatt, whom he handpicked this summer to lead the Cavaliers.
Remember that the last Cleveland regime, GM Chris Grant and coach Mike Brown, was viewed as a package deal. After the Cavs fired Grant last February, they relieved Brown of his duties just three months later.
Griffin knows that any failures Blatt endures will ultimately wind up on his shoulders. His public support for his coach was a welcome sight and one that the players should consider following as well.
More than anything, the Cavs just need time. Time to heal, time to jell and time to realize they have a bright head coach whom they can trust. With a Northeast Ohio winter just now getting underway, there's plenty of basketball left to be played before spring and the postseason take place.
The Cavaliers still have plenty of issues but luckily plenty of time as well to try to figure them all out.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report since 2010.
All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes obtained firsthand.
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