Diagnosing Cleveland Cavaliers' Remaining Flaws
Off to an impressive 6-1 start, the Cleveland Cavaliers have but a few flaws in an otherwise sparkling roster.
The Cavs currently lead the NBA with a 114.0 offensive rating, while all three members of the Big 3 are averaging at least 22.0 points per game.
Although just a sliver into the season, a few small holes (particularly on defense) are beginning to emerge. Cleveland would be wise to address these remaining issues now while the year remains young.
Problem: Shot Selection and Balance
The Cavaliers' league best offense has been fueled by an obsession with the three-ball. A nice option to have, for sure, but some more balance would be ideal.
Ranking second in the NBA with 13.0 makes and a league-high 35.7 attempts per game from outside the arc, Cleveland remains just eighth with a 36.4 percent conversion rate.
This ridiculously high number of long-ball attempts is widely due to the roster makeup. Only Tristan Thompson didn't connect on a three-pointer last season, with shooters like Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, Richard Jefferson and Mike Dunleavy consistently sharing the floor.
The real problem? The Cavs players can't seem to get on the same page of what they want to do, as evidenced by a recent halftime conversation during a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
"Some guys were saying, 'Mix it up.' Some guys were saying, 'That's what we do.' So, it's just a matter of, in this situation, you have to know who is right," J.R. Smith told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
Given their personnel, Cleveland should be near the top of the pack when it comes to three-point attempts. That said, there's plenty of talent to be tapped into under the basket as well.
Solution:
The Cavs are only getting 8.3 of their 111.4 points per game out of touches in the paint, good for 29th in the NBA. While they don't utilize this strategy often, it has been highly effective; Cleveland shoots 63.2 percent off paint touches, led by an unlikely source.
It is neither Kevin Love nor Thompson, who's been the most successful in the paint (both 50.0 percent shooting), but rather, James (85.7 percent). Sadly, only 1.9 of his 22.9 points come in this manner.
Cleveland can't be afraid to go small, using James at power forward and opening up more looks inside. He's still a pretty awful three-point shooter (28.1 percent) who should instead be working out of the post and elbow more as his career progresses.
Currently, James is only spending 19 percent of his court time at power forward, down from 23 percent during his last two years with the Cavaliers. Better use of his skills (especially with smaller lineups) could lead to better offensive balance throughout the team.
Problem: Paint Defense
Unlike the offense, the Cavaliers' 17th-ranked defense is having trouble in the paint.
Cleveland is allowing opponents to shoot 63.4 percent from within five feet of the basket, per NBA.com. Only the Dallas Mavericks (64.5), Minnesota Timberwolves (64.6) and Los Angeles Lakers (67.0) have been worse. Thompson, Love and Frye collect the majority of big-men minutes; none are rim protectors by any definition of the word.
Although Thompson leads the Cavaliers with a respectable 1.1 blocks in his 28.3 minutes per game, opponents are still finding holes against him. Thompson has allowed a 50.0 percent success rate to shooters at the rim, or about the same rate as 6'2" shooting guard Avery Bradley of the Boston Celtics. Love is even worse at 56.8 percent.
Chris Andersen remains formidable enough in post defense, but due to his weaknesses elsewhere, the Cavs have used him just twice all season for a total of 14 minutes. At 38 years old, he's not going to be a regular rotation member.
Solution:
A call to a past NBA shot-blocking extraordinaire, perhaps?
Former Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders remains a free agent following his decision to leave professional basketball in February 2015. According to ESPN's Ethan Sherwood Strauss, the Golden State Warriors looked into signing Sanders this past summer following the trade of Andrew Bogut to the Dallas Mavericks, but no deal was ever reached.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, Sanders has cited the importance of stability in his life. Following the success of J.R. Smith's time in Cleveland, the Cavs could provide just that.
Only 27 years old and with a career average of 3.3 blocks per 36 minutes, Sanders could be a game-changing defensive big for the Cavaliers' second unit.
Problem: Backup Point Guard
We knew the point guard position behind Irving would be a barren wasteland until rookie Kay Felder developed, but how long is too long to wait?
Irving is already logging 35.3 minutes a night while Felder has appeared a total of five minutes in one game. Clearly, head coach Tyronn Lue doesn't have confidence in his young reserve yet, and he has chosen to let Iman Shumpert pick up extra ball-handling responsibilities.
When asked if Lue had talked to him about his role, Felder told Bleacher Report, "There's been no specific 'you’ll play x amount of minutes' or 'you'll be playing so and so games' or anything like that. Whatever he gives me, I’m gonna take and run with it. I knew what type of team this is, it's a veteran team and I've got to earn my way in to it."
Cleveland is in a tough spot, as neither Irving nor Shumpert work as distributors. As talented of a scorer as he is, the former thrives off the ball while sharing the court with a playmaker like James. The Cavaliers have struggled in fourth quarters to this point, primarily because Irving is asked to orchestrate the offense to begin the final period while James gets a breather.
Consider the importance of an additional playmaker beside and behind Irving, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
"In the four games in which the Cavs have opened the fourth quarter with James on the bench and Irving anchoring the second unit, they've been outscored by 21 points in 14:15.
Last season, Lue used James as the anchor for the second unit, especially during the playoffs when the Cavs' best player and four reserves wreaked havoc. The Cavs also had Matthew Dellavedova then, a backup point guard they trusted. They don't have one of those this season.
"
The Cavaliers best five-man lineup that features Irving without James has a net rating of minus-5.9 this season. As a team, the Cavs are getting just 8.0 assists from the point guard position per game, which is 18th in the league, via hoopsstats.com.
Solution:
While the now-retired Mo Williams was supposed to fill the role of "veteran point guard that has experience running an offense," his $2.2 million contract can still be used to go get one. His expiring deal along with 25-year-old shooting guard Jordan McRae could be a nice little trade package for a lottery-bound team looking to shed some age.
Few teams are in tanking mode (save for squads in Philadelphia and New Orleans), so plucking a point guard may be tough this early. When the time comes, however, Cleveland need only look to the mountains.
Jameer Nelson of the Denver Nuggets would be an ideal fit behind Irving. Now 34, Nelson is averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 44.0 percent from deep off Denver's bench. The Nuggets are off to an uninspiring 3-4 start and shouldn't be considered serious playoff contenders in the Western Conference.
James can't play every minute of every fourth quarter, and Irving thrives when he doesn't have to create for others. Adding Nelson would take pressure off everyone and give Felder time to develop.
Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @CavsGregBR.
Stats via Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate as of November 10. All quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted.
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