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In the beginning of this young new season, both the 2017 NBA Finalists - Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers - were looking lackluster, to say the least. However, eight or nine games in, the Warriors, although not clinical, have at least found a way to win games. On the other hand, with more games, the Cavaliers have found more problems to deal with.
At the time of writing, the Cavaliers are 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 3-5 record and owners of a miserable four-game losing streak. To make matters worse, their four recent losses, have all come against teams that hadn't made the Playoffs last year - the Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers.
Coming into this season, they were touted to hold their own as the deepest team LeBron James has ever had in Cleveland. Instead, they find themselves near the bottom of the East.
Why and how have they been so bad? We analyze. Here are 5 reasons:
#5 Injuries
At the time of writing, the Cavaliers have three players on the injured list - Isaiah Thomas, Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson. And although the 3-time champion isn't on the list, Dwyane Wade and his knees prefer limited minutes. Till a couple of games back, even Derrick Rose was sitting out games with a sprained left ankle.
While Thompson takes care of rebounding and leads the charge with respect to the Cavaliers' defense. The other four players are key to ensuring that Cleveland gets a respectable contribution from the backcourt.
So as favored as they are in the East, just like last year, the Cavaliers are playing the first half of the season short-handed. This, in turn, increases the load on James and we know how that went, right?
(LeBron panting on the bench in late-game situations of the 2017 Finals).
#4 Roster composition
We know how good the combination of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James can be courtesy of their Miami Heat days at the start of this decade. However, that was seven years ago. Since then, James has made it to seven straight Finals and Wade's knee issues have only gotten worse. Both players are on the wrong side of 32 with a lot of mileage on their body.
James can still be very effective, MVP-level effective but it depends tremendously on the team assembled around him and Wade doesn't fit that blueprint. The Cavaliers' management was praised for providing Tyronn Lue with a deep roster but the team is just not suited to James' game.
Few players brought in this summer (Wade and Rose) are not shooters, thus shrinking the floor on James. Wade has good hands in the passing lane but he isn't very agile anymore so count him on the poor defensive players' category. Oh wait, add Thomas and Jose Calderon (a bench-warming veteran) to that as well.
The only addition that made sense was Jae Crowder, a 3-and-D wing, but he's only averaging 7.5 points in 25.6 minutes while shooting 37.5% from the field.
#3 Pathetic defense
Last year, everybody in the Cavaliers' franchise talked about how they will 'flip the switch' on their terrible regular season defense when the Playoffs come around. And although they breezed through the Eastern Conference in the postseason, the Finals were another story altogether.
That's why this year, it's that much tougher to believe that they will 'flip the switch' when unlike last year, they don't have the continuity with their roster. At the time of writing, the team ranks 29th in defensive rating (111.3), only the Dallas Mavericks (111.5) allow more points per 100 possessions.
They've never stooped so low. Last season, their below par defense was as low as 22nd but never in the bottom two. They've allowed teams like the Nets, Knicks, Pacers and the Chicago Bulls to score more than 110 points. That's completely unacceptable, like at some point the pride factor must take over.
#2 Below-par three-point shooting
Even the Warriors are playing an uncharacteristic type of defense, ranked 23rd in the league (after being second last season) but they still have the best net rating in the association. Their offense and healthy roster allow them to concede points because more often than not, they can score more than the opposition. At the end of the day, that's what it's about right?
So, as bad as the Cavaliers' defense has been, their offense could rescue them but it hasn't and a huge reason for that is their three-point shooting. Since James came back for his second stint with the team, the Cavaliers have always been among the premier three-point shooting teams in the league. This year, they've dropped there as well.
Last year, they were second in the league in three-point shooting - 38.4%, second only to the San Antonio Spurs. This year's campaign, they've dropped down to 23rd, only knocking down 33% of their long-range shots. A five-percent drop combined with the overall league shooting better has taken its toll on the team's offense.
#1 Boredom or lack of rhythm?
As good as they might be this season, neither the Knicks nor the Pacers (and definitely not the Nets) are going to be a threat to the Cavaliers in the postseason. The Pelicans aren't even in the same conference and New Orleans franchise will have its demons to face in the West Playoffs.
Given that LeBron James has made it to seven straight NBA Finals, is it possible that the rest of the team is just searching for motivation to play games against these non-Playoff teams? Maybe the fact that having James on their side, pretty much assures them a spot in the 2018 Finals is something that makes the regular season boring?
Cleveland's matchup against the Wizards in Washington on Friday night will give us an answer to both these questions.
But James has won games even with depleted rosters, so is this a case of lack of rhythm like he has pointed out? Could be. James has pointed out that his ankle sprain before the season forced him to play just one preseason game, which has impacted his on-court chemistry and rhythm with the new team assembled around him.
Does that mean they will start clicking by New Years'? Only time will tell.
Guess the Lakers players!
