by Nick Broulis
CANTON, Ohio– With the Cleveland Cavaliers going through one of their toughest stretches in recent memory, the Broulis Beat Report is talking about what could be done to get this train back on the tracks.
Let’s start out by talking about the most glaring matter that is the lack of defense. As of January 22, 2018, the Cavaliers are ranked as the 29th defense in the NBA. For the record, it cracks me up when people say the Cavs are the 28th or 29th worst defense in the NBA. There isn’t enough of a difference between 28 and 30. Now, if Cleveland were ranked 20th or 21st, then sure, that would be dumb to say Cleveland has the worst defense in the NBA. There is a big enough difference between 20th and last. Bottom line, you can’t and won’t win an NBA Title with a defense ranked where they are.
Cleveland, based off of opponents points off turnovers, is ranked 18th. The Cavs give up 16 PPG in that category. The team they’re chasing, Golden State, is actually ranked 26th (18 PPG). When it comes to opponents points off fast breaks, Cleveland is ranked 15th, giving up 11 fast break PPG. The Warriors are the 27th ranked fast break defensive team in the NBA. Golden State gives up 14 fast break PPG. And finally, when it comes to defending the paint, Cleveland sits at 25th allowing 46 PPG in the paint. Who, might you ask sits at 26th? How about Golden State. They give up 47 points in the paint each game. Where is there a major gap on defense when it comes to the Warriors and Cavaliers? Well, first off, Golden State ranks 11th in the NBA in steals per game with eight. Cleveland? 21st with seven. Doesn’t seem like much, but it does make a difference. Also, Golden State is the best team when it comes to blocks per game with eight a game. The Wine and Gold? How about 27th with 3.8. When you put all the defensive stats together, the Warriors are a top-five defense. Cleveland is the worst. Defense is largely about effort, and lately, the Cavs have shown little to no effort for wanting to play defense.
Now, let’s take a look at a positive stat for Cleveland. Though the Cavs are struggling mightily, their bench remains a top-five bench when it comes to scoring, contributing 41 points a game. And despite the Cavs going 3-9 in their last 12 games, Cleveland is still the third seed if the playoffs started today and Boston has not taken advantage of the Cavs’ train coming off the tracks. The Cavs are six games behind the Celtics and we’re nearing the end of January. I’d be far more concerned if it were March and Cleveland were 8 or 10 games back. And who knows, that could happen.
TRADES! TRADES! TRADES!:
Yes, I’m confident in saying the Cavs will have a different looking roster by midnight of Feb.8. So, who are the players available? Let’s start out with the players who aren’t on the table. Let’s first say the obvious is LeBron James. Next, would be Kevin Love. Unless you’re getting a top-tier two-way player in exchange, Love is not on the block.
After that, I’d listen.
Some of you may have quickly noticed, that I didn’t include Isaiah Thomas. There are two reasons behind that. The first, would be my concern about his hip. I know he’s shown no signs of a lingering hip injury, but all it takes is one fall and he’s right back on the shelf and the next time it happens, it could be longer or worse yet, career ending. The second reason, if you told me I could trade Thomas, straight up, for a Damian Lillard, Kemba Walker or John Wall, I’d do it. All of those three are equally as good offensively and are better defensively.
Here’s a proposed trade courtesy of Bleacher Report:
Charlotte gets: C Channing Frye, SF/PF Cedi Osman, SG/SF Iman Shumpert, SG JR Smith, the Nets first-round pick and the 2020 second-round pick via Miami.
Cleveland gets: SG/SF Nicolas Batum, PG/SG Michael Carter-Williams and PG Kemba Walker.
Here’s my edition of a Charlotte, Cleveland trade proposal:
Charlotte gets: JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Isaiah Thomas and Cedi Osman.
Cleveland gets: Nicolas Batum, Michael Carter-Williams and Kemba Walker.
Notice I did not include the Nets pick for this year’s draft. We all know Cleveland could use an upgrade at the center position. Tristan Thompson needs a change so, here is another trade I think would work.
Los Angeles gets: Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert.
Cleveland gets: DeAndre Jordan and SG Lou Williams.
If Cleveland could get the right players back, the following players could be traded and I wouldn’t lose sleep over it: Thompson, Shumpert, Derrick Rose and Smith.
Smith is struggling at both ends of the floor and especially when it comes to his 3-point shooting. Smith’s career 3-point shooting percentage is 37 percent, and this year he is shooting 34 percent from deep. For what Smith is making, he’s not playing close to what is expected of him. This year alone, he is making $13 million. Next year he will make $14 million and $15 million after that.
Rose has only played in 16 games so far, this season. But, here’s something to think about. Even if he could stay healthy, he can’t shoot. He’s shooting 48 percent from the field, but don’t think for a minute that Rose is accomplishing that by knocking down 15-footers on a consistent basis. He has made his living driving to the rim and finishing.
Cleveland must remake a roster with players that have a role.
They need a better roster if they want a fourth trip back to the Finals. The East may be a softer conference, but you still can’t just walk out on the court and think you’re going to just win because you have LeBron James on your team and you’re the defending Eastern Conference champs. That’s not how it works. Cleveland must improve drastically on defense, rebound better, defend the rim much better and get more production offensively out of their role players when it comes to the starters, especially when it comes to the shooting guard position.
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