3. Defense. Defense. Defense.
While the Cavaliers did a lot at the NBA trade deadline to shore up their roster heading into the final stretch, one constant remained regardless of who suited up for the Wine and Gold… The Cavs struggled defensively. Struggled defensively may be putting it lightly, as they finished in the bottom third in the league in almost every defensive category. While bad defense has been a running theme in Cleveland since James returned, the Cavs have been able to flip the switch when the playoffs rolled around. Many wondered if this unit would be able to replicate the success of years past, and Sunday was our first look at the 2018 Playoff Cavaliers defense.
There are many different ways to dissect the Cavs defense in Game 1, so let’s start with the King himself. While looking at statistics is one way to grade someone defensively, one thing that no statistic quantifies is effort, and LeBron played with very little on Sunday. There are numerous occasions where he was the last person to cross half court, if he even did at all. While no one should be surprised as this was a common occurrence during the season, this can’t continue to happen. Not just if the Cavaliers want to get back to the NBA Finals, but if they want to beat Indiana. This team starts and ends with LeBron.
While LeBron’s defense was not the reason the Cavaliers lost by 18 in Game 1, one of the biggest reasons was the play of fellow forward Jeff Green. Most of this season has been a pleasant surprise for Cavs fans in terms of the production Cleveland got from the veteran. The idea of starting Green was mentioned a few weeks back by Lue, and at the time many ignored the idea. Green had made a bunch of spot starts throughout the season as the Cavs dealt with injuries, so fans and media members expected more of the same come playoff time. Unfortunately the belief in Green is fading fast as he was completely out manned as a small-ball four by Thaddeus Young. Green was supposed to counteract teams going smaller, and allow the Cavs more vesitality on the deffensive end, with the lack of defense from Green combined with shooting (0-for-7) from the field, many have been calling for lineup changes.
The best defensive big the Cavaliers have is Larry Nance Jr, but he loses out on minutes to Green. With Nance Jr in the lineup the Cavaliers are able to play more freely on defense, with Nance Jr. serving as rim protector. And when things really get humming out there you even have the ability to have James play free safety defense and constantly been in help, or ready for a backside block.
Injuries have been an issue all season for Cleveland and thus the rotations have been out of whack for awhile now, but right now the Cavs are healthy so it is time to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Unfortunately for Ty Lue, he’s going to adapt a lot of things on the fly throughout the series. Playoff basketball is all about adjustments, it’ll be very interesting to see who presses the right buttons when the ball is tipped Wednesday night.
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