Question: What happens when you bring together two star players with reputations for indifference on defense and expect them to become fulcrums of your basketball team?
Answer: Exactly what’s happened to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
One of the most puzzling things about the uproar over the star-laden Cavs’ inconsistency thus far is why anyone is surprised. From the moment LeBron James said he was “coming home,” followed by Love’s change of heart on joining the wine and gold, the Cavs were unjustly saddled with the expectations of immediate championship contention.
It just wasn’t going to happen that easily, and it all comes down to defense.
Contrary to what your angry uncle tells you, the NBA is all about defense. Great offensive teams are not always great teams in the bigger scheme, but great defensive teams are typically in the mix of the league’s best squads. Balance is best, obviously, but if you’re going to be really good at one end and just OK at the other end, recent history shows you’re best off tolerating a decent offense in favor of a stout defense. Only three of the last 10 champions, for instance, ranked higher in offensive efficiency than defensive efficiency.
From the moment their version of a “big three” came about, the Cavs faced this conundrum. Love, for all his gaudy rebounding numbers, has never been much of a positional defender, and when a team’s main big man is a minus defender, the whole unit is usually going to suffer. Compounding that is Irving’s own shortcomings as a ball stopper (or lack thereof), making Cleveland weak at both the front and back of its defense.
And wouldn’t you know it, the Cavs are actually really good offensively. Owing to their three stars’ individual talents, the Cavs rank fourth in offensive efficiency, above the likes of the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks, all of whom have received praise for their scoring production. But they are 23rd in defensive efficiency, while giving up the sixth-highest field goal percentage in the league.
David Blatt has a lot on his plate as a first-year NBA coach, and when it comes to melding the unique talents of three skilled offensive players, he’s actually done an admirable job. What he hasn’t been able to do is transform poor defensive players into good defensive players, and if he ends up losing his job for that, it would be a shame.
Other loose balls from around the NBA:
— It’s been fascinating to watch how Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle deploys Rajon Rondo on offense. So far, it’s very different than how Doc Rivers and Brad Stevens, Rondo’s only NBA head coaches to this point, utilized him with the Boston Celtics.
Rondo’s playing more off the ball in Dallas, often making plays after receiving a pass, rather than just creating off the dribble. Carlisle has had Rondo flash to the high post, then feed cutting teammates, and even spot up occasionally.
So far, the results haven’t been great for the Mavs, who were the most efficient offensive team in the NBA at the time of the trade. (They have since plummeted to No. 2, 0.2 points per 100 possessions behind the Toronto Raptors.) Count on Carlisle and Rondo figuring things out, though, and for it to be amazing to watch.
— Speaking of former Celtics, Kevin Garnett has sounded discouraged at times this season, his 20th in the NBA and second with the Brooklyn Nets. One of the proudest athletes around, Garnett was struck by the pitying, patronizing tone of a couple of reporters’ questions after he converted an alley-oop dunk Monday.
“Oh, stop it,” Garnett told reporters, according to ESPN.com. “Are you serious? Hey, listen, I know I am, like, 150 years in dog years. But I can actually dunk the ball. God, do I look that bad out there?”
Two decades into a surefire Hall of Fame career, Garnett has a right to be offended. If Julius Erving can allegedly still dunk at 64, nobody should be surprised Garnett can still get off the ground at 38. The fact that people are taken aback by a Garnett slam, however, might be a hint as to whether the big man will actually hang up his sneakers at the end of the season.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
