Joe K wrote:DSafetyGuy wrote:Joe K wrote:[On a related note, something looks seriously wrong with the Cavs. Their defense has been shamefully bad, and you gotta wonder how much job security Ty Lue has at this point. I know it sounds crazy to say that after back-to-back finals appearances, but given LeBron's pending free agency, the stakes are high for this season.
Did Lue ask them to roster every guard who can't defend? I get that he's an easy scapegoat, but Rose, Wade, and Calderon got added to a roster that already counted on Love and Korver. I get that Thompson got hurt the other night, but he was on pace for a career low in minutes before that and he's their best defensive big man. Apparently, the only way for an organization to find out how much Jeff Green sucks is to acquire him.
Every transaction should be aimed at getting guys who can shoot threes, defend, and have solid basketball IQ because the aim is to beat Golden State. Instead, they have the NBA's worst defense at 113.6 points per 100 possessions.
It's like they tried to build a roster to scare off LeBron after the season (aside from bringing his pal Wade in).
I get that they made some questionable signings, but they also swapped Kyrie (a poor defender) for Crowder, a good defender. And personnel aside, the effort on defense has been nonexistent. On the season, they're allowing their opponents to make 14 3s per game, at a 42% success rate. Opponent 3PT % can be somewhat random but there seems to be a pattern of the Cavs not even trying to defend shooters.
I think expecting this Cavs roster to defend guards is a fool's errand due to the roster management and how the players are deployed - Crowder at 25.6 minutes per game, Rose at 28.5 per game.
Back to the roster, when you absolutely need shooting threes and defense (to beat Golden State), couldn't they possibly be better off with random 3-and-D young players who have a chance to improve over the course of a season (and want to prove themselves instead of being worn-down, injury-prone vets)?
Part of my annoyance comes from listening to yesterday's Lowe Post with Windhorst. While both agreed "it's early" as to why they shouldn't make too big a deal about the crappy defense, they mentioned how Cleveland was not able to turn it on last year on defense. They also spent an inordinate time discussing something the Cavs do care about, unlike their defense - their team Halloween party. Multiple players spending hours to have makeup professionally done, Korver flying in friends from LA to go as Oompa Loompas as part of his group themed costumes, and so on. It's their free time, they can do what they want, but that may not be the best look for a team struggling like this.
I think trying to blame Lue is ridiculous, especially if he is not going to be given time to figure out this roster and its terrible, non-useful redundancies.
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