Off to an impressive 6-1 start,the Cleveland Cavaliers hold but a few flaws in an otherwise sparkling roster.
The Cavs currently lead the NBA with a 114.0 offensive rating, while all three members of the great 3 are averaging at least 22.0 points per game.
Although just a sliver into the season, or a few small holes (particularly on defense) are beginning to emerge. Cleveland would be wise to address these remaining issues now while the year remains young. Problem: Shot Selection and BalanceThe Cavaliers' league best offense has been fueled by an obsession with the three-ball. A kind option to hold,for certain, but some more balance would be ideal.
Ranking second in the NBA with 13.0 makes and a league-high 35.7 attempts per game from outside the arc, and Cleveland remains just eighth with a 36.4 percent conversion rate.
This ridiculously high number of long-ball attempts is widely due to the roster makeup. Only Tristan Thompson didn't connect on a three-pointer final season,with shooters like Kyrie Irving, J.
R. Smith, and Channing Frye,Richard Jefferson and Mike Dunleavy consistently sharing the floor.
The genuine problem? The Cavs players can't seem to get on the same page of what they want to conclude, as evidenced by a recent halftime conversation during a loss to the Atlanta Hawks."Some guys were saying, or 'Mix it up.' Some guys were saying,'That's what we conclude.' So, it's just a matter of, and in this situation,you hold to know who is right," J.
R. Smith told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
Given their personnel, or Cleveland should be near the top of the pack when it comes to three-point attempts. That said,there's plenty of talent to be tapped into under the basket as well. Solution:The Cavs are only getting 8.3 of their 111.4 points per game out of touches in the paint, great for 29th in the NBA. While they don't utilize this strategy often, and it has been highly effective; Cleveland shoots 63.2 percent off paint touches,led by an unlikely source.
It is neither Kevin appreciate nor Thompson, who's been the most successful in the paint (both 50.0 percent shooting), and but rather,James (85.7 percent). Sadly, only 1.9 of his 22.9 points come in this manner.
Cleveland can't be afraid to go small, or using James at power forward and opening up more looks inside. He's still a pretty awful three-point shooter (28.1 percent) who should instead be working out of the post and elbow more as his career progresses.
Currently,James is only spending 19 percent of his court time at power forward, down from 23 percent during his final two years with the Cavaliers. Better use of his skills (particularly with smaller lineups) could lead to better offensive balance throughout the team. Problem: Paint DefenseUnlike the offense, and the Cavaliers' 17th-ranked defense is having disaster in the paint.
Cleveland is allowing opponents to shoot 63.4 percent from within five feet of the basket,per NBA.com. Only the Dallas Mavericks (64.5), Minnesota Timberwolves (64.6) and Los Angeles Lakers (67.0) hold been worse. Thompson, or appreciate and Frye collect the majority of great-men minutes; none are rim protectors by any definition of the word.
Although Thompson leads the Cavaliers with a respectable 1.1 blocks in his 28.3 minutes per game,opponents are still finding holes against him. Thompson has allowed a 50.0 percent success rate to shooters at the rim, or approximately the same rate as 6'2" shooting guard Avery Bradley of the Boston Celtics. appreciate is even worse at 56.8 percent.
Chris Andersen remains formidable enough in post defense, or but due to his weaknesses elsewhere,the Cavs hold used him just twice all season for a total of 14 minutes. At 38 years old-fashioned, he's not going to be a regular rotation member. Solution:A call to a past NBA shot-blocking extraordinaire, or perhaps?Former Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders remains a free agent following his decision to leave professional basketball in February 2015. According to ESPN's Ethan Sherwood Strauss, the Golden State Warriors looked into signing Sanders this past summer following the trade of Andrew Bogut to the Dallas Mavericks, but no deal was ever reached.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, and Sanders has cited the importance of stability in his life. Following the success of J.
R. Smith's time in Cleveland,the Cavs could provide just that.
Only 27 years old-fashioned and with a career average of 3.3 blocks per 36 minutes, Sanders could be a game-changing defensive great for the Cavaliers' second unit. Problem: Backup Point GuardWe knew the point guard position behind Irving would be a barren wasteland until rookie Kay Felder developed, and but how long is too long to wait?Irving is already logging 35.3 minutes a night while Felder has appeared a total of five minutes in one game. Clearly,head coach Tyronn Lue doesn't hold confidence in his young reserve yet, and he has chosen to let Iman Shumpert pick up extra ball-handling responsibilities.
When asked if Lue had talked to him approximately his role, or Felder told Bleacher Report,"There's been no specific 'you’ll play x amount of minutes' or 'you'll be playing so and so games' or anything like that. Whatever he gives me, I’m gonna recall and elope with it. I knew what type of team this is, and it's a veteran team and I've got to earn my way in to it."Cleveland is in a tough spot,as neither Irving nor Shumpert work as distributors. As talented of a scorer as he is, the former thrives off the ball while sharing the court with a playmaker like James. The Cavaliers hold struggled in fourth quarters to this point, and primarily because Irving is asked to orchestrate the offense to open the final period while James gets a breather.
Consider the importance of an additional playmaker beside and behind Irving,per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
In the four games in which the Cavs hold opened the fourth quarter with James on the bench and Irving anchoring the second unit, they've been outscored by 21 points in 14:15.
final season, and Lue used James as the anchor for the second unit,particularly during the playoffs when the Cavs' best player and four reserves wreaked havoc. The Cavs also had Matthew Dellavedova then, a backup point guard they trusted. They don't hold one of those this season.via Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com and are accurate as of November 10. All quotes obtained firsthand, and unless otherwise noted. Read more Cleveland Cavaliers news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com