The Cavaliers have lost 4 of their last 6, Lonzo Ball is on fire, and other things from Saturday night

The Cleveland Cavaliers strung together a series of trade deadline deals that made one declarative statement: We are starting from scratch, mid-season, and we’re going to get it right this time.

But after they traded Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert to recoup Rodney Hood, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., many of Cleveland’s problems continue to persist.

The Cavs are still an awful defensive team. They needed 129 points to beat the Nets and gave up 126 points in a loss to the Nuggets on Saturday night. Cleveland’s giving up about 110 points per 100 possessions since the All-Star break, according to data from NBA.com, matching their defensive rating from the first-half of the season.

The Cavaliers are also a team that thrives when the three-point shot is falling. During their recent struggles, they are averaging just 9.5 threes made on 32 percent shooting. Last season, Cleveland made 13 a game, the same amount they make in wins this year.

The Cavaliers aren’t championship contenders without Love. That much is evident. Cleveland is 29-17 in games he’s played substantial minutes. They’re 7-9 in all other games.

It’s hard to replace what Love brings to the floor. He’s one of Cleveland’s best three-point shooters at 40 percent on the season. He’s a reliable post-up option on offense, and despite Love’s shortcomings on the defensive end, he’s a battle-tested veteran who’s helped steer the Cavs to three straight NBA Finals appearances.

Love’s been out with a broken hand since Jan. 29, and even though he’s back working out — though with a glove on his non-shooting hand — he’s expected to continue his injury timeline of eight weeks. That would put him right back onto the court toward the end of March.

Cleveland’s already integrating new players into the rotation. Next they’ll have to reintegrate Love. It won’t be easy, but if they want any shot at returning to the Finals, they’ll need to figure out a way to do it.

We made a big deal at the beginning of the season that heralded rookie Lonzo Ball couldn’t make a shot from distance. But in the second half of the season after returning from a sprained MCL, Ball has been automatic from three.

Ball became the first rookie in Lakers history to hit six threes and dish out 11 assists in a game. In his four games since returning from injury, he’s made 16-of-25, or 63.6 percent of his three-point attempts.

If you thought that college basketball poster dunk that’s been circulating recently was bad, what Nance did to Miles Plumlee on Saturday night was a nightmare. Nance tomahawked over the Nuggets’ center, then pointed at him like Shawn Kemp did to Alton Lister decades ago.

It doesn’t get any more savage than that.

You can read more about that here.

Magic 107, Grizzlies 100

Nuggets 126, Cavaliers 117

Heat 105, Pistons 96

Rockets 123, Celtics 120

Lakers 116, Spurs 113

Trail Blazers 108, Thunder 100

Jazz 98, Kings 91