Look, the Cleveland Cavaliers can score. They dropped 135 points in regulation against the Atlanta Hawks earlier this month, including a record-setting 25 made three-pointers. After all, they’re second in made and attempted triples, and second in three-point percentage. They have two players — LeBron James and Kyrie Irving — who can practically manufacture buckets against any scheme or defender. Cleveland’s offense ranks third best in the league, by offensive rating, and they’ve scored 120 points or more in 17 games this season. No, scoring isn’t their problem.
NBA scores 2017: Is the Cavaliers defense good enough for them to win another championship?
Cleveland has a problem, and it’s coming from how many points they’re allowing teams to score on them.
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Defense, on the other hand, is.
When the Cavaliers fell 117-112 to the Houston Rockets on Sunday, it’s hard to view them too harshly. It was the second night of a back-to-back on the road against a more rested Rockets team, and that’s a difficult situation to be in. Still, in yet another loss — Cleveland has lost six of their last nine games — it makes you wonder how far the Cavaliers can make it this season. Clearly, they have a different gear in the postseason, especially as the team finally starts to get healthier. No doubt, Cleveland is still the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference. But with a seasons-long struggle to stop other teams, the statistics aren’t in their favor.
It’s been more than a decade that a team without a top-10 defense has won the championship, as pointed out by ESPN’s Marc Stein. Last season, Cleveland was exactly 10th. This year, they’ve plummeted to 22nd in the league, allowing 107.6 points per 100 possessions.
That offense has kept Cleveland afloat through a snakebitten season full of injuries to key players. They’ve survived on the constants that are James, who is still playing the most minutes in the league, and Irving. Their defense has sagged dramatically, and the question is now clear: is this a permanent thing, or can the bored Cavaliers pick up where they left off once the postseason begins?
One point made by NBA.com’s John Schuhmann is that all three teams that did win the championship and weren’t in the top-10 defensively also were defending champions, like the Cavaliers.
This points to a theme: after a championship, teams may relax and take it easier than in the past, knowing they are capable of playing better.
Still, you can’t discount the regular season, and only three teams winning out of nearly 70 championships is a telling sign. Cleveland still has the personnel — they lost Matthew Dellavedova, who was an annoying defender but not a defense-altering player — but do they have the persistence? Or the drive? Or now, the memory of what they did last season when it worked, and when they pushed Golden State to three straight losses and overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the Finals?
These are all valid questions. If Cleveland can get healthy — J.R. Smith just returned, and Kevin Love should be back soon — and really bear down during the final weeks of the season, that may be beneficial for them. You’d like to think Cleveland can return to their previous season form, and clearly that offense is so incredibly dangerous that the Cavaliers should still be expected to represent the East in the playoffs. But slowing down whoever faces them once they’re there is another story completely, and there are some damning statistics they’re having to go up against.
Chicago’s miserable Sunday afternoon
It took nearly six minutes for the Bulls to score their first points in Sunday’s game. With 1:11 left in the first quarter, the score was Celtics 20, Bulls 4. Chicago ended up scrounging out nine points to avoid total humiliation, but their eventual 26-point first half was still the lowest scored by any NBA team all season. That’s sad in its own right.
Of course, I also wrote about why Chicago doesn’t deserve to make the playoffs this season, for a number of reasons.
D’Angelo Russell: wanna get away?
Um ... that’s not how you do it, D’Angelo.
Kristaps Porzingis: what the hell is this, man!?
There are maybe a dozen living humans who could do something like this, and I’m honestly convinced that’s no exaggeration.
Sunday’s final scores
Rockets 117, Cavaliers 112 (The Dream Shake recap | Fear the Sword recap)
Trail Blazers 110, Suns 101 (Blazer’s Edge recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap)
Pacers 102, Heat 98 (Indy Cornrows recap | Hot Hot Hoops recap)
Nets 120, Knicks 112 (Nets Daily recap | Posting & Toasting recap)
Celtics 100, Bulls 80 (Celtics Blog recap | Blog a Bull recap)
76ers 118, Lakers 116 (Liberty Ballers recap | Silver Screen & Roll recap)
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