Cavs Defensive Rankings

[shawnkemp]

Looking at the latest team defensive statistics on espn.com...
The Cavs rank 22 out of all 30 teams in opp. points per game
The Cavs rank 27 out of all 30 teams in opp. field goal %
The Cavs rank 30 out of all 30 teams in opp. 3pt field goal %

With these kind of numbers, it's a wonder we have a winning record at all. The Cavs are NOT one of the 8 worst teams in the league overall. Luckily, we're able to rank 3rd overall in points per game, otherwise our record would be a lot different.

I think the answer is clear. The Cavs are NOT a defensive team, so why is Brown trying to force a philosophy on them that doesn't fit the team. Let the Cavs run the floor on offense, since we clearly cannot stop our opponents on defense. Everyone on here likes to gripe about the lack of hustle and energy on defense, but they don't realize that this team does not have the personnel to play shutdown defense like the Spurs or Pistons. Even the almighty Eric Snow is an average at best defensive player. We may not win a championship by running the floor, but we'll at least make the playoffs.
We can run with any team in the league. At this point, the Cavs either need to change Brown's philosophy, or overhaul the roster and rebuild it with defensive specialists and role players.

 

[Karma]

The Cavs have allowed just 40 points for the half. Conceded just at 37.5% from the field, and just 27% from beyond the arc.

It can be done. Attitude and application are the key words.

Hey if we make stops we can run the floor like we all wish for.

 

[LyXo]

I think the answer is clear. The Cavs are NOT a defensive team, so why is Brown trying to force a philosophy on them that doesn't fit the team. Let the Cavs run the floor on offense, since we clearly cannot stop our opponents on defense. Everyone on here likes to gripe about the lack of hustle and energy on defense, but they don't realize that this team does not have the personnel to play shutdown defense like the Spurs or Pistons. Even the almighty Eric Snow is an average at best defensive player. We may not win a championship by running the floor, but we'll at least make the playoffs.
We can run with any team in the league. At this point, the Cavs either need to change Brown's philosophy, or overhaul the roster and rebuild it with defensive specialists and role players.

And we will win 50, 60 games. Yes! Make it to the playoffs, yes!

Then, end up like the Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns.

 

[G-MAN]

no identity on the team yet. not a phoenix type of team and not a indy/sa type. still trying to figure out what they are. lebron said the best game his been in was the win over philly and he just doesn't know any win is a good one.

 

[shawnkemp]

G-Man,
Do you remember what happened in that Philly game? Brown took the reins off of Lebron and let him run the point, and the Cavs came back from a huge deficit. Let the offense go through Lebron everytime down the floor by letting him play the point. Defense is another matter, but on offense, give the ball to our best passer who is able to penetrate, have the defense collapse on him and then kick it to the open man.
Lyxo-
Would you rather make it to the playoffs like the Mavs and Suns or not make it again?

 

[Karma]

We are building a team to win the championship, not be a perenial first round loser. We need to plant the defensive seeds now.

 

[G-MAN]

yeah but in the philly game, philly didn't play d either. it was a free ride for everybody. sorry but lebron with the ball in his hands all game says we dont' have any other players (to me).

the ball movement and hustle on d won this game. that and a few less bombs by larry and lebron.

 

[shawnkemp]

Karma
Who is going to play defense on this team? You can't make a team something that it isn't. The Indians in the mid-90s were not a small ball team because they were built for extra base hits. These Cavs have players who can grab rebounds and kick if out to a pg who can run the floor. If we want a defensive team, trade DJ, Z, Luke, Sasha, and Gooden. Pick up Reggie Evans, Ron Artest, and Brevin Knight. The point is, we have to work with what we have. Trying to make this Cavs team into a defense first team makes as much sense as "Metcalf up the middle." Offensive minded teams who play adequate defense can win championships. Brown should stress a bend but not break philosophy on defense, because our offense can keep us in any game. Instead, we give up open shots on the weak side (because there's too much collapsing on any type of penetration) and we get dominated by any above average big man, because our big men are soft. We'll never have Tim Duncan, Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Price or Bruce Bowen.
We have:
Larry Hughes, who can challenge shots but is never going to be a lockdown defender
DJ, who is subpar defensively (to put it gently)
Snow, who can get burned but still puts his hands in a guy's face,
Gooden, who can box out smaller players, foul, and complain to the refs (that's about all he can do defensively),
Lebron, who's still learning, but takes too many gambles
Newble, who is well on defense, horrible on offense
Marshall, who plays hard, grabs rebounds, challenges shots
Z, who falls to the floor at least 7 times a game and cannot guard a halfway decent big man.
Henderson, good inside player
Not a lot of defense in that lineup. When Donyell Marshall and Allen Henderson are your inside presence, you're in trouble. The answer is to either completely overhaul this team or to use the weapons that we have to win games. If we ran the floor, let Lebron penetrate and kick it to the open man, Atlanta wouldn't have been able to compete with us. Same with the Clippers, the T-Wolves and the Bucks. This team is not the 96-97 Cavs. This team is not the 2002-2003 Pistons. We're built like last year's suns (who, by the way would've gone further if Joe Johnson wouldn't have gotten hurt last year). Lebron cannot dribble as well as Nash, but his size, quickness, and court vision create matchup problems when he handles the point.

 

[CleveRocks]

For the first 11 games Cleveland was getting it done more often than not on defense. We were holding teams under 100 and we won a lot. Starting with Seattle we stopped playing defense for the entire game, and we started getting a a$$ kicked by teams like Atlanta.

Last night we played solid defense holding an offensively excellent team under 90, and we shared the ball a lot. HUghes had 6 assists and Lebron had 9. We won that game and could win most games with the same game plan. I still think we will suffer against teams with meaty front lines. But give me the team that played last night and we will be in the playoffs and beyond..

 

[Karma]

It will always remain true that it is easier to score off an opponents miss then a score. Placing Jones in the lineup not only allows easy penetration, but foul trouble for our bigs. Not to forget his wild random shots which lead to fast break opportunities for the opposition.

A backcourt of Snow and Hughes is a solid defensive base. We cross our fingers for growth as LeBron matures. Ilgauskas is a good system defender, but lacks change of direction speed. Gooden has no awareness on D but can man up ok. Switch Marshall with Gooden and you have 4 smart defenders and a developing one. Off the bench we get Gooden playing his natural role as a scorer, and Jones bombing away. Newble, Henderson and Varejao give us defensive looks should we need it.

We have the cattle, but not the right mix at present. Brown needs to press on with his defensive attitude. Games like last night would be lost if we rely soley on our offensive firepower.

 

[aaronr]

Great teams defend, plain and simple. You want to have a great team, then teach/learn how to defend. The Cavs are a bad defensive team right now, excepting last night's game. They only have two players who are good (not great, just good) man-to-man defenders, Snow and Hughes, and that will increase to three when Newble returns. Thus they better learn to play team defense, which continues to elude either their brains or their dexterity. This is why I at least would love to see the Cavs acquire Ron Artest. He would jumpstart the entire defense, Lebron in particular. And as we saw last night, when Lebron puts his mind to it, he can defend. So I say to the coach, stay the course with your emphasis on defense, and to the general manager, start focusing on acquiring some players who can defend.

 

[KI4MVP]

we moved up a spot last night in 2 of the 3 categories. As long as the trend is towards improvement, i'm happy.

 

[Dungong]

No one is saying the Cavs are going to be a top 5 defensive team in the league. Personally I dont think things like energy, hustle, and execution are that much to ask on the defensive end. We probably will be happy being an average defensive team, holding opponents under 100 and not totally sucking it up in the half-court game. The team runs when it can but you cant run all the time.

 

[natedagg]

SK, it is a wonder that we are over 500, but at the same time, i think Coach Brown can make this work. We might suck on D, but we shall improve in time, since d can be taught. Your suggestion that we run more isn't logical since we already average the 3rd most PPG. Clearly the D needs help, even if that is all we have focused on so far. Our offense, despite the ill-advised complaints (snow can't shoot, LBJ is becoming a chucker, hughes should be traded, marshall should "stop camping out on the perimeter", etc.), is fine since we seem to be getting it done on that end. The real issue is the team's comfort on defense, IMO. We need to learn how to balance "clogging the lane" with putting a hand up in a shooter's face. BUT, that to me seems much more fixable than blaming our "struggles" (we had half our lineup turned over during the offseason, yet we are over 500 and also showed our potential with our greatest winning streak in a decade) on a messed up offense.

 

[BlueFalcon189]

The cavs have a quality group of players and a championsihp game plan. Abandoning playing defense is such a recipe for mediocrity. We all knew the early part of the season would be rough. Just have some faith and watch this team become something beyond a highlight machine.