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Thing is, it's kind of been like this for a little while now:The Cavs' biggest problem is defending the 3-point shot. Here are the opponents' 3-point shooting percentages in the nine games the Cavs lost, rounded off: 31, 34, 41, 43, 44, 46, 46, 48, 54. That comes out to an average of 43%. In 7 of the Cavs' 9 losses the opponent shot 41% or higher on 3's.
The game where the opponent shot 31% was the loss to Indy by 108-93. The problem in that game was offense; Okoro and Strus were returning from injury and not 100% and I believe LeVert was playing with a wrist problem. The three of them combined to go 2-for-14 and scored 8 points in 63 minutes. Just a bad shooting night by almost everybody.
The game where the opponent shot 34% was against OKC, where SGA went 18-for-21 on 2-point shots and the Thunder as a team were 35-for-52 on 2's. OKC scored 75 points in the first half and had 119 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Mobley scored 5 points and Mitchell had 8. It was a nasty beatdown across the board.
Any trades the Cavs make should be with the idea of improving their perimeter defense without hurting the offense. When they lose it is almost always because the opponent lit them up from deep. The Cavs rank 25th in the NBA in opponents' 3-point percentage, so even in a lot of wins the opponents are hitting 3's.
In non-garbage time the Cavs rank 1st in defending shots at the rim, 20th in defending mid-range shots, and 26th in defending 3-point shots. Only four teams are worse at defending 3's. Only three teams defend a higher percentage of 3-point shots. Opponents know the Cavs are elite at rim defense and among the worst at perimeter defense so they shoot a lot of 3's. And make a lot.
I think when everybody is healthy and we're in the playoffs we'll see a reduction in playing time for Niang and Merrill along with an increase in playing time for Wade, LeVert, and Okoro, all of whom are injured right now. That should improve the Cavs' perimeter defense somewhat. Niang is slow and Merrill is 6'4" and can't jump. I'm not saying it's all their fault; Garland, Jerome, Strus, and Mitchell are not both long and athletic either. But I don't know if Houston and Philly shoot 44-46% in those three losses if we had Okoro and LeVert.
2022-2023: 5th best in 3PA frequency but 8th worst in season average vs actual 3P% against Cavs
2023-2024: 10th best in 3PA frequency but 9th worst in season average vs actual 3P% against Cavs
This year: 5th best in 3PA frequency but 6th worst in season average vs actual 3P% against Cavs
The Cavs have consistently done a really good job of limiting threes but team's continually shoot better against the Cavs then they do on their averages --- why?
I know it might be a simplistic answer but considering this team has been the same for three years and perimeter length has been at a disadvantage for the last three years, I really do wonder if their lack of length when closing out and contesting is impacting their ability to mitigate the higher than average efficiency teams have against the Cavs at the three-point line.