Worst home loss in franchise history. Even the expansion Cavs never got beat by 41.
Good thing Kawhi Leonard sat this one out.
Delly didn't get into the game even though the entire second half was garbage time and Knight is no longer on the team. Obviously Beilein is done with him. It looks like the decision has been made that he won't be back so there's no point playing him. Kind of a sad end to Delly's Cavaliers career.
Chris Fedor summed it up:
"There was no way to distract from that appalling performance. Not even the acquisition of Drummond can divert attention away from this horrendous season and the short-term struggles that lie ahead until April’s finale."
He also pointed out that the presence of Drummond in the paint doesn't help the glaring problem of perimeter defense. Our little guards can't defend guys who are 6'5" and up when they're shooting 3's even when they're right in the shooter's face. And every team has tall players who can hit from deep. The taller, more talented guards like Paul George have been killing us.
Speaking of little guards, the Raptors won an NBA Championship last year with Lowry and VanVleet starting, but they had Leonard, Siakam, and Gasol/Ibaka on the front line and a strong bench. Unless we can get players like Leonard and Siakam to go along with Drummond we have no chance to compete with the better teams.
Love and Cedi are a far cry from Leonard and Siakam.
The Cavs need to make a committment to Larry Nance Jr and KPJ. Play them as much as possible. They both are big enough and athletic enough to defend the perimeter. They run the floor, pass, and rebound. They can shoot 3's. This is what you need in today's NBA. Taller, athletic guys who can run the floor, handle the ball, hit from deep, defend the perimeter, and take it to the rack when isolated on small guards.
The Cavs have gone the opposite direction, back to the days of small point guards and big, low post centers. Toronto proved it can still work, but only with a couple of elite forwards who can do everything.
