The Cleveland Cavaliers are a mess
Coming into the season, almost every NBA expert believed the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers would be the class of the Eastern Conference. Sure, the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards could provide a bit of competition along the way, but the conference final matchup was already set in stone by October.
Fast forward to mid-January, and only one team is even remotely holding up its end of the bargain. While Chicago is a respectable 26-14 and fourth in the East, Cleveland is a train off the rails. Under first-year head coach David Blatt, the Cavaliers have lost six consecutive contests and stand 19-20, sixth in the conference standings. In the Central Division, the Jabari Parker-less Milwaukee Bucks are also ahead of Cleveland, posting a 20-19 mark.
Blatt’s hiring this offseason has been nothing short of a disaster. Blatt has struggled to find the right combinations and Cleveland is playing little to no defense on a nightly basis. Of the 16 teams currently sitting in a playoff spot, only the Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns allow more points per game than the Cavaliers. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving have reputations for being lax on the defensive end, and nothing has changed despite the presence of LeBron James.
James has been underwhelming in his return by his standards, playing in only 30 games because of knee and back injuries. When on the court, James is pouring 25.5 points per game along with 7.5 assists and 5.3 rebounds. For most players, those numbers would be a dream season come true. For James, his points/game average is the lowest it has been since his rookie season of 2003-04, while his rebounds are a career-worst.
Watching the Cavaliers can be painful, considering the amount of talent but lack of effort. It’s apparently to even the casual basketball fan that the chemistry is at nil and the effort even lower. The simple solution would be to hand Blatt his walking papers, especially after his incredibly short-sighted comment about Kevin Love not being a max player. Then, on Tuesday, James pushed Blatt while arguing with an official, perhaps signaling more discourse. It’s time to make the switch to Tyronn Lue, a well-respected assistant coach.
Changing coaches will not fix everything, but it is a start for Cleveland. The Cavaliers were supposed to contend for a conference title, and instead look hellbent on heading toward oblivion. With Love able to become a free agent at the end of the year, trading Andrew Wiggins for the former Minnesota Timberwolves star could turn out to be a massive blunder. Love needs to see progress and a coach he enjoys playing for, otherwise it could be we hardly knew you.
With half the season remaining, there is time for the Cavaliers to turn their fortunes around. They might want to start soon.
