THE Cleveland Cavaliers I performed close to good basketball all yr lengthy. It is exhausting to search out too many faults with a staff with 33 wins as of mid-January.
Nonetheless, there may be one space the place Wine and Gold has began to come back into its personal, leading to an in depth victory over the Toronto Raptors And blowout loss At Indiana Pacers in Cleveland’s earlier two video games.
That pink flag is Cleveland’s lack of execution within the third quarter, totally on protection.
Whereas the Cavs could not purchase a shot within the second half in opposition to the Pacers, Kenny Atkinson mentioned he was very dissatisfied with Cleveland’s defensive efficiency, particularly within the last 24 minutes of the sport and instantly exiting of half-time.
“I am simply disillusioned [with our] “It’s a defensive mindset in that third quarter and the entire second half,” Cleveland head coach mentioned after Sunday’s recreation.
This is not an issue unique to Cleveland’s loss to the Pacers.
The Cavaliers’ opponents have outscored them within the third quarter of their final 5 video games.
Throughout this era, Wine and Gold allowed their opponents to attain on common 36.8 factors whereas capturing 58.9 % from the ground, which is the worst within the NBA for that span.
Atkinson realizes his staff wants to enhance on this space. Despite the fact that the Cavaliers’ offense is firing on all cylinders as halftime approaches, they cannot decelerate on the defensive finish.
“Our requirements have to be larger. We are inclined to loosen up after we get these leads, and you understand how the NBA is now: one snap of the fingers, and impulsively it is a tie rating. So I simply assume there’s just a little little bit of complacency after we get forward, however it’s alarming,” Atkinson continued after Sunday’s defeat.
“We’ll take a look at it. We’ll look into it additional, however it looks as if it is a psychological form of factor that is not prepared if you come out of the locker room and a relaxed factor.”
The essential factor is that this development has solely manifested itself within the final two weeks. The Cavaliers are nonetheless an elite staff and simply one of many few groups able to profitable the Finals this season.
Nonetheless, Cleveland wants to interrupt this development earlier than it turns into a persistent unhealthy behavior.
