“We have the talent, we have the capability. We know what we have. Now, we got to go out there and do it."
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t able to play a complete 48 minutes against the Detroit Pistons and lost 114-110 because of it. For as much progress as the group has made over the last few weeks, the same holes from throughout the season are still present.
Cleveland once again gave up a crucial offensive rebound with the game on the line. This happened the last time they played a top team in the conference when they blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to the New York Knicks on Christmas.
This situation was different on Sunday. The Cavaliers were down two in the fourth quarter with just over 15 seconds left. Daniss Jenkins missed a midrange jumper, but De’Andre Hunter couldn’t secure the rebound. Instead, Ausar Thompson came over the top and tipped the ball in, ending any chance for a comeback.
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It’s easier to explain away these issues in this game. The Cavs were without two of their best rebounders in Jarrett Allen (illness) and Dean Wade (knee). Hunter likely wouldn’t have been in that position if the team were fully healthy. That doesn’t make the frustration of losing a winnable game in a similar way sting any less.
The second quarter continues to be an issue. Cleveland was outscored by 19 on Sunday.
This isn’t the first time this has happened. The Cavaliers now have the worst point differential of any team in the second quarter this season, with a net rating of -14.4. That would be unacceptable for a team with playoff aspirations, let alone one that came into the season expecting to compete for a title.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson pointed to the bench lineup combinations as the issue for this continuing to happen. “Maybe we keep two of our stars out there (at the start of the second).”
There’s a cascading effect with injuries. They hurt the overall composition of the starting lineup, but the real damage comes when you go to your bench. There aren’t many combinations of deeper bench lineups that have worked this season. There also isn’t a Ty Jerome or Caris LeVert sparkplug player who makes every lineup work like those two did last season for the Cavs.
This likely wouldn’t be as much of an issue if the team were healthy. Instead of groups featuring Thomas Bryant, Craig Porter Jr., and Nae’Qwan Tomlin starting the second, it’d be lineups with Sam Merrill, Max Strus, or Dean Wade in them. Getting healthy should help with this issue.
At the same time,it does speak to the failings of the Lonzo Ball trade. He was brought in to be the lead ball handler of a potent second unit. That hasn’t happened, and it’s likely he never will. That inherently caps how good any of these reserve lineups can be, which affects them in the second quarter.
The problem for Atkinson is that there isn’t a magical lineup combination to help this problem. At least, not when the team is down three rotation players. The Cavaliers simply don’t have the depth right now to compete with the best teams in the league if they aren’t at full strength.
The Pistons were without three rotation players as well, but it didn’t bother them as much due to their clear identity.
“They have an identity,” Donovan Mitchell said about the Pistons after scoring 30 points in the loss. “They know what they are every night. You know what I mean? I think for us, we know what our identity is, but sometimes, you get away [from it], sometimes you get back to it. That’s part of that consistency.”
So, what exactly is the Cavs’ identity?
“We’re a defensive first team that gets out in transition when we’re at our best,” Mitchell said.
The Cavs are at their best when they do that. If that is what you want to be, it’s clear why Ball was targeted in the off-season. The issue comes back to the Cavs not having the personnel to enforce that playing style on a nightly basis.
They came into this game with the 12th-ranked defense and are 19th in both points added in transition per 100 possessions (2.6) and points added in transition off of defensive rebounds (0.6).
You could argue that Cleveland’s identity is more based on their outside shooting and wanting to play a free-flowing offense. But if you go by Mitchell’s definition, the simple truth is that the team hasn’t been good at being who they want to be.
Contrast this with a team like the Pistons. They want to be the most physical team every night, dominate the paint, and control the glass. They consistently do that, which is why they’re second in offensive rebounding and second in defensive rating.
Detroit loses games, but they hardly ever lose because their opponent was more physical. You can’t beat the Pistons at their own game. Right now, you can beat the Cavs at theirs, which is why this team has been so inconsistent this season.
Even so, the Cavs recently had chances to win late against both of the top two teams in the conference and fell just short.
How far away are the Cavs from being on the same tier as teams like this Pistons?
“I know we competed to the end, and we came [close], but it didn’t feel like we were right there the whole game,” Atkinson said. “I felt like they deserved this one.”
The Pistons certainly earned this win. They were hands down the better team. At the same time, the margin was only four points, even if the gap between the teams felt wider at times.
“I think we have all the talent, all the skill set, and I absolutely feel like we’re not playing at the level that maybe they’re playing at right now,” Sam Merrill said after his 15-point outing. “You are what your record says you are at this point, but I do think we are starting to play to the level that we know we’re capable of. … I feel confident about where we’re going and feel like we’re doing a lot of the right things.”
This Cavaliers team is a work in progress in a way the Pistons aren’t. The Cavs are still figuring out who they want to be as a team and how to best go about getting there.
There’s been undeniable progress over the last few weeks, but they still have a ways to go. That’s both encouraging — because it speaks to their overall talent — but discouraging since we’re approaching the halfway point of the season and are still asking the same questions we were at the beginning.
“I think we’re getting there,” Mitchell said. “We have to show it on a consistent basis, and we’ve been doing it. But I’m not going to jump ahead and say we’re there (on the Pistons level).
“We got to continue to work to be there. We have the talent, we have the capability. We know what we have. Now, we got to go out there and do it. We have been, but nights like tonight, it stagnates. And obviously, progress is not linear. You’re not just going to jump straight. You’re going to have hurdles and all those different things.
“But for us, we got to get consistent.”
Category: General Sports
