The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Defenseless Cavs are sliding to oblivion
The Cavaliers could not have scripted a worse way to begin the 2018-19 season and life without LeBron James. They are 0-4 after a 10286 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 24 at Quicken Loans Arena.
Especially in the second half, they were overmatched and overwhelmed by a Brooklyn team that isn’t going anywhere this season.
Neither, apparently, are the Cavs with James having taken to the Los Angeles Lakers the consummate talents he used to carry the Cavs to four straight appearances in the NBA Finals and the 2016 NBA title.
It isn’t just that the Cavs have played poorly in losses to Toronto, Minnesota, Atlanta and the Nets.
They’ve also been disjointed. disorganized and disspirited through long stretches of all four games.
On the plus side, there are 78 games remaining in the regular season and the Cavs should, theoretically, get better as they acclimate to doing business minus the services of the best player in the world.
On the other hand, maybe they’ll get better and still not be able to compete.
Here are some takeaways from the lost night against Brooklyn.
One step forward
It is still too early to draw any hard. fast conclusions about where the Cavs are headed defensively. But at least in the first half, they were respectable at that end of the floor.
With the Cavs fighting through screens and contesting most of Brooklyn’s shots, the Nets shot 34 percent from the floor in the first half and managed only 45 points.
By way of comparison, in the embarrassing, 133-111 loss to Atlanta on Oct. 21 at The Q, the Hawks torched the Cavs for 40 points in the second quarter and 41 in the fourth quarter.
The encouraging expenditure of energy on defense seemed to diminish the urgency on offense, however.as the Cavs shot an even more anemic 33.3 while also scoring 45 points.
Two steps backward
Then came the third quarter and a return to the mediocre effort on defense that has been the Cavs’ calling card thus far.
Nets shooting forward Joe Harris cashed in a layup and then drilled an uncontested 3-pointer to give the Nets a 50-45 lead after 58 seconds of play.
The floodgates opened as the Nets blitzed the Cavs for 38 points in the quarter. Combine another collapse on defense with a paltry scoring output of 17 points, and the Cavs trailed, 83-62, going to the fourth quarter.
Harris, who triggered the outburst for the Nets, is the same guy who started his career with the Cavs four years ago after being taken in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft out of Virginia.
He didn’t do much with the Cavs and was traded to Orlando in January 2016 for a second-round draft choice. The Magic immediately waived him.
Harris caught on with the Nets to start the 2016-17 season and has become a valuable cog for Brooklyn. Harris came into the game averaging 14.3 points per game He finished with 16 points against his former team, going 6-of-9 from the field overall and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Still more bad news
When the Cavs had LeBron James, they were one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league. Opponents had to double-team James. and his talents as a passer led to open looks on the perimeter.
Those days are gone. This team is struggling from beyond the arc as opponents take away the open looks.
The Cavs were 3-of-18 from 3-point range against Brooklyn. The Nets, meanwhile, were 14-of-34 from distance.
In four games, the Cavs are 28-of-87 (32.2 percent) on attempted 3-pointers. That is a prescription for one-sided losses.
There is no respite for the struggling Cavs, either. They are on the road on Oct. 25 to face the 3-0 Detroit Pistons.
Yikes.