Coach to slumping Cavs: Be physical

J.B. Bickerstaff does not sit often during a basketball game. He would share the bench with Cavs’ best.

J.B. Bickerstaff does not sit often during a Cavaliers’ basketball game, but if he did, a glance over his right shoulder would be a strong reminder why his team has lost 10 straight times.

Kevin Love has missed the last 28 games with a calf injury. The Cavs on Dec. 29 announced Love would “be reassessed in approximately three to four weeks.” That was eight weeks ago.

Larry Nance Jr. has missed all but one game during the 10-game slide. He suffered a broken finger playing against the Bucks on Feb. 6. The Cavs announced he would miss four to six weeks after the finger was surgically repaired Feb. 8.

Andre Drummond leads the Cavaliers with 13.5 rebounds a game.

He is healthy but he has missed the last four games because the Cavaliers want to trade him and no longer see him as a good fit for the current rebuild.

Guard Matthew Dellavedova hasn’t played at all.

He missed the first 30 games with a concussion and now is recovering from an emergency appendectomy. Forward Taurean Prince has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.

But Bickerstaff can’t make excuses because that would give the healthy players an excuse for the pitiful results of the last month, which has produced 12 losses in 13 games. Their only victory dating back to Jan. 29 was a 100-98 squeaker over the Timberwolves, who at 7-24 own the worst record in the NBA.

The Cavs get another opportunity to stop their slide on Feb. 23 when they host the 13-17 Hawks.

But don’t think the losing streak will end just because the Hawks’ record is below sea level.

The Thunder lost three straight and then manhandled the Cavs, 117-101, on Feb. 21 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“We have to guard better, hold our ground, be more physical,” Bickerstaff said. “We have to be better. Nobody is coming to bail us out. Nobody is coming to rescue us. The rest of the league does not care about our streak. They see us as an opportunity to get right right now.”

Other than Minnesota, the only other team with a worse record than the 10-21 Cavaliers is the 8-22 Pistons — not coincidentally the only other team the Cavs beat in the last 16 games. The Cavaliers haven’t beaten a team with double-digit wins since beating the Nets, 125-113, on Jan. 22.

The Cavaliers’ defensive rating of 114.4 is seventh worst in the 30-team NBA. Only six teams have allowed more 3-pointers than the 415 allowed by the Cavaliers. Only the Nets and Kings have allowed more than the 1,302 field goals allowed by the Cavs.

Defense was supposed to be the trademark of the Cavaliers under Bickerstaff, but with so many key players in street clothes, opponents are running roughshod over the Cavs.

“We have to find that grit and determination when we actually draw that line in the sand and not only just hold the line, but push forward and cross the line,” Bickerstaff said. “That’s the only way to get out of this. The harder you play, the more gritty you play, the better opportunity you give yourself to win games. We have to dig down. We have to find it.”

The Cavaliers host the Rockets (11-17) on Feb. 24 and then play the 76ers (20-11) in Philadelphia on Feb. 27. They are in Houston on March 1 and then host the Pacers (1514) on March 3 to finish the first half of the season.