Trouble in Cleveland

[sed522002]

There is a growing level of worry within the Cleveland Cavaliers' organization about first-year coach David Blatt and his ability to reach this team, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that there is rising concern in team circles about the level of response Blatt is getting on the floor, with Blatt himself acknowledging that the Cavaliers "lost our energy and we lost our competitiveness" in Sunday night's embarrassing home loss to Detroit.

Whispers about the lack of attention various Cavs players are paying to Blatt during some timeout huddles, as well as their apparent preference to communicate with Cavs assistant and former NBA player Tyronn Lue, have been in circulation for weeks. And James acknowledged recently that he did not formally request permission to assume the bulk of the Cavs' playmaking duties, which triggered Cleveland's eight-game winning streak earlier this month.

"No, I can do it on my own," James said of his role change. "I'm passed those days where I have to ask."

"You know, we're going through a few things right now," Blatt said Sunday night. "We've lost some pretty important players. ... At that point that you have to be more competitive, and more determined, and fight your way through that or else this happens. It's not an excuse, it's just an explanation for your question. That's the reality of it. We didn't fight enough to battle the difficulties that we've had."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12092236/divide-exists-cleveland-cavaliers-players-coach-david-blatt-sources

[Surferdad]

Varejao going down is a big loss. I expect them to make a personnel move.

[boscel33]

Varejao going down is a big loss. I expect them to make a personnel move.

Yeah, firing the coach will be step #1.

[Vox_Populi]

To the utter surprise of no one, it has become apparent that they can't defend, their offense is one dimensional and LeBron is in actuality, the coach and GM.

[Fafnir]

To the utter surprise of no one, it has become apparent that they can't defend, their offense is one dimensional and LeBron is in actuality, the coach and GM.

I think plenty of people are surprised that their offense is one dimensional. I know I am.

An awful lot of offensive talent on that team, though Blatt's offense didn't work and running LeBron's doesn't seem optimal either.

Their defensive struggles aren't surprising, though the lack off effort defensively is disappointing.

[GreenGoggles]

Good, I can think of no organization less deserving of having that kind of talent than Cleveland.

[Vox_Populi]

To the utter surprise of no one, it has become apparent that they can't defend, their offense is one dimensional and LeBron is in actuality, the coach and GM.

I think plenty of people are surprised that their offense is one dimensional. I know I am.

An awful lot of offensive talent on that team, though Blatt's offense didn't work and running LeBron's doesn't seem optimal either.

Their defensive struggles aren't surprising, though the lack off effort defensively is disappointing.

By one dimensional, I don't mean bad - they can obviously score a lot. But I figured it was unlikely you could take three talented isolation scorers, four if you count Waiters, and get them to work in a motion offense quickly. When the going got tough it was always going to be Love camped out behind the arc and a procession of Irving/LeBron pick and rolls.

Their was little hope on defense. I just find it funny that Love and Irving are trying harder than LeBron on that end. He's completely checked out defensively this season.

[hwangjini_1]

To the utter surprise of no one, it has become apparent that they can't defend, their offense is one dimensional and LeBron is in actuality, the coach and GM.

I think plenty of people are surprised that their offense is one dimensional. I know I am.

An awful lot of offensive talent on that team, though Blatt's offense didn't work and running LeBron's doesn't seem optimal either.

Their defensive struggles aren't surprising, though the lack off effort defensively is disappointing.

lack of defense as disappointing, i can see  your point. and as you note, the defensive woes are not a surprise wither. love, irving, waiters and other key players (minus varejao and james) are notoriously poor defensive players. without varejao the cavs have lost one of the few players willing to play defense.

this is a problem now. in the playoffs it will kill them.

next problem is that love, in minnesota, showed that when he is the focal point of an offense and can have it flow through him, he puts up great stats. he can carry a team, though ironically his teams historically lost.

unfortunately for cleveland and love, he no longer has the offense flow through him. once you reduce his ability to excell and contribute on offense, love has nothing else to offer save rebounds, which are nice for sure. so, he is not useless or ineffective when he has to defer to lebron (and doesnt everyone eventually need to do that on a lebron team?), but his one area of exceptionality is eroded.

to get lebron back, cleveland decided to sign varejao on board since he is friends with lebron. so they gave varejao an extension. the problem was the for 3 of the previous 4 years varejao had played more than 31 games in a season only once. he has an injury history and no surprise he went down this year.

cleveland's biggest problem though is a near total lack of depth beyond 4 players. this was a problem the first year for lebron in miami as well i think. so maybe cleveland can solve this and add some credible players. we shall see.

but lebron turns 30 tomorrow and still is playing 37.5 minutes a game after 12 years in the nba. even his body will begin to feel the pounding someday soon.

cleveland is the epitome of a team in the "win now" mode. they have a short window to please lebron and win championships. the problem now are lack of depth and defense, and a lack of resources to acquire them.

[CFAN38]

This will be interesting to watch unfold.

Do they fire Blatt and promote Lue?

Do they trade waiter and or Thompson to get the center they need?



I personally think its to soon to fire Blatt but James will make that call. Lue is green as a coach but has alot more experience then Fisher or Kid and I do think he will excel at it.

Their roster will be interesting to fix because their 3 top players are a terrible match on D. Irving when really applying himself is an average NBA defender, Lebron is elite and Love is below average every day of the week. The fact that Love is poor defensive PF who cant play center eliminates what I thought was James biggest weapon. His ability to play PF at the end of games. Love isnt going anywhere this season so they just have to work with the pieces they can move.

My suggestions

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=och4832

costs them Thompson they get Sanders. At least this allows them to place two elite defenders (James and Sanders) on the court along side the current liabilities.

The other Piece that may need to fall will be Waiters. He doesnt seem to fit with Irving and James. He is a ball dominate attacking guard on a team in need of 3-D type players. I dont think their are many good trade options out their for him. AB would be a nice fit but I dont think the Cs would want to make that swap. Another option could be something like Stepelosha , Payne and a protected pick for Waiters.

[hpantazo]

They should trade guys like Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters to get help on defense and in the paint. They have been reluctant to part with more youth and it's hurting them.

[apc]

I hope Blatt doesn’t pay the price. he is a good coach if only the players listened.
He was very successful with mediocre talent in Europe.

The Cavs bench is very weak, it will be hard to make it in the playoffs with that bench.

[tazzmaniac]

This will be interesting to watch unfold.

Do they fire Blatt and promote Lue?

Do they trade waiter and or Thompson to get the center they need?



I personally think its to soon to fire Blatt but James will make that call. Lue is green as a coach but has alot more experience then Fisher or Kid and I do think he will excel at it.

Their roster will be interesting to fix because their 3 top players are a terrible match on D. Irving when really applying himself is an average NBA defender, Lebron is elite and Love is below average every day of the week. The fact that Love is poor defensive PF who cant play center eliminates what I thought was James biggest weapon. His ability to play PF at the end of games. Love isnt going anywhere this season so they just have to work with the pieces they can move.

My suggestions

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=och4832

costs them Thompson they get Sanders. At least this allows them to place two elite defenders (James and Sanders) on the court along side the current liabilities.

The other Piece that may need to fall will be Waiters. He doesnt seem to fit with Irving and James. He is a ball dominate attacking guard on a team in need of 3-D type players. I dont think their are many good trade options out their for him. AB would be a nice fit but I dont think the Cs would want to make that swap. Another option could be something like Stepelosha , Payne and a protected pick for Waiters.

That's a good trade for the Cavs and the Nets but why would the Bucks even consider it?  I just don't see them wanting an injury prone, poor defensive player like Lopez.  Also Lopez can opt so they risk losing him at the end of the season if they don't overpay him.  I doubt there is much market for Lopez or the Nets would have already traded him.  He's not even starting for the Nets anymore. 

[Fafnir]

Given their big man depth issues they should keep Thompson, he's been doing well enough this season. They need to add to their rotation at big man and SG though.

[tazzmaniac]

Hopefully the Cavs losses mount up and they implode.  It would be great to see Love leave in the offseason after the Cavs gave up so much to obtain him. 

[sed522002]

@TheNBACentral: Report: Rift between the Cavs players and Head Coach David Blatt. LeBron has taken over PG duties w/o consulting Blatt.