Cleveland Cavaliers: Breaking Down Their Recent Struggles

Following a loss to James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers have now lost 4 of their last 5 games.

So what gives? After struggling to a 7-8 record in January, followed by a stellar 9-2 mark in February, the Cleveland Cavaliers have started the month of March with a not-so-good 2-5 record.

There are plenty of trends that have deviated from the norm that are worth noting when trying to pinpoint the reasoning for the Cavs’ recent struggles.

For starters, the Cavs miss Kevin Love. Pretty crazy, right? This rough stretch has really shown just how critical Love is to unlocking this team’s true potential.

Taking a player out of the lineup who averages 20 points and 11.1 rebounds would hurt any team considerably. However, it’s what Love specifically contributes to Cleveland that is really hurting the team as of late.

According to NBA.com, in the month of March, the Cavs have an offensive rating of 111.2 and defensive rating of 117.2.

More from Factory of Sadness

• Bet $1 on ANYTHING to Unlock $200 Guaranteed with Crazy Bet365 Ohio Promo!
• 3 reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers have a good shot to win the East next year
• It might be too soon to say it but it looks like the Cleveland Guardians are back
• Are the Cleveland Browns a Top 10 roster heading into the 2023 season?
• Eastern Conference Solidarity: Back the Heat with $5 Bet, Win $200 Bonus INSTANTLY with DraftKings Promo

To compartmentalize this even further, more specifically geared towards Love, according to basketball-reference.com, the Cavs have a net plus/minus of +10.5 with Love on the floor this season as opposed to -1.4 with him off the floor.

Yes, the Cavs have been outscored by their opposition, on average in the time Love has not been on the floor this season. That may come as a surprise to some who have assumed Love is just an accessory piece to LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in the Cavs’ championship puzzle. Yet, that just isn’t the case.

But wait, there’s more.

Also according to basketball-reference.com, the Cavs’ total rebounding percentage this season with Love on the floor this season is 52.3%, which would be good for third in the entire NBA. With him off the floor, that percentage falls to 47.6%, which would be good for third worst in the league.

So yes, Love being out is pretty detrimental to the Cavs’ championship product, but there’s more to the story. Let’s talk about Tristan Thompson.

Also according to NBA.com, so far through March, Thompson has an offensive rating of 103.6 and a defensive rating of 122.6. That’s good for a -19.0 net rating. However, his pre all-star numbers tell a different story, as his offensive rating was at 111.0 and his defensive rating was 104.6.

In addition, this stat from Fear the Sword writer Mike Zavagno really stood out to me:

So what exactly is going on here?

As Mike mentioned, Thompson appears to be wearing down. He has currently played in 434 consecutive games, the longest current streak in the NBA, and this doesn’t even take into account the 41 playoff games he’s played in over the last two seasons. He is very proud to hold this “consecutive games played” distinction, which makes the question of resting him an interesting one.

Cleveland is sort of in a catch-22 right now with Love being out, as they have just flat-out been a better team lately with Thompson on the bench. On the other hand, Cleveland really can’t afford to bench him for long stretches either.

In all likelihood, the only prolonged time Thompson will get off between now and June would be the time between rounds if the Cavaliers are able to finish some of their playoff opponents off quickly.

Love is traveling with the team on the road now, and LeBron James was quoted by Akron Beacon Journal’s Marla Ridenour as saying Love will be back “very soon,” which should help the Cavs immediately and profoundly.

The Cavs have found their replacement for Andrew Bogut in Larry Sanders, whom I’ve written about previously. While expectations should be tempered, Sanders should be of great help on the defensive end for a team that’s struggled on that side of the ball for the better part of the season.

That said, they may have to wait a little while longer to see Sanders in a Cavs uniform, as TNT’s David Aldridge has reported that Sanders will practice with the Cavs. However, he will first play with the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ D-League affiliate, in order to get himself ready for the Cavs’ playoff run.

With J.R. Smith’s recent return to the lineup following a complex thumb fracture he suffered in late-December, the Cavs are getting very close to having their entire roster back and healthy again, nearly one month removed from the start of the NBA playoffs.

Next: Top Five Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland is not the only team going through a rough stretch right now, which should ease the minds of Cavs fans as they go through yet another difficult stretch. With the team almost back to being completely healthy, we will soon get our first look at the final product of what fans hope transforms into a championship team once more.