Cavs Top 3: Cleveland Cavaliers defense falls apart early and often vs. Brooklyn Nets

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ defense fell apart against the Brooklyn Nets

The Cleveland Cavaliers got brutalized by the Brooklyn Nets early, with the Cavs’ defense failing to make an impact, and getting beat by the extra pass nearly all game long. The Cavs fell to the NEts 125-117 in a game that was never really as close as the final score would lead you to believe.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving went a combined 12-19 from three-point, and the Nets, as a team, shot 60% from three. The Nets were able to take advantage of some of the shoddy perimeter defense the Cavs are known to deal with. Against mid-tier shooting teams, the Cavs perimeter defense is fine, but when tasked to stop a good shooting team like the Nets, who make the extra pass, then the Cavs are going to be in trouble.

Whether it’s because several of the Cavs guards were caught cheating off their man, prepared to engage in some help defense, or because they got lazy late in the game, it’s stuff that has to change. Luckily for the Cavs, they’re weeks away from Ricky Rubio’s return, who is expected back with the club in early January.

Darius Garland played wonderfully offensively but was horrid defensively. Had it not been for him out-scoring Kyrie Irving (46-32), then Garland’s BPM would have been atrocious. I like BPM as a stat, but stats as a whole aren’t perfect in a vacuum. BPM balances a player’s points scored, and his points given up. It’s not enough to drop 50 if you’re giving up 44.

The Cavs need better perimeter defense. When Rubio and Dean Wade come back, it’ll get better, but it’s beyond obvious that Caris LeVert, Lamar Stevens, and Isaac Okoro are stopgaps at best for the team’s defensive woes on the perimeters.

Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have cleaned up too much of the team’s mistakes over the season, but a team like the Nets, who don’t need to get into the paint to hurt a team, have made it obvious that new talent to help guard is needed.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ top 3 vs. the Brooklyn Nets

1 Point – Kevin Love

13 minutes, 7 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, +2 BPM
.750/.500/.000

2 Points – Cedi Osman

30 minutes, 11 points, 2 assists, +10 BPM
.500/.167/000

3 Points – Darius Garland

40 minutes, 46 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds +6 BPM
.700/.714/.867

Cavs Top 3 Seasonal Standings

1. Donovan Mitchell –49 Points
2. Darius Garland – 37 Points
3. Evan Mobley – 28 Points
4. Cedi Osman – 24 Points
5. Jarrett Allen – 23 Points
6. Kevin Love – 17 Points
7. Caris LeVert – 12 Points
8. Isaac Okoro – 6 Points
9. Dean Wade – 3 Points
10. Lamar Stevens – 2 Points