CLEVELAND, Ohio – Playing defense in the NBA is demanding, especially because the players are so athletic. Many of them have incredible shooting and scoring skills. It’s also more fun to play offense.
Scribbles in my notebook about how the Cavaliers regained their defensive focus:
1. In their five-game losing streak, the Cavs had the worst defensive rating in the NBA. All-Star center Jarrett Allen missed two of those games. But they also lost three with him on the court. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff also was watching his team lose its defensive identity.
2. After the fifth loss in a row, Bickerstaff talked about how his team had turned into “fat cats.” He also accused them of playing “arrogant basketball.” He wisely called them out as a group to the media, not pointing the fingers at individual players. It was a veteran coach move, sending a message without crushing the spirit of his players.
3. There had to be action. Lamar Stevens took over at small forward for Caris LeVert after the first three losses. It’s a move that made sense. The small forward in a lineup with four stars has to be defensive-minded and not worry about scoring. The backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell along with big men Evan Mobley and Allen can supply offense.
4. Isaac Okoro also began seeing more minutes. Bickerstaff explained: “He is one of the best in the NBA at playing position defense. He can move through screens quickly.”
5. Bickerstaff on Stevens: “Lamar has a really good ability to guard isolations, keeping guys in front of him. He uses his chest and defends without fouling while not giving guys angles.”
6. Bickerstaff loves talking about this stuff ... defense. He backs it up by giving playing time to guys who ... well ... will defend. Stevens had played only 24 minutes in the first 12 games. Then Bickerstaff turned to him, and one of the first Junkyard Dog award winners was ready. In his six starts, he’s averaging 9.8 points and 3.7 rebounds, and shooting .489 from the field. So he’s helped on offense, too.
7. In their recent four-game winning streak, they had the NBA’s top defensive rating. That came after having the worst during their five-game losing streak. Overall, the Cavs rank No. 3 in defense this season.
8. Along with some lineup and rotation changes, Bickerstaff made another decision. Yes, the Cavs can score a lot of points with Mitchell and Garland playing high-octane basketball. But don’t forget defense.
9. Bickerstaff explained: “Our defense helps our offense. But our offense also helps our defense. We were playing a tempo that wasn’t good for us. We needed to slow it down. Make them go against our half-court defense.”
10. The coach is pushing Allen as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and Mobley for the All-NBA Defensive Team. He obviously appreciates what Garland and Mitchell do in the backcourt. Those two are averaging a combined 54 points and 14 assists per game. They are shooting 48% from the field, 43% on 3-pointers. The Cavs are No. 8 in scoring (115.5 per game). The average NBA team now scores 111.7 points per game.
11. After their 114-96 victory over Portland, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said: “I thought their physicality really hurt us in the halfcourt. Blowing up screens, top locking screens. Bully coverage. I thought it impacted our decision making and the quality of shots that we got.”
12. More Bickerstaff on defense: “You can’t be a hit-or-miss team ... you have to maintain your physicality. Then the league becomes accustomed to who you are. Your reputation allows you to be a physical team.”
13. The Cavs 4-game winning streak ended with a 117-102 loss in Milwaukee Friday. Allen played only 12 minutes because of a hip problem. Stevens was out with an illness. They had a terrible third quarter, outscored 35-10. It was a mess of a game vs. an elite team. The Cavs have won 4 of 5 and are 12-7 this season.
14. Bickerstaff on Friday’s loss: “This is a great lesson for us. We played against an established team who knows where they need to go when it’s time to take it to another level ... They are a championship-caliber team and we are learning how to get there.”
15. A final thought when I noticed Billups coaching Portland: When David Griffin was fired after the 2017 season and Koby Altman took over as interim GM, the Cavs offered the GM job to Billups. He turned it down. Perhaps he would have made a good GM, but we do know that Altman (now team president) and GM Mike Gansey completely rebuilt the team into a playoff-caliber squad with lots of upside, thanks to young players.
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