Let's talk defense!

[BigJ]

I think the most improvement I expect to see his a big uptick in reb% come playoffs time.

Yeah especially with Kevin back. Lebron also usually is a great Playoff Rebounder and we still have TT.

We werent that great on defense last Playoffs.. we where just decent enough while we were elite at Rebounding and beeing overall physical.
No reason that we cant do that again especially with our new depht(even moreso if we sign Sanders and he actually can play)

 

[Ohio]

It's almost like the Cavs have flipped a switch defensively...who knew?

 

[Taiter]

This Jazz game was one of a handful this year where the Cavs were focused and engaged defensively, esp. in the 2nd half ... and suddenly the defense was a lot better.

 

[BigJ]

I like that we finally strung 2 good defensive Games together.. i hope we keep this up..

If we do nobody will want to face us in the Playoffs

 

[Photon]

I think playing some kind of true defensive, ugly slow tempo game, would be wasting Cavs true talent on the offensive side. Yes we have to be engaged on defense, but keeping flow to the game helps Cavs more than the opponent (sans GS).

 

[Cement]

Guh...

 

[Real Deal]

Burn in hell.

 

[Gimme Some Mo]

I like that we finally strung 2 good defensive Games together.. i hope we keep this up..

If we do nobody will want to face us in the Playoffs

We didn't keep it up.

 

[Real Deal]

All these potatoes getting sent around town, can we get a familiar one in a return to sender?

 

[roozy]

Is there a more terrible player than Channing Frye getting major minutes like he is no matter how atrocious and putrid his play is?

 

[redscoon]

Completely ignoring the defense and hoping to patch a ton of holes once the playoffs starts seems like a terrible idea. I can't tell if Lue is confident as fuck or just a total idiot. I guess we will find out in a month.

 

[inliner311]

Lue needs try to figure out a defensive lineup so he can lean on it when they need to stop the bleeding during the game. I think it could be Shump-JR-Lebron-Derrick Williams-TT. Ideally if Sanders is ready to go, you could swap TT and Sanders in based on match up and to keep the energy up.

 

[inliner311]

Is there a more terrible player than Channing Frye getting major minutes like he is no matter how atrocious and putrid his play is?

He has been asked to be TT's backup all season, that's not the role he should be playing. He needs to be paired with a defensive big. Ideally he would be more of Kevin Loves back up. Hopefully Sanders will give that flexibility to once he is in game shape.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Alright. I have some grievances. I know I'm in the "flip the switch in the playoffs" camp, and I still do believe we have a playoff gear of effort that will dramatically change things defensively.

However, I definitely am really concerned about a couple of things....

1. Defensive Preparation
I'm hoping it's just a function of the overall lack of effort that our defensive preparation on a night-to-night basis from the players is non-existent currently. With extended time to scout specific opponents and tendencies, that will go a long way towards fixing this, but it is still alarming. Our players have NO idea who to force right, who to force left, who to funnel to the bigs and who to force baseline, who to go under the screen and who not to against, who to watch on pet plays like back-cuts, give-n-go's, ya know...simple shit. Not sure who to blame here. Either the players aren't doing any "homework", or aren't being given the proper "homework" to do.

2. Defensive Gameplanning
Our scheme at times, it just, I just....my goodness. If this is the Longabardi "simplified scheme", then I really hope that he is relieved of his duties. Our players have no idea what they're doing sometimes! Are we doubling on post ups or not? Are we shading toward one side or another or not at all? When do we collapse on penetration and how? Who is responsible for back-screen communication? Why the hell are we playing so far inwards on the corners? When are we funneling ball handlers to help defenders, which help defenders are we funneling them to? It's all out of whack. It's not anything near the scheme we ran in the post-season last year. Go watch the tape. The team is not that much different, the scheme is wildly altered. It is perplexing, to say the least. And is there a "weak ass bitch-made useless double-team/trap in order to give up as many wide open threes as possible" memo we haven't heard about?

 

[kookoo]

This is also what happens when you wait until the end of the season to find a defensive big. I don't think Bogut would have helped either.