Mo' Losses, Mo' Problems

Let's face it, the Cavs are currently among the worst teams in the leauge.  ESPN's Marc Stein has them rated last in his most recent power rankings.  They have lost 17 of 18 and are currently on a seven game losing streak.  With the Browns season over and their head coaching search underway the Cavs are the only ticket left in town, although the Cleveland State Vikings are off to a great start and could make some noise in March Madness this year.  It's time to take an in-depth look at all the factors that have contributed to the Cavs' early struggles and to focus on both the negatives and the positives.

Let's start with the easy stuff first, the negatives.  Everyone is a pessimist, except for maybe Byron Scott, and people are always looking for how bad things are currently, especially in a place like Cleveland, championship starved and publicly humiliated over the summer.

1.  Counting to three
Teams are shooting over 40% from the 3-point line against the Cavs this season.  Watching them on defense reminds me sometimes of my sixth grade CYO team.  Constantly in match-up problems, the Cavs can't defend the pick and roll and are seemingly endlessly out of position and scrambling out to shooters.  Last night DeShawn Stevenson hit five three pointers.  During the seven game losing streak here's where those teams did their damage: Dal 10-27, Chi 5-27, Cha 9-19, Orl 19-31, Min 12-23, Atl 8-22, Utah 10-23.  With the exception of Chicago, all of these teams shot the ball pretty well from deep and that is because their ball movement and screens are creating easy looks.

2. Injuries
The Cavs have dealt with a wide variety of small but nagging injuries to many of their key players.  Mo Williams has been hobbled all season, Daniel Gibson has missed a few games, Anderson Varejao recently broke his face.  It is hard to be consistent when you have not been able to count on your key guys to be healthy and able to play.  Never good when Alonzo Gee (who I like very much) has to play a DAY after he was signed. Injuries are severely preventing the Cavs from developing a rotation and their ability to be consistent on both ends of the floor.

3.  Dirty Windows
With the exception of Varejao and the newly acquired Gee, no one seems interested in cleaning the glass and rebounding.  The Cavs are 26 in the league, better than only Boston, Utah, Phoenix and Detroit.  Varejao gets 9.8 boards a game, his best season to date, but following him are Jamison (5.4), Gee (5.3) and Hickson (5.1).  This Cavs roster always hung its' hat on defense and rebounding and right now they're just not getting it done.  Rebounding requires a mentality and a toughness that the Cavs seem to lack, bringing us to our next point.

4.  Downy Syndrome
The Cavs are fabric softener soft.  Aside from Varejao and Leon Powe (who doesn't play much) there isn't a tough player on the team.  This was painfully obvious during LeBron's return to the Q, as he dismantled the Cavs defense and made a mockery out of the whole team.  (See Hatin' Ass Harley's reaction.)  The Cavs just don't show signs of life sometimes and no one wants to get physical with another team.  This team pledged itself to playing hard and being tough, yet fail to do so on a night in, night out basis.  It's time the team finally steps up and shows some signs of life, some signs of anger, of unhappiness, of frustration.  No one likes losing, however, this team seems to accept it more than others.

Check back tomorrow for the positives of this season.