Cleveland Cavaliers’ Fragility Could Lead To Breaking

The flaws in the Cleveland Cavaliers run deeper than their win-loss record or even LeBron James‘ pronunciation that the team is “fragile” might suggest. There are multiple stress points that could cause the initial fracture, and that could quickly lead to shattering.

First, you have LeBron James passively-aggressively assuming the role of head coach. While the mainstream media has lauded this, I’m not all that enthused by it. James told the media, “I’m trying to do other things, to try to instill what it takes to win. My mission is not a one-game thing. We have to do multiple things to win.”

I. Me. Mine. These are not words that typically go with team-building. The only time he used the word “we” he really meant “they.” And they aren’t accompanied by James doing either. He’s telling his teammates, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Next, there was the Dion Waiters incident, where he either found religion and stayed in the locker room for the national anthem or pouted because he was benched, depending on which version of events you want to believe.

Then, there was the game where Irving scored 34 points, had zero assists, and the Cavs lost. While to some degree things have worked out there, it has a chance to reappear.

Finally, you have a former coach suggesting that David Blatt might not be the man for the job, per Howard Beck of Bleacher Report.

The overlying problem is that there’s one ball and too many giant egos. And that’s why you have the Cavs with a league-worst 43.6 points created by assist per game.

This team has offensive talent, there’s no question about that. It has so much talent Vinnie Del Negro could coach it and win a lot of games. Any team with James is going to win a lot of games. He’s LeBron James, for crying out loud.

The problem is that offense looks great when it’s going against inferior defenses, but struggles when it plays winning teams. Just having LeBron James isn’t going to automatically win the championship, as evidenced by the fact that he didn’t win last year, or his previous stint in Cleveland.

And we can hear about when the Miami Heat’s big three came together, they struggled out of the gate too. That’s true. But these aren’t the Heat.

Apart from the passing similarities of three big stars coming together with James being one of them, this is an entirely different situation, and assuming that what happened with the Heat will happen with the Cavs is nothing more than exercise false equivalence.

The Heat’s big three had all been to the playoffs. Wade was a Finals MVP. Love and Irving have combined for zero playoff games. Blatt is a rookie head coach. Erik Spoelstra wasn’t. Spoelstra had Pat Riley backing him, Blatt doesn’t.

The Heat’s big three were all two-way players. Irving and Love aren’t.

There are real structural problems to this team. Kyrie Irving has never shown he can defend NBA players. This year Cleveland’s defense shaves 10.3 points on its defensive rating every time he grabs a seat. Watch how Ty Lawson destroyed him repeatedly in their matchup.

Kevin Love is an underrated post defender, but he still doesn’t put his hands up to challenge shots. And he’s the second-worst rim protector in the NBA.

Then there’s the elephant in the gymnasium that James’ defense has been in decline for three years now, as evidenced by the fact his Defensive Box Plus-Minus has dropped since 2011-12.

This notion that simply adding James to a fundamentally flawed defense was going to be magic pixie dust is not working out.

So even when they do get their offensive issues worked out, their defensive problems are going to continue. But neither there offense or defense is their greatest concern. It’s that time it’s going to take to work them out.

And that’s just the beginning of their problems. Love is becoming more forgotten than Chris Bosh in Miami, and his numbers are taking an even bigger hit. His PER has fallen from 29.6 to 17.1. His usage percentage is down from 28.8 to 20.5. He’s averaging 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds a game.

If Bosh was the Charlie Sheen version of Jake, Love is the Ashton Kutcher version, shuffled off to Japan.

Love might be willing to absorb that hit if he were on a team that could contend, but at what point does he say, “It’s not worth it?” It’s certainly not going to be if the team is mired in first- and second-round exits.

Watching all the infighting, the ball-hogging and the leading from behind, Love might start rethinking his future. He’s not obligated to donate the next four years of his life to Cleveland, and if the fractures continue, the shattering can commence.

If Love opts out of his contract, will James follow suit? It’s not like his loyalty has been unbreakable in the past.

If the Cavaliers don’t work out their issues on both sides of the ball quickly, the potential for irreparable harm is there. Sometimes, fragile things break, and not everything that’s broken can be put back together.

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