Cleveland Cavaliers: The Los Angeles capitulation

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ performances during their annual trip to Los Angeles were far from ideal as the postseason rapidly approaches.

To say that the Cleveland Cavaliers were highly uncompetitive during their trip to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers and the Lakers would be an understatement.

Granted, the Cavaliers were minus the injured frontcourt duo of All-Star Kevin Love and center Tristan Thompson. Couple this with the loss of shooting guard Rodney Hood in the early stages of their opening contest, and the Cavaliers were always going to be up against it in the City of Angels.

However, it was the manner in which the Cavaliers capitulated over the two games, regardless of their roster availability, that was the most alarming. Things kicked off in an ugly manner in their matchup with the Clippers, as the Cavs trailed 35-18 after the first period on their way to a 116-102 defeat.

The story of this game, and the pair of games for that matter, was the trouncing the Cavaliers received inside the paint. Clippers’ center DeAndre Jordan simply ate up the Cavs’ undersized frontcourt on his way to posting 20 points and 23 rebounds. In the absence of Love and Thompson, the Cavs started Larry Nance Jr. at center, with youngster Ante Zizic providing the backup minutes.

However, in the ensuing game against the Lakers, things only got worse. Having seen the damage the Jordan and the Clippers wreaked, head coach Luke Walton and the Lakers seized their opportunity. Julius Randle posted 36 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, while fellow frontcourt partner Brook Lopez notched 22 points and eight rebounds as the Lakers turned a 65-60 lead at the main break into a 127-113 drubbing.

A lack of punch at the defensive end is nothing new this season for the Cavaliers, currently ranking  28th in defensive rating at 109.7. However over this duo of games, the Cavaliers outdid themselves in, posting a rating of 117.4.

In particular, it was the interior defense, as mentioned, that was abominable. As a point of reference, here are the average touches per game this season for Randle and Lopez, and their numbers for their matchup against the Cavaliers:

Randle touches

• Season: 48.8
• Vs. Cavs: 76

Lopez touches

• Season: 35.8
• Vs. Cavs: 61

Additionally, the Cavaliers were beaten on the boards over the two games by a combined 103-77 margin.

So while the Cavaliers struggled mightily as a team, all roads in the end lead back to LeBron James.

While James was again impactful in averaging 24.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game over the dual contests in Los Angeles, his body language was another matter altogether.

Watching in person, James at timeouts was very distant from his teammates, often not even interacting throughout the entire break. As the undisputed leader of the team, this no doubt has a flow effect upon the rest of his teammates. Furthermore, James’ reluctance or unwillingness to get back on defense after a missed shot attempt was plain to see, and hardly sets an example for the rest of the squad.

Following the Lakers’ loss, James succinctly offered the following thoughts:

"“Sometimes you just can’t overcome this many injuries that we have.”"

While this may be true, giving up an average of 121.5 points per game over the two games is completely unacceptable.

Next: 2018 NBA Draft - Early March Mock Draft

Currently midway through a six-game road trip, the Cavaliers are going to have to make do until their full complement of players become available in the coming weeks. Although a relatively easy contest welcomes them next against the lowly Phoenix Suns, head coach Tyronn Lue is still going to have his work cut out for him in order to get this newly constructed roster on the same page as the business end of the season approaches.