Good, bad and ugly: Assessing Cleveland Cavaliers season thus far
By Ryan Piers
It’s been an up-and-then-way-down season for the Cleveland Cavaliers so far. Here are the good, the bad and ugly aspects of their play.
November often kills early-season optimism in the NBA. Fast starters plummet and over achievers crash back to reality. The Cleveland Cavaliers sprinted to a somewhat surprisingly average start at 4-5 before losing nine of their next 10 games.
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Even with a slightly sub-.500 record, Cleveland flashed signs of progress. Recent blowouts by the Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat have stifled that optimism. If it weren’t for a six-point win against Portland in November, Cleveland would be on the worst free fall of any team in the league.
After a month and a half of basketball, there’s plenty to digest. The Cavs are shooting about the same as last season. The team is averaging way more blocks and steals. And opponents are scoring less by about three points per game.
Yet, Cleveland’s struggles, in part because they’re averaging 1.7 more turnovers per contest. So the Cavs shot attempts and points per game are down.
That’s the Cleveland Cavaliers season in a nutshell. It’s the holidays, so let’s play nutcracker and take those numbers apart. What is Cleveland doing well and not-so-well? Here’s the good, bad and ugly of Cleveland’s season so far.