Positives and negatives from Cleveland Cavaliers first half of season

Negative – Interior Defense

It’s the same issue every year. The Cleveland Cavaliers have no one capable of protecting the rim at a high, or even decent, rate.

Last season, the Cavaliers had a case to be the worst defensive team in league history. Their defensive rating was the worst of the century and not a single player on the roster blocked more than one shot per game. Overall, the Cavaliers gave up an average of 104.5 points a night.

Though the Cavaliers are on pace to surpass their block total from last season, they are giving up roughly the same amount of points. Even with their slight improvement in shots rejected, the Cavs still rank dead last in blocks.

Opposing teams shoot 48.7 percent on defended field goals by the Cavaliers. This is the second-highest percentage in the league behind only the Washington Wizards. The lack of effectiveness behind their shot contests is likely a direct result of their size.

The Cavaliers are simply too short. The starting combo of Darius Garland and Collin Sexton is one of the smallest backcourts in the league, while Tristan Thompson starts at the 5 at just 6’9″. Ante Zizic is the only player on the roster taller than Thompson, yet he has only appeared in 16 games.

This will continue to be a problem for the Cavaliers until they add more size. The Cavs should keep their eyes on defensive big man James Wiseman as a potential target for the 2020 NBA Draft. Wiseman averaged 3.0 blocks per game during his short time at the University of Memphis.