Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 adjustments they must make

Cleveland Cavaliers’ adjustments: Push the tempo

Defense generally turns into offense. This has rung true for the Cleveland Cavaliers so far, as they rank first in forced turnovers and subsequentially first in points off turnovers. Their ‘grit and grind’ mentality has helped them generate easy points by capitalizing on their opponent’s mistakes.

Even so, the Cavaliers sit in 15th place for transition scoring and 28th in pace. Despite forcing turnovers at a high-rate, the Cavs rarely push the tempo and put opponents on their heels.

This is strange, as the Cavaliers have arguably the fasted backcourt in the league. Collin Sexton is converting over 60 percent of his attacks in transition while Darius Garland has proven to be a quality decision-maker on the break.

Much of this issue stems from not attempting enough 3-pointers. It has become common-place in the NBA to pull-up for a deep shot in transition. Unsurprisingly, the Cavaliers attempt the third-fewest pull-up 3-pointers per game.

However, this is more than a problem of not running in transition. Their pace is dictated by how they act in halfcourt sets as well, often draining the clock by either dumping it into the post or dribbling too much on the perimeter.

This is a place where the players need to hold each other accountable. Andre Drummond‘s tendency to become a black hole in the post is just as much an issue as Garland or Sexton pounding the air out of the ball.

Again, it’s no surprise the Cavs are 23rd in assists. You might think this is simply a result of all of their early-season injuries, yet the team has been even worse (24th) in their last 10 games. The combination of over-dribbling and forcing post touches has paid its toll on this team.

In order to fix this, the Cavaliers need to move the ball more fluidly, attempt more 3-pointers, and as we’ll see in the next slide, adjust the lineup.