Isaiah Thomas may have just returned from injury, but even he can feel what is wrong with the defense of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs suffered a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at home on Saturday. The team tied a franchise record for points allowed by an opponent. The Thunder scored 148, so it is safe to say the Cavs did not play much defense in that game.
Thomas agrees, but he got into more specifics when asked about it after the game, per Tom Withers of the Associated Press.
Yikes. The Cavs don’t trust each other on defense? That’s a pretty big problem, and it does have to change.
The Cavs have lost seven of their last 10 games, and the defense has been the main culprit. The team has been healthier as of late, and in fact, they got Derrick Rose back on the floor fairly recently.
Cleveland is also 29th in the NBA in defensive rating. They are allowing 109.8 points per 100 possessions. That’s only four-tenths of a point away from the last-place Sacramento Kings, who are nowhere near a championship contender status.
There has to be a point where the Cavs get truly concerned about their defense. It appears Thomas is doing his part in speaking out on how bad that aspect of their game truly is.
On the other hand, Thomas is not exactly Tony Allen on defense. He is just as much to blame for the defense as any of the other players on the Cavs roster.
Whatever has to happen, it has to happen fast. Bad habits will spill into the playoffs, and the Cavs won’t win anything this year with a defense this bad.