The 2017-18 Cleveland Cavaliers are struggling to get back on track in their quest for another NBA championship. The biggest hurdle is their defense which is one of the worst in the NBA and more terrible than the 2012 Charlotte Bobcats, the worst team, record-wise, in league history.
According to NBA.com’s Advanced Stats, the Cavs (27-18) have a defensive rating of 109.8, 29th worst in the NBA this season. Only the 13-32 Sacramento Kings have a worse rating at 110.2 and not by much either. Even so, it doesn’t look good for the Cavs historically as the 2012 Bobcats fared much better than them right now.
During the lockout-shortened season of 2011-2012, NBA games were limited to 66 per team. That was probably a relief to the Charlotte franchise as their team recorded only seven wins with 59 losses, the lowest number of wins in NBA history. That team had a defensive rating of 107.8. In today’s NBA, that would put them in 26th place defensively, and in better shape than the Cavs. Not by much though.
That Charlotte team, in Bleacher Report’s Jesse Dorsey’s words:
“..were outscored by over 13 points per game, they ended up with two losing streaks that went on for at least 16 games, the second one lasting over the course of their final 23 games of the year.”
Though the Cavs haven’t lost as many in a row as the Bobcats, they have been blown out by more than 20 points three times in their last six games and gave up 20-point leads twice during that stretch. Including their Christmas Day loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Cavs had a three-game losing streak and a four-game losing streak while only winning three of their last 12 games.
If the Cavs hope to return to the Finals for the chance to win a second championship, their most critical assignment is to shore up their defensive shortcomings. They can’t keep losing by 20 points in the regular season and expect to “switch it on” in the playoff akin to what they did in season’s past.
The Cavs face the San Antonio Spurs next on Tuesday.