With the Cleveland Cavaliers falling in nine of their last 12 matchups, it’s easy to pinpoint their 29th-ranked defense as the culprit. It’s been the bane of their existence all season and it shows no signs of getting better any time soon.
But star LeBron James thinks it’s more than just defense. In fact, be balked at the notion that only one aspect of the game is to blame for the Cavs having such a difficult time winning games lately.
Many NBA teams let their offense dictate their efforts on defense. Coaches hate it, and players will publicly lambaste themselves for having that mentality. But it happens nonetheless, and many will say that type of problem is indicative of young teams.
But the Cavaliers are not a young team. They are old and slow. And perhaps that is affecting their effort on defense. Perhaps the team as a whole needs to conserve energy on the defensive end so it can score efficiently on the offensive end.
If they tried it the other way around, they wouldn’t have enough energy to play efficient offense, and maybe they take more jump shots than they want instead of getting to the paint and creating those types of opportunities.
One end always affects the other. That’s just a fact. What separates good teams from great teams is great ones find a way to balance things out and do both.
As of right now, the Cavs are not a great team, and it appears something will have to change in order to get back to the NBA Finals.
