CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff, Collin Sexton and Jarrett Allen – the trio of team representatives who spoke after the 117-101 loss on Sunday to Oklahoma City Thunder – were asked about some variations of the same issue pressing.
How do you fix this?
Allen leaned back, crossed his arms, and started to contemplate. At one point, he was about to deviate from the usual diplomatic response. Maybe say something controversial. But he stopped himself. This was not the time. He didn’t want to be the only one. There is no reason to sour the best individual night of his brilliant career, scoring 26 points out of 11 out of 11 shots, with a lewd headline.
“We have to … I don’t know how to say it,” answered Allen. “We can’t think that … I don’t want to say the wrong thing …”
Then Allen talked about fighting, dealing with adversities in the game and playing with more energy – the same rhetoric used by Sexton and Bickerstaff in their Zoom sessions.
Perhaps the main point is this: there is no way out of this. There may not even be a sufficient answer. No movement that makes a considerable difference.
The Cavs are broken. Your belief seems shaken.
“I think we are depreciating too much,” said Allen. “Things like that happen. Teams continue to lose strings. I’ve been losing in a row – eight in a row – and then we came back and won eight in a row. It’s easy to look inside and be like, ‘Dude, can we really do this?’ But it’s the NBA. We are all in this place for a reason, we all know how to play basketball, we all know how to play defense, the fundamentals and if we go back to that, we can go back. “
They lost 10 consecutive games and 14 of the last 16. Their four highest-paid players – Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr. and Taurean Prince – are currently out due to injuries or, in Drummond’s case, even he is traded. . The only centerpiece of the reconstruction – Kevin Porter Jr. – is lighting it up in the G League Bubble. There is still no viable backup owner on the list. Darius Garland and Sexton are being destroyed on the defensive end without the protection of Drummond and Nance together or Allen and Nance – the “trees in Sexland” that Nance referred to earlier this season. The “most winable game” before the All-Star break was eliminated after a promising six minutes. Their initial training consists of four boys aged 22 or younger.
“No one is coming to help us. No one is coming to rescue us, ”said Bickerstaff. “The rest of the league doesn’t care about our streak. They see us as an opportunity to get it right. And we have to find that courage and determination where we really draw the line in the sand and not only hold the line, but move forward and cross the line. That is the only way for you to get out of this. “
Many of Cleveland’s recent problems can be easily explained. I mean, who hasn’t seen this month coming?
But Sunday night was not the time for that. This loss was not about being overcome. At least, it shouldn’t have been. It was Oklahoma City. You know, the franchise that made several moves in the past off season to collect future choices in the first round, is in the early stages of a rebuild, has one of the youngest lineups in the league, is playing the ping pong lottery and has lost six of Seven .
“You can win any game, but when you look, I think they are 14th in the Western Conference and are in a similar position to ours,” said Allen. “We are rebuilding. It’s like looking in the mirror, on the other side of the coast. These are the games you want to play, you want to fight and you want to win and play your best and strongest against these teams. We are in a 10-game losing streak and this is one of the nights when you look and say, ‘Yes, I can protect this man. We can beat this team. We can break this sequence. ‘”
Not exactly. Even though Sexton was somewhat satisfied with his attacking performance, the Cavs barely exceeded the 100 point mark when shooting 22.9% of the 3 point range. Not only do they not shoot enough triples, but there are also not many reputable snipers. The four players off the bench – Dylan Windler, Damyean Dotson, JaVale McGee and Lamar Stevens – combined for nine points in 3 of 13 shots in 46 minutes.
Bickerstaff protected that terrible reserve quartet after the defeat, saying the production was linked to his decision to play with the starters for so many minutes.
On the other hand, Cleveland’s aggressive and dirty defensive identity seems a distant memory.
Cavs went from first to 24th in less than two months. The way they played on Sunday, giving up 117 points – somehow, the smallest they allowed during this skid – in 54.4% of pitches and 46.4% off the arc for the league’s second worst attack , takes them towards 30th position for the third consecutive season. And that is after investing several resources in the hope of correcting it.
“It all comes down to one-on-one defense,” said Bickerstaff. “That was the problem that they managed to align us, play in space and then chase us in one-on-one situations. We just have to be better there. We have to protect ourselves better, we have to stay strong, be more physical. We have to be better there. “
Sexton agreed.
“I don’t know where it went,” he said. “But there is no reason for that. We have to play as if we are in the park. And when I say that, I mean in defense, you have to face that one-on-one challenge and make sure your man doesn’t score. And if your man continues, you need to do something to stop him. At the end of the day, nobody comes to help you, nobody comes to hang up, you just have to accept that one-on-one challenge as if you were playing in the park and stop allowing your man to take the paint and kick it. If you do your job and just arrest your man and accept this challenge, we won’t have to be in trouble. “
There is a reality of who the Cavs are and where they are in this reconstruction. There is a reason why they were chosen to miss the second highest number of games by most predictors. Their pile of injuries shows against playoff teams, not equipped to deal with them like the others, leaving them with inadequate options.
But not being able to compete against Thunder, an organization similar to them? Being disrespected at home? There is no justification for this. Not being short-handed. Not young people. It is not the process. Nothing. A competitive loss against a comparable team shouldn’t be much.
“We are all frustrated with the defeat. These guys don’t reach that level if they’re not competitive. The question is how we handle it, ”said Bickerstaff. “We have to deal with this as a group. We can’t just go and individually take out our frustration and try to win the games on our own.
“I don’t want to sell our guys in a lawsuit. We know where we have to keep improving. We know we are going to take these lumps. But as a group, we want to be the same every night. So there are no excuses. The process can be used as a rescue sometimes and I don’t want our guys to think with that mindset. “
–
New Cavs face masks for sale: This is where you can buy Cleveland Cavaliers themed facial covers for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a pack of 3 ($ 24.99). All NBA proceeds donated to charities.
More Cavaliers coverage
Kevin Love still not ready for game action after calf pain
Dellavedova undergoes appendectomy on Saturday
Sexton agrees to shoot 3 more points
Cavaliers have no answers for Jamal Murray’s 50-point night as the Nuggets roll
Within Isaac Okoro’s plan: ‘Throw him to the wolves’ and watch him grow
NBA All-Star Captains: It’s LeBron James (again) vs. Kevin Durant
Dissecting a bad, bad trip for the Cavaliers: Podcast