The Cavs have hit an offensive wall as of late. The motion has been stale, 3 point shooting has been nonexistent and it has not been the fast paced transition scoring attack it could me. Modernization is needed to save this offense. Today I will discuss how they can turn around the slump they are in before the grueling schedule they are about to go through.
During the start of the season, the Cavs offense had a dynamic passing attack. This ball movement has been slowly fading away since then. At first it could be labeled as an extension of playing with 1 semi healthy guard for a stretch, but it has since not improved.
The sets recently have not been dynamic or creative which has led to the offense becoming dump it down to Drummond into a missed shot or a double team turnover. This over reliance on a single scorer that has not been efficient has put a cap on the whole offense.
More actions designed for perimeter players would help open up the offense and improve spacing. These actions would create open perimeter shots and give better driving lanes for scorers to attack the basket. Additionally, getting our centers setting offball screens would help counter their lack of an outside scoring threat.
The Cavs made just 4 threes in their loss against the Clippers. Yes you read that right, 4 in an NBA game in 2021. If they are going to be considered an underdog team scraping for wins against the higher rated teams in the league, they cannot be out scored on the 3 point line 20 to 4. Every advantage is needed when you are at a talent disadvantage.
This team is built to be a lethal transition team but it has not been that so far through the season. We have several lethal lob threats in Larry Nance, Jarrett Allen and Javale Mcgee (If he ever plays). Combine that with Okoro on the wing who can get above the rim and bring the ball up off rebounds and you have quite a few finishers who would force the opponents bigs to get back quickly or give up free points.
Put those finishers with Sexton who can beat just about anyone down the court and Garland who can hit any pass in the book and you should have an explosive youthful coast to coast offense. All worth mentioning is Kevin Love’s signature full court chest passes if and when he plays for us again.
A couple of changes are needed that could turn this slow methodical offense into a real threat to defenses with multiple layers of attack. Hopefully some of these adjustments make their way onto the court to make the team much more fun to watch and more importantly make them a more balanced threat in the lower playoff seeds or the play in tournament.
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