Cleveland Cavaliers
Wishlist: 3-and-D Upgrade
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 19-6 and 1st place in the East. But this is nothing new. The Cavs don’t have a long Christmas list, but there are minor details that stand out when watching them play. I took a look at their six losses, and asked myself what was the reasoning behind their lapses. Part of it was the fact that the best player in the NBA didn’t even play, but another glaring weakness was their perimeter defense.
Starting Kyrie and J.R. Smith, the Cavs do not lack in the scoring department, and are first in the league in three-point shooting. Their liability is on the defensive end with these two. Teams purposely make Kyrie and J.R. switch to guarding the pick and roll ball-handler, forcing the Cavs help defense to scramble and rotate to force mismatches.
We’re giving the Cavs another perimeter defender! Iman Shumpert is a great asset to have off the bench for exactly this reason, but the more the merrier. Look for this defender to be long and athletic to maybe be able to guard the 1-4 positions, but mainly stick to guys on the perimeter to help guard the high pick and roll. They’re going to need it in a 7-game series against Golden State.