NBA: The struggling Rockets and 5 other eye-opening early observations
By Colin Cann
Cleveland Cavaliers
Nobody was expecting much from the LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers but few predicted it would be this bad. Through six games to start the season, the Cavaliers are still looking for their first win. Somehow, it gets worse. They sit at the very bottom of the league in net rating at -12.6, a full point ahead of the next team in line, the Phoenix Suns.
The offense, which is far from good, isn’t completely terrible but the defensive certainly is, their 118.3 defensive rating is somehow only good for 29th overall, as the San Antonio Spurs are coping with losing not one, but two all-NBA defenders including 2-time DPOY Kawhi Leonard and replacing him with defensive sieve DeMar DeRozan.
The Cavaliers didn’t come into the season with high hopes, but as the only team without a single victory, they seemed to have kicked the bottom out of their expectations. This horrid start to the year has led to the firing of Tyronn Lue and head assistant Coach Larry Drew is hesitant to take over the role of head coach without a long-term commitment. With Kevin Love possibly missing the next month with a toe injury there is no light on the horizon for this team.