Live Thread: Cavs @ Wizards

Fresh off their visit to the White House in honor of winning the NBA Championship, the Cleveland Cavaliers will conclude their trip to Washington by playing some basketball against John Wall and a Washington Wizards team looking for just its third win of the season.

Expected to contend for a playoff spot after missing out last season, the Wizards have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league. John Wall has started out well enough, but Bradley Beal has struggled, particularly from beyond the arc where he is shooting just 30%, and the bench has been an absolute train wreck. Considering that Ian Mahinmi has yet to play this season, it shouldn’t be a shock that the group of Marcus Thornton, Trey Burke, Tomas Satoransky, Andrew Nicholson, Kelly Oubre, and Jason Smith hasn’t provided much. That’s a group that is weak in defense, shooting, rebounding, and, you know, basketball in general. If you think Iman Shumpert at backup point guard is frustrating, try Trey Burke, but more on that later.

The Cavaliers are coming off their first loss of the season after they fell to the Atlanta Hawks 110-106 on Tuesday. While they have been great on offense and shown terrific comfort with one another on the court this season, the Cavs have also spent much of the time going through the motions, especially on the defensive end, as they are tied for 13th in the league in defensive rating. Hopefully Tuesday’s loss to the Hawks helps the Cavaliers find their focus on that end. While the individual game results may not be that important, the process of building good habits on both ends of the floor undoubtedly is, and if the Cavaliers do this, the wins will come.

Be sure to tune into Fox Sports Ohio tonight at 7:00 and be sure to share your thoughts here with the gang at Cavs: The Blog!