Live Thread/Diatribe: Cavs vs. Nets (#NoDefense)

As the old idiom goes… “a picture is worth a thousand words.” There aren’t many pictures of Mike Longabardi one can find on the internet… but this one speaks the loudest, intentionally or not. This isn’t a new image to most of you, since I’ve used it countless times thus far in this season’s first three games. It’s been elevated to headline status because I’ve already wasted at least a thousand words on the Cavaliers’ assistant coach and purported “defensive guru” (well, at least that’s how Ty Lue thinks of him), and I’d prefer not to waste many more. There should never be anywhere near this amount of words written about an assistant coach for an NBA team… because they should either be able to do their job, or relieved of said job in short order. Yet, here we are…

So, EG… why the diatribe to kick off a live thread? Simply put, nothing matters for this team until the defense returns to even a marginally acceptable level (i.e. not giving up 133 points to the Atlanta Hawks). But EG, are you sure you’re not just scapegoating Longabardi here? Possibly, since it’s just as much Ty Lue’s fault for both bringing Mike into the fold initially, and entrusting the defensive schemes to him. It’s no secret how putrid the Cavalier defense has been on Longabardi’s watch. Literally, the best highlight you can ascribe to him is that the Cavs were one of the worst defensive teams ever to win a championship in 2016.

Last year was a debacle on that side of the floor, with a perimeter defense that resembled a rusty sieve coupled with a soft underbelly inside that produced a lay up line for the opposition most nights. An overriding excuse many chose to digest, was that LeBron James wasn’t particularly fond of closing out, giving much effort or playing anything other than casual free safety during the regular season. And, that this top-down mentality affected all of the King’s men, resulting in an unconscionable 29th ranking on defense by allowing nearly 110 points per game.

This year, with no LeExcuses to fall back on… the wine & gold are hemorrhaging 126.7 points per game through three contests. It might be worse if LeBron had stayed, since his Lakers are one of only two teams giving up more points per game (the Kings are the other at 129.5) at an astounding 132.o clip. Granted, that number is inflated given the OT loss to the Spurs where they surrendered an All Star Game like 143 points. The problem the Cavaliers face, however, is that unlike the Lakers and Kings, they aren’t scoring 122+ points per game. Yet, even in this wacky new NBA landscape, which has been superheated offensively with the change to the 14 second reset shot clock and the growing run and gun mentality, 112.7 points per game (Cavs current average) should be enough to offset even a mediocre defensive strategy.

Isn’t this an overreaction to a three game sample size, EG? Yes and no… I’m usually the last person to jump to conclusions, and it’s certainly possible that the Cavalier coaches can right the ship a little, and bail enough water from this leaky D to level things off to a respectable level and win a few games. However, it’s impossible to ignore how rapidly this vessel is sinking into the depths. I’m generally not a fan of switchy defenses, though I understand their necessity in the modern game. Yet, they tend to be more effective when the players being asked to execute this scheme have actually played together enough to trust it. It’s probably not the ideal strategy to implement with a collective of young players on a learning curve mixed with aging vets who’ve lost a step. But, that’s not stopping Longabardi and Lue from blindly sticking to the script, as if they still had the ultimate mistake eraser on the other end of the floor.

How did we get stuck with Mike Longabardi in the first place you might ask? The guy who was referred to as “Mr. Defense” during his playing days at Newberry College in South Carolina, got his first job in the NBA under Jeff Van Gundy in 2003 as a video coordinator for the Rockets (so, one more thing to blame JVG for). He wound up as an assistant coach in 2007 with the Celtics for both Doc Rivers and Tom Thibodeau and won a championship with them. Things started to go downhill though, after he was named Boston’s defensive coordinator in 2009. He joined Jeff Hornacek in 2013 with the Phoenix Suns, and helped turn the team around (from 25-57 to 48-34) that season. However, he was fired halfway through the 2015-16 season when the Suns were just 12-20 after surrendering 111 points to a one win Sixers team that was actively tanking.

Enter Ty Lue and the Cavs. Less than a week after Lue was promoted to replace a fired David Blatt, they scooped up the unemployed Longabardi to be Lue’s successor as defensive coordinator. Lue clearly had a lot of say in this, as the two had been assistants together on the Celtics. Mind you, the Cavaliers had been one of the best defensive teams in the League to that point in the ’15-16 season, ranking sixth overall in adjusted defensive rating… despite the blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors that got Blatt dismissed. That year, they finished the season allowing 98.3 ppg. The next year, it ballooned to 107.2… and then, finally, to 109.9 last season.

Is Mike Longabardi the entire problem? No… but it’s not like the Cavs defense could get any worse at this point. It’s clear he’s no longer effective, assuming he ever was, as a defensive coordinator. It’s unclear as to why he continues to be employed by the Cavaliers. If the owner and front office are legitimately not attempting to tank the season, then they should rectify this situation immediately. If they secretly are intentionally heading for the bottom… then by all means let Longabardi (and Lue for that matter) go down with the ship.

Okay, I guess I did the opposite of what I intended… because that was just 1,000 words on Mike Longabardi. The picture is still effective though.

Now, about tonight’s game…

The Cavs look for their first win of the season, and to avoid starting 0-4 for the first time since the ’03-04 season when they lost their first five. Though they showed some fight and determination in their first two games, they’ll need to bounce back from a forgettable effort against the Atlanta Hawks. Most expected the offense to be a work in progress, yet the defense (as noted ad nauseam above) has weighed in at a shocking 122.4 rating through three games.

Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Collin Sexton will look to have better shooting games, and hopefully Tyronn Lue can start to settle into some recognizable rotations that make some semblance of sense. He definitively needs to at least figure out the second quarter, where the Cavs have been outscored 111-72 thus far this season, allowing opponents to shoot 52% in those frames, while his squad averages just 40%. If you’re looking for positives… Love is currently third in the NBA in rebounding (14.7 per game) and Jordan Clarkson is currently fourth in bench scoring (17.7 ppg).

The Nets come in shooting 48% on the season, so they’re likely to try and follow the game plan against the Cavs and alternately bomb away from deep or run them off the floor in transition. They have Caris LeVert averaging 24.7 points on 65% shooting, and they get Rondae Hollis-Jefferson back tonight for his first game of the season.

Probable starting lineups: 

Cavs: Cedi Osman, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Rodney Hood, George Hill

Nets: Joe Harris, Jared Dudley, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, D’Angelo Russell

Prediction: Unless Mike Longabardi gets fired between now and the start of tonight’s game, the Cavs will once again have no defense against a team that can get up and down the floor and shoot the three decently… Nets take it 117-111.

Catch all the action from the Q at 7pm EST on Fox Sports Ohio. And, as always, chime in below… and try not to waste too many words on Longabari like I just did…