Live Thread: Cavs @ Clippers

After a moribund showing against the Blazers, Friday, the Cavs have given Andre Drummond the night off in Los Angeles. We shall see if the starting center spot can do better than the eight points and five rebounds Drummond posted Friday. Personally, the Drummond situation weighs on me. He seems like a conscientious and personable guy in every interview, and there are numerous stories of him going out of his way to help people. I genuinely like Andre Drummond the person, and am beyond frustrated with Andre Drummond the basketball player.

I’m also frustrated with the Cavs’ front office leadership who have ticked off a long string of players and coaches: Ty Lue, Larry Drew, Kevin Love, JR Smith, Tristan Thompson, Kevin Porter Junior, and now Drummond have all struggled relating to the Cavs organization that simultaneously claims they want to “build culture,” yet consistently suffers from communication issues with players and coaches and struggles with the human element of putting people in situations to succeed. It’s hard to watch the Cavaliers play and think that the players all know what their role is supposed to be and that the Cavs are building a meritocracy that rewards players and coaches for team play in the moment and as a whole. More than one story has come out about Cavaliers “playing for numbers,” and being more obsessed with their box scores than the scoreboard.

It’s hard to blame players for that when they are often treated by the front office like commodities. It’s hard to watch the Cavalier players not have confidence to fire away when they are open from three, or fail to communicate with their teammates defensively. Something is rotten in Denmark (or Independence). This NBA season is a meat grinder, and this road trip offers no ability to crawl out of a hole when the team is struggling with communication and cohesiveness. Some of this, however, is on the front office, who have failed to add another power forward another point guard, and who have fielded a roster that has led to far below optimum lineups.

All that being said, it’s just basketball, and maybe with Dre’ out tonight, the pressure will be off tonight, and the guys can just play. This Clips team waxed the Cavs a few weeks ago, but Paul George is listed as out tonight. The Cavs are still missing Delly, Kev, and Nance in addition to Drummond, but perhaps his exodus will stem the malaise that has infected the squad. Let’s hope they can play with some élan.