Recap: Hornets 119, Cavs 98 (or, Stealth Tank Agenda)

The Cavs crapped the bed last night, gifting an easy dub to the sub .500 Charlotte Hornets 119-98. The starters simply had no interest in competing defensively, and Darius Garland’s hot shooting night was marred by seven turnovers against only four assists. So just what the heck is going on? Let’s get to it!

1. Stealth Tank Agenda to the moon!

Perhaps it started off as a joke, but CtBer Nate Smith’s theory of the Cavs’ struggles has never been hotter, because the Cavs looked like a team that is finished with the season instead of gearing up for a playoff run. The defense was hot trash, the offense outside of DG’s shotmaking was non-existent, and Coach J.B. Bickerstaff got tossed for arguing calls with the referees. CtBer Adam Cathcart’s intrepid reporting in one of the comment threads relayed that Tom Withers of AP News reported new Cavs’ General Manager Mike Gansey saying something to the effect that the Cavs hope to stay relevant, which is not exactly a ringing endorsement of the future. Maybe the early returns on Caris LeVert were so bad the Cavs were fine with keeping the first round pick? Stay tuned.

2. Where did it all go wrong?

Beyond the Ricky Rubio injury it seems like step after step the Cavs have bungled decisions, starting at the top. The inability of Koby Altman to secure the services of Derrick White looms large as the first big mis-step. Boston’s President (of Basketball Operations) Brad Stevens was willing to part with that additional future first round pick and won the bidding war. Why couldn’t Koby close the deal? It appears Koby might’ve been hung up on giving up all the second round picks, which is a cowardly move if that’s the case. Boston is riding the good vibes wave, and the Cavs are not.

Derrick White is the pass first, defense first point guard the Cavs’ have been missing since Rubio went down. Instead, Altman tried to double down on the score-first Sexton archetype in Caris LeVert. After LeVert’s lukewarm Cavs’ debut, Altman appears content to rest all the point guards and recoup that 2022 first round pick.

As for Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, his offensive game planning leaves a lot to be desired. The Cavs are sinking in offensive efficiency, close to bottom third in the NBA. The Cavs are also in the bottom third in three point attempts. Coincidence? Perhaps not! There also has been an organizational decision to force feed Evan Mobley at the offensive end, to subpar results. An offense more geared around Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen appears to be something that ought to be considered to increase production. Perhaps the Mobley edict is part of the stealth tank agenda? Let the Commentariat decide.

Bickerstaff’s lineup decisions also can be called into question. The incessant need to feed minutes to the young, inexperienced Isaac Okoro instead of being more flexible and encouraging competition only adds fuel to the stealth tank agenda fire. It appears that substituting Lamar Stevens into the starting lineup resulted in a 33% better net rating (+15.6 vs. +10.7), why not open up the competition for starting shooting guard? The Cavs could use some shooting at that shooting guard spot, hello Dylan Windler? Last but not least, Brandon Goodwin has an argument about getting passed over for Rajon Rondo minutes, though probably the most defensible of Bickerstaff’s decisions. The inability or unwillingness to be more flexible on the margins has clearly burned out the regular rotation, who are dealing with a crap ton of injuries at this point.

As for the players themselves, it starts at the top with DG and Jarrett Allen. They’re the two All-Stars and neither of them have been playing good defense since Rubio went down. Evan Mobley’s development has leveled off. There’s not a lot of leadership and competitiveness shown by the best players, and this is the toughest lesson to be learned for young NBA stars. In order to be a real “star” there has to be consistency in winning and rising to the challenge. So far, DG and Jarrett Allen need to prove those All-Star bids weren’t fraudulent.

3. Quick note on the Hornets

Ironically for the Hornets, they achieved victory with only eight minutes on the floor for young star LaMelo Ball. They were lead by Michigan State product Miles Bridges and hometown kid Terry Rozier, of nearby Youngstown. The Charlotte front office massively screwed up lowballing Bridges because he looked like a max player for the Hornets last night. With the win, the Hornets and Cavs split the season series, 2-2.

4. How low can they go?

The Cavs are about to embark upon a brutal two stretch of the schedule that could have them scrambling for play-in spot by the end of the month. Figuring out how to be a dominant team without Ricky Rubio was, is, and has been the defining problem with which this Cavs’ team has had to wrestle. So far, the problem remains unsolved. On a positive note, if there’s two players that can rise to the challenge, DG and Evan Mobley are it. Go Cavs!