Almost a month after trade deadline, Cavs aren't any better defensively
On paper, the Cleveland Cavaliers improved themselves defensively at the trade deadline. Bringing in solid defenders like George Hill and Larry Nance Jr. alone represented upgrades over Isaiah Thomas and Co. who went out the door on Feb. 8, but it's a fool's errand to try to make the case that Cavs are better defensively.
On Saturday, the Denver Nuggets hung 126 points on Cleveland, and the game wasn't even in the mile-high altitude of the Rockies. It was the second-most points the Cavs have surrendered in a regulation game at home this season, and the seventh time overall in 2017-18 they've given up more than 125.
In nine games since the trade deadline, the Cavs have posted a defensive rating of 109.2, good for 18th in the NBA. Sure, that's an improvement over the dead-last ranking in the season's first 50 games - but it's also just 0.9 points per 100 possessions better.
Looking deeper, the Cavs are still surrendering too many long balls. The Nuggets shot a ludicrous 54.3 percent from beyond the arc Saturday, including a combined 10-of-20 from the oft-open Gary Harris and Will Barton.
Cleveland's perimeter defense has actually regressed slightly since the trade deadline:
| Cavaliers | OPP 3P% | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-deadline | 37.1 | 25th |
| Post-deadline | 37.6 | 25th |
Rodney Hood, as a wing defender, was supposed to make this better. However the new arrival has missed switches and been caught out of position more than once, leaving some to wonder - when factoring in his shaky shot as well - if he's really an upgrade over J.R. Smith.
"We switched, we blitzed, we showed, we did a little of everything," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said after Saturday's loss, per Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon. "They got hot."
While the result was a legitimate combination of the Nuggets' being on fire and the his team's porous D, Lue neglected to mention that the Cavs have been switching poorly all season. Cleveland also wasted LeBron James' 13th triple-double of the season in the loss.
The Cavaliers are 5-4 since the deadline, with six of their next seven games on the road. They need to go 14-6 in their last 22 to reach 50 wins for the fourth straight year.