4. Kyrie’s Defensive Lapses
During the regular season, Irving ranked in the 19th percentile of primary pick-and-roll defenders, allowing opponents to score 44.9 percent of the time he was involved in a possession. If anything, he fared even worse than that against Pacers point guard Jeff Teague, which ought to raise concerns because of Irving’s next point guard matchup: Kyle Lowry of the Raptors.
“The Cavaliers’ defensive rating against the Pacers—who were a middling offensive team during the regular season—was 111.0. That number is virtually unchanged from Cleveland’s 111.1 defensive rating after the All-Star break, when the Cavaliers were the second-worst defensive team in the league.
“Cleveland will probably ratchet up the focus even more in successive rounds, but attention to detail won’t be enough. The Cavaliers communication leaves a lot to be desired. So many of their defensive possessions end with LeBron shouting at the bench or LeBron frantically pointing at his teammates because of breakdowns in coverage. And communication can only go so far. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love still struggle on defense, with Irving often struggling to fight through picks while Love can often be a step slow on rotations.”
Next: LeBron’s Ridiculous Workload
