The Cleveland Cavaliers may be sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference at the moment, but they are in a precarious spot because of offensive issues that have plagued the team since the All-Star break.
The Cavs reportedly came together for a film session earlier this month to come up with ways to address their offensive issues and to “get back on the same page.”
“A few days ago, players gathered for a film session and discussed the second-half offensive slog,” wrote Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “The goal was to get back on the same page and offer up thoughts on what has gone wrong lately.
“Turnovers were a main talking point. The Cavs rank 18th in the category since the All-Star break. They committed 19 on Saturday afternoon. [Donovan] Mitchell had a team-high five.”
Unfortunately, the results of the meeting have yet to be seen. Fans might need to practice patience, but time has almost run out for the team. With a 46-32 record, it is barely ahead of the fourth-seeded Orlando Magic and just 2.5 games ahead of the seventh-seeded Miami Heat.
The loss versus an inspired Los Angeles Lakers squad on Saturday didn’t help its cause.
Cleveland looked on its way to finally exorcising its demons after scoring 33 points against the Lakers in the first quarter. But it couldn’t sustain its production for long stretches afterward, eventually succumbing to the opponent 116-97.
Turnovers continued to be a problem for the Cavs, as they gave the ball up 18 times.
Mitchell was a primary culprit, ending up with five turnovers. It would have probably been fine if he made up for it with a stellar performance. However, he managed to score just 10 points on a 4-for-13 shooting clip.
Still, Mitchell was hardly the only one to blame because he actually finished with a team-high plus/minus of plus-10.
Cleveland has just four games remaining in the regular season. So, it might have to quickly find solutions for its offensive struggles, highlighted by its penchant for turning the ball over and difficulties in scoring inside the paint and grabbing offensive boards.
Otherwise, it could experience a similar result as last season when it was done in by a horrendous offense against the lower-seeded New York Knicks in the first round. In fact, only the Brooklyn Nets averaged fewer points than the Cavs in the 2023 playoffs.
Hopefully, they can get back on the same page and on the winning track in the home stretch of the regular season.
