Cavs Struggle Against Hawks Exposes Major Weakness

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been struggling on defense lately. Yes, you read that correctly. The Cavs, who feature Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on their roster, have struggled on defense. Cleveland currently has the 12th-ranked defense with a 112.0 defensive rating. That ranking is trending in the wrong direction, as they’ve been 20th overall in defense since the beginning of November.

Cleveland’s defensive issues were displayed in its back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Hawks. In the first matchup, Atlanta connected on 20 of their 42 attempts from beyond the arc and went 25 of 48 in the paint. In their second-straight win over the Cavs, the Hawks generated clean looks at the rim, going 26-43 in the paint, and from beyond the arc, going 14-34 from three.

The way they defended Atlanta is another instance of the flaws in Cleveland’s current defensive scheme. More often than not, the Cavs are too willing to collapse the paint to protect the rim, leaving them unable to rotate back out to open shooters. This was an issue in Cleveland’s loss to the Boston Celtics and continues to be one against a wing-heavy team like Atlanta.

“We gotta play harder,” Darius Garland said. “We gotta pressure the ball a little bit more. Gotta get into our defender, even on the switches. We gotta bump our man up a little so the person can get under the switch, under the man that’s rolling.”

The Cavs have been more willing to switch this season than in the past. Some mismatches they create have led to a desire to collapse the paint more than they should. This, in turn, gives opponents like the Hawks more open looks beyond the arc.

How the wing-heavy Hawks gave tua losses to the Cavs

The increased switching and playing of more guard-heavy lineups have impacted where the defenders are on the court, which has taken time to get used to. Unfortunately, getting in-game practice is the only way to adapt to switching on defense. So, until Cleveland is comfortable switching defensively, nights like these may continue to happen.

However, no matter how comfortable the Cavs are switching on defense, teams like the Hawks might be their kryptonite. Instead of Trae Young or Dyson Daniels carving up Cleveland’s defense, Atlanta’s steady rotation of wings, most young and athletic, has kept the Cavs spinning on defense.

In two games, Atlanta forward Jalen Johnson has burned Cleveland, averaging 21.0 points on 60.0% shooting, 7.0 assists, and 9.0 rebounds in 34.9 minutes per game. More impressively, Johnson has connected on four of his eight three-point attempts, showcasing how the Hawks empowered their forwards to pick apart the Cavs’ defensive scheme.

After Johnson, it trickles down to the rest of Atlanta’s forward rotation. Joining Hunter in the starting lineup is rookie Zacharie Risacher. The French forward has averaged 14.0 points on 55.6% shooting and connected on 50.0% of his 5.0 three-point attempts in only 18.8 minutes per contest.

Meanwhile, De’Andre Hunter is averaging 24.5 points on 57.1% shooting off the bench. Hunter also hits 57.1% of his 8.0 three-point attempts in 29.2 minutes per game against Cleveland. Even veteran forward Bogdan Bogdanovic has gotten in on the effort. Bogdanovic has averaged 13.5 points on 42.1% shooting. The veteran forward has connected on 38.5% of his 6.5 per-game three-point attempts in only 25.0 minutes.

How can Cleveland counter their perimeter woes?

With how the Cavs are currently constructed, it’s hard to combat forward-heavy teams like the Hawks until two things happen. The first is Cleveland getting forward Dean Wade, their best perimeter defender, back from a nagging ankle injury. The second is for the Cavs to find comfort between their personnel defending players on the perimeter, no matter the size difference.

Those both will come with time. Sources say that Wade could return as early as Cleveland’s upcoming matchup with Boston. Getting Wade, a two-way big man, back on the floor would remedy some defensive woes. However, that depends on how Wade’s ankle injury responds to pre-game workouts.

So, until Wade is cleared to play, his team will have to learn and adapt without him. The Cavs will have to play the Hawks twice and the Celtics immediately after, which will be a trial by fire. However, since on-court repetitions are the only way to find comfort in switching on defense, for Cleveland, choppy waters could lead to smoother sailing much sooner.