Cavs Using Defense To Break Out Of Early Season Slump
Heading into the season, Cleveland was expected to have a fantastic defense after finishing last season with one of the best in the NBA. It started off strong, but also quickly fell off during the Cavs' five-game losing streak.
During the losing streak, they gave up over 100 points in all of their losses. They also gave up over 120 points twice. The defense that Cleveland was expected to have quickly began to unravel. However, the Cavs are starting to reclaim what helped them start the year off strong.
The Miami Heat only scored 87 points against Cleveland on Sunday night and the Hawks were only able to put up 102 points against the Cavs on Monday. The Cavs also combined for 15 steals in both of those games.
The Hawks have one of the most dynamic backcourts in the NBA with Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. However, the Cavs held Murray to just 11 points and Young to 24 points (10/22 from the field) in their win.
After the game J.B Bickerstaff had this to say about the Cavs' defense: "We've shown what we're capable of defensively. We know when we're at our best we can get stops, force turnovers, and get easy opportunities for ourselves because of that."
Donovan Mitchell also chimed in and said that "It's going back to our fundamentals. It's keeping our man in front, making the extra effort."
Knowing that Cleveland can always rely on their defense to fall back on when things aren't going their way is a comforting thought for the remainder of the season. Some teams may try to shoot their way out of a slump or focus more on the offensive side. But the Cavs know that if they're going to play their best basketball it's going to start on the defensive end.
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