One Clear Area Giving The Cavaliers Plenty Of Problems

The Cleveland Cavaliers must combat teams with longer, more aggressive wings.

Jan 16, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro (35) reacts after a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, and Atlanta Hawks all have a few things in common.

Each of these teams is responsible for one of the Cleveland Cavaliers' losses this season and has presented a unique challenge for the Wine and Gold with their big, long wings on the permitter.

While this has become a reoccurring theme this season, the Thunder exposed this weakness for the Cavalier weakness a lot during Thursday's night blowout win.

Kenny Atkinson was asked about what problems long, aggressive wings can give his team following their loss to the Thunder, and Cleveland's head coach was spot on with the issues they present.

"They can pressure their guards. They can take us off our spots. Push us out. They can bother our penetration with their length. Pressure the ball with its length."

"I agree, that's kind of been the formula [for beating us] so far. So, we've got to figure out how do we combat that. That's a little back to the drawing board."

Jan 9, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson stands on the sideline in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

The first step to overcoming a challenge is admitting that something is wrong. Atkinson clearly sees what others are noticing with opposing wings, giving the Cavaliers plenty of problems, especially on offense.

The next question is, do the Cavaliers have the players on their roster to counter all of the issues that these longer permitter players are putting on Cleveland?

The front office is responsible for answering this question, and it appears they also noticed the issue Atkinson brought up here.

It's not a surprise the Cavs have been linked to Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson over the last few days, who would fit this team perfectly and help combat this issue.

It will be interesting to see if the Cavaliers make a significant trade before the deadline. If they do, it seems increasingly likely that they'll target a wing who can help them against specific teams.

The Cavaliers will certainly face a combination of the Celtics, Pacers, or Hawks in the playoffs.