This fatal error is why the Cleveland Cavaliers keep losing games

The Cleveland Cavaliers are closing to being .500 on the year after the latest loss to the Chicago Bulls. Their is a specific decision made that could be the issue.

Dec 3, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the fourth quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

Last night, the Chicago Bulls beat the Cavaliers once again, moving the Cavaliers to a 15-14 record. It is evident that one of the decisions that coach Kenny Atkinson has made is hurting the team.

This year, Atkinson said he wanted to prioritize the team's offensive rebounding. That choice was made as he wanted the team to win in possession of the game.

An issue with this is that they are not playing soccer. Just playing for possession in these games is leaving them easy to take advantage of. Jackson Flickinger at Fear The Sword noted that the Cavaliers are sending more players to grab offensive rebounds, but it leaves them susceptible to transition and fast break scoring when they don't get the rebounds. 

The idea of getting the rebounds and taking more shots can work, except the Cavs have been quite bad at rebounds this season. They average 45 boards a game, which has them sitting 13th in the league. 

Cavs struggling in transition

They are also one of the very worst teams in the NBA on transition defense. Cleveland also sits 15th in their defense, which Atkinson has also said he wants to get the team back into that top five they used to be.

You could say that there is not one specific player to put this issue on.

The entire team has not communicated well when it has come to the rebounding either. Jarrett Allen is having his worst rebounding season since his second year in the NBA. He is lacking the aggressiveness a center needs in the paint, which has also come up when talking about Evan Mobley this year.

Rebounding and transition defense is desperately needing a fix. If Koby Altman and the team's front office are looking to make a change at center, they need to do it sooner than later as a guy like Allen's trade value is dropping very quickly. 

This season's problems aren't anything new as well. Rebounding and transition baskets were the thing that killed the team in the series versus the Pacers. Many NBA teams can just go out and run around the floor all game. Cleveland is getting tired and you can tell.

Atkinson has stated many times this season that he is not worried about the team's struggles. This has been yet another recurring theme that has fans on edge about his future in Cleveland. Fixing issues like the rebounding and transition defense could be a small fix that flips the whole season if he is open to change.