Cavaliers Film Room: Defense Begins at the Point

In this Cavaliers film room session, we’ll break down the Cavaliers’ defense, focusing on what happens when the opposing team’s point guard gets into the paint. Over the first eight games of the season, the defense was atrocious. Starring in that atrocity was star point guard Kyrie Irving’s sieve-like qualities when it comes to staying in front of his man, fighting through pick-and-rolls, and making an attempt to stop transition buckets. As dynamic and All-Star quality as Irving is on offense, his defense leaves plenty to be desired. Let’s dive in and look at some proof of Kyrie’s issues. For an example of the wine and gold’s struggles in the transition game, let’s look at the halftime bucket for Dallas. After a Tristan Thompson follow-up slam, the Mavs get a quick outlet out to Dominic Jones up the left sideline.   The Cavaliers do have enough players back with Irving, Varejao, and Gee. However, Kyrie is not in a good defensive stance at all, and Jones zips right by him. Varejao, ...