What is Really Wrong with the Cavs?

Isaiah Thomas has some ideas

Whether their fans will admit it or not, the struggles of the Cleveland Cavaliers are REAL.

To begin with, this is the Cleveland Cavaliers team that erased a 3-1 Finals deficit against the empire of the Golden State Warriors two seasons ago. So what is the difference between that Cavs team and this one that we are seeing right now?

For starters, that team had an effective Tristan Thompson and a KYRIE IRVING. This season, Kyrie Irving is now doing the Alpha dog job for the league-leading Boston Celtics while Tristan Thompson hasn't been the same since he was dealing with his own injury problem. Thompson has only appeared in 25 games this season, starting 5 of those games. In those games, Thompson averaged 5 points and close to 6 rebounds per game. He used to be the leading rebounder of the team. Now? It's Kevin Love.

Another big difference between the 2016 champion team and this current team is that ON PAPER, they have gained more firepower after getting Isaiah Thomas, Dwayne Wade and of course, former league MVP, Derrick Rose.  Here's the problem, folks. Dwayne is no longer the same "Flash" we all loved during his decorated stint with the Miami Heat. Isaiah Thomas is still not the 4th quarter monster we used to see during his stint with the Celtics. Rose? He hasn't been the same explosive player since he got injured right after winning the MVP award.

So what is wrong with the Cavs, REALLY?

According to the new guy, Isaiah Thomas, there are two reasons why the Cavs are heading into the game against the San Antonio Spurs with a 27-18 record- having lost 7 of their last 10 games.

Firstly, Isaiah Thomas said that the Cavs aren't trying harder defensively. And that claim can be verified just by looking at easily their opponents have scored in their last 5 defeats were the Cavs up 124 points per game on the average. The Cavs' lack of defensive intensity was displayed against the Oklahoma City Thunder when they gave up 148 points. Isaiah Thomas even went as far as saying that the Celtics were a defensive team during his stint there. 

Secondly, the Cavs weren't trusting each other. For a team that is loaded with talented passers, averaging 23 assists per game- the 7th in the league in that category, is totally unacceptable. And that's one of the many reasons why LeBron James has been on a Super Saiyan mode as of late because of the fact that his teammates weren't trusting each other. 

Conclusion

Getting new players off trade deals will help improve the Cavs' situation but first, Cleveland will have to fix their internal problems ON THEIR OWN because that's a first step towards rediscovering how good they are with the pieces that they have. One thing that the Cavs will need to do is to defend. Why? Even though the Spurs won't have Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio is still loaded with talented scorers.