The Cleveland Cavaliers are a frustrating team. They have the third best record in the Eastern Conference, but they are just painful to watch on a lot of nights. I know that they just finished a brutal road trip out west, but this team lost in double overtime to a listless Philadelphia 76ers team that recently traded Allen Iverson to the Nuggets. Obviously all fans hate to watch their team lose. This isn’t anything new. So why is it so frustrating?
Look at the game stats in the loss to Philadelphia. The Cavs attempted more free throws 34 to 27. They out-rebounded the Sixers 46 to 38. They had one more assist 22 to 21 and two more steals 6 to 4. Finally - and most importantly - the Cavs had fewer turnovers (13 to 17) than the 76ers.
With advantages in all these categories, how did the Cavs lose? The Cavs lost the game on offense. Now, when I say that they lost on offense, I am sure a lot of people are thinking, “Duh. If you don’t score more than your opponent, then you obviously lose.” My point is that with advantages in all those other statistical categories, there is no reason why a team should lose.
I break it down like this.
- Shooting - the Cavs shot only 39.4% in this game, including 8 for 21 from 3-point range. This isn’t an isolated incident either. On the season, the Cavs are shooting 43.71% while opponents are shooting 44.87% against them.
- Free Throws - the Cavs shot a dismal 25 of 34 from the free throw line last night for 73.5%. On the season the Cavs are shooting a mere 68.54%. They are only one of two teams in the east that aren’t above 70% for the year.
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