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'That's alarming': Cavaliers' third-quarter defense has become their No. 1 issue
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- 'That's alarming': Cavaliers' third-quarter defense has become their No. 1 issue
CLEVELAND — With the Cavaliers putting together a historic 33-5 start to their season, their list of negatives has grown thin.
They've continuously been searching for ways to tweak different aspects, but there hasn't been much to pick apart in terms of obvious negatives. But, suddenly, one pattern has emerged that coach Kenny Atkinson and the Cavs are attacking — third-quarter defense.
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The Cavs are in the top 10 in defensive rating in each of the first, second and fourth quarters. But the third quarter? They drop down to 23rd.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro (35) tries to strip the ball from Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) on Jan. 12, 2025, in Cleveland.
"I don't know, we've got to give better halftime speeches," Atkinson half-joked Sunday night. "I think we tend to relax when we get these leads, and you know how the NBA is now — it's like a snap of the finger and all of a sudden, it's a tight score. I think there's a little bit of complacency when we get a lead. That's alarming."
The Cavs' concern with their defense out of halftime was already a bit of a trend, and that was before they were torched by the Indiana Pacers 37-18 in the third quarter of Sunday's 108-93 loss , just the second defeat at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse all season.
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They entered the second half with a 13-point lead. They finished the third quarter down by six. It was a microcosm of one of the only glaring issues the Cavs, still with the league's best record, must address.
"That can't happen. That's on all of us," said Donovan Mitchell , speaking of the Cavs allowing 68 points in the second half Sunday night. "We haven't come out with a sense of urgency. … In the past, we've kind of, I don't want to say chilled, but didn't come out with the same aggression, so that's on us."
Cavaliers defense focused on third quarters during historic run
The Cavaliers are on a 71-win pace as they near the midway point in the season. They've throttled most of the teams they've played, and they've racked up a few marquee wins, headlined by a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in what could be an NBA Finals preview. But, after 38 games, the Cavaliers have an average point differential in the third quarter of just 0.2 points .
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They've often won the first, second and fourth quarters. The third quarters, mostly due to a defensive lapse they're attempting to fix, have largely been a draw. They've also now given up at least 37 points in three consecutive third quarters.
Atkinson said he views it as a disconnect between the mental aggressiveness for which the Cavs strive on defense.
"We'll look at it, we'll dive deeper into it, but it seems like that's a mental, kind of not-ready-when-you-come-out-of-the-locker-room, and a [too] relaxed, type thing," Atkinson said. "That's not our team usually, but it happens. They're humans. But, again, disappointed in that defensive effort in the third and fourth quarter."
The Cavs haven't many chances to really zero in on any major problems during this 38-game run. For the moment, they have one aspect they're determined to improve.
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"See it on film, address it, talk about it," Mitchell said. "Then good teams go out there and fix it."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavaliers' third-quarter defense has become a focus
