Улирлын эхний хоёр тоглолтод дөрөвдүгээр үед сул тоглолт үзүүлсэн Кливленд Кавалерс бөмбөг алдалтаа багасгах шаардлагатай байгааг дасгалжуулагч Кенни Аткинсон онцоллоо.
Кливленд Кавалерс энэ улиралд хийсэн хоёр тоглолтынхоо дөрөвдүгээр үеүдэд нийт 24 онооны зөрүүтэйгээр ялагдал хүлээгээд байна. Филадельфи 76-г эсрэг тоглолтын төгсгөлд гаргасан алдаа нь хожилд хүргэх боломжийг нь хаасан бол, хоёр хоногийн дараа Бруклин Нетс-ийг 125-121-ийн харьцаатай ялимгүй давуутай буулган авахдаа ч мөн ижил асуудалтай тулгарчээ.
Дасгалжуулагч Кенни Аткинсон бөмбөг эзэмшилтийн давуу талыг 16-аар алдсанаа хүлээн зөвшөөрч, бөмбөг алдалтыг эрс багасгах шаардлагатайг санууллаа. Бөмбөг алдалт нь довтолгооны чанар болон хамгаалалтад шууд сөргөөр нөлөөлж, 22 онооны тэргүүллийг ч агшин зуур үгүй хийх эрсдэлтэй гэдгийг тоглогч Марио Хезоня онцолсон байна.
Өрсөлдөгч багууд Кливленд Кавалерс-ыг хамгаалалтын шугам дээр нь биеийн хүчтэй тоглолт үзүүлж, хамгаалагчдыг нь хоёр тоглогчоор давхар бүслэх замаар бөмбөг алдалтад хүргэж байна. Донован Митчелл энэхүү гэнэтийн бүслэлтүүд нь NBA-д түгээмэл болсон эмх замбараагүй тоглолтын хэв маяг гэж үзэж байгаа ч багийн хувьд үүнийг шийдвэрлэх арга замыг олох нь чухал байна.
Багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд шинэ тоглогчид нэмэгдсэн тул тоглолтын ойлголцол сайжрах хүртэл хугацаа шаардлагатай гэж үзэж байна. Кливленд Кавалерс энэхүү бэрхшээлийг улирлын эхэнд даван туулах нь ирээдүйн тоглолтуудад, ялангуяа дөрөвдүгээр сарын тоглолтуудад тустай байх болно гэж Донован Митчелл дүгнэжээ.
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – OCTOBER 24: Tyrese Proctor #24 listens to Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Rocket Arena on October 24, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs defeated the Nets 125-121. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost the two fourth quarters they’ve played this season by a combined 24 points. Their poor late-game execution kept them from delivering a statement win over the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night, and it almost cost them again two days later in their home opener against the Brooklyn Nets.
The culprit behind both collapses was the same.
“We lost the possession game by 16,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said after his team narrowly defeated the Nets. “We got to clean up the turnovers.”
Turnovers lead to bad offense. Bad offense leads to bad defense. You combine those together, and 22-point leads can evaporate in a heartbeat, even against an inexperienced Nets team.
“Good offense [is important] because it really helps you guard the ball,” Mario Hezonja said. “Our rhythm is imposed onto the opponent, so it’s much easier to go both ways. The moment you start to have bad turnovers or bad possessions or even bad shots…that impacts a lot of the mental aspect for a player, and it impacts a lot of the defensive side.”
It’s easy to look at the poor fourth quarter in Game 1 last postseason against the New York Knicks and the start of this season, and believe that there’s a mental barrier keeping the Cavs from closing out games. Maybe there is, but at least in these first two games, the Cavs’ issues are very much basketball-related. As was the case in Philadelphia, the Cavs once again struggled to handle ball pressure.
It’s a copycat league. Teams see what works, and then try to replicate it. One wave we’re seeing now is a drastic increase in blitzing defenses. Defenses are more aggressive in how they’re sending doubles and jumping passing lanes than before. That is especially true late in games, when opponents are trailing and are desperate to get back into games. Hence the reason the Cavs are struggling with this so much down the stretch.
“There’s an unpredictability to it,” Donovan Mitchell said. “I think it’s random. The NBA has turned into that as a whole. Indiana really did a great job of it two years ago, and I think everybody followed suit. It was just like, just cause chaos and figure it out. … When you’re picking up full court and randomly trapping, there’s really no scheme for that. It’s like AAU basketball.”
Atkinson has emphasized the need to just “pass to the open man.” That sounds simple enough and is what needs to happen. The problems come when the team isn’t currently capable of doing that.
There are a couple of issues preventing the Cavs from doing so. First, their starting lineup only has two players they trust to operate in these situations with the ball in their hands. Second, there isn’t a good feel for where guys should be on the court when the traps come.
“It’s a different five,” Mitchell said. “[We’re] calling different plays.”
For as frustrating as these first two games have been, the sky isn’t falling — at least not yet. These are things that can be cleaned up.
“There’s no excuses, but we are working on it,” Hezonja said. “There are some new pieces that we added to the team, so this unfortunately takes a little bit of time, but we are working on it. Everything started to mesh better and better, and I hope [that] soon it’s going to look good.”
Time is on the Cavs’ side. The regular season is where you build habits and problem-solve for how teams are going to attack you.
Right now, the book is out on how to disrupt the Cavs: be physical with them at the point of attack and send random double teams at their guards. That is how teams will defend them until the Cavs show they can beat that kind of defense. And from a certain perspective, going through these struggles now instead of in April should benefit them.
“It’s not always going to be perfect,” Mitchell said, “but I think for us, having these first two games…similar but different ways, I think is definitely going to help us in the long run.”
