Reflecting on the Cleveland Cavaliers' 34-point blowout loss to DeMar DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors, Chris Mannix joins Colin Cowherd and Kristine Leahy in studio on The Herd to discuss what owner Dan Gilbert should immediately do in order to keep LeBron James from leaving the Cavs in the off-season.
COLIN COWHERD: How much of this is man overboard? And how much is just negotiable and we've seen it before?CHRIS MANNIX: I would say, in talking to people within the Cavs, I'd say there's a higher level of frustration with the defense, this year, than what we've seen in years past. They can't stop anybody. You guys talked about this earlier, but no perimeter defense. No interior defense. I was texting with an assistant coach from a team that played the Cavs, recently. And he was telling me what to look for in this game. And he was saying, "Watch them in transition. They don't get back. There's no effort, whatsoever. Watch how many points in the paint Toronto scores because when we played them, it was attack, attack, because they don't have any shot blockers, especially when Kevin Love's on the floor. And maybe the biggest problem of all is that they put Isaiah Thomas, when he was on the floor, in pick and rolls. Just put him in pick and rolls and wait for him to kind of die on those screens.
COLIN COWHERD: Yeah. He's a small guy.
CHRIS MANNIX: And that's what he does. Some of it's not his fault. He dies in the screens because he's a smaller player. But spin that forward a little bit, right? Isaiah in the playoffs. He's going to have to be in one five screen roles with Kevin Love against John Wall, against Kyle Lowry, against Kyrie Irving. How do you look at that and say that all is well? How do you look at that problem that they have, a fundamental NBA defensive play, that they can't resolve? And I'll tell you one other thing, Colin. If Kobe, Altman, and Dan Gilbert are not meeting on this right now, it's criminal. But they should be going to the Clippers, tomorrow, and saying, "Tristan Thompson and the Nets pick for DeAndre Jordan." Tomorrow. That has to be the number one priority for them over the next month.
COLIN COWHERD: Because at least it solves the rim protection issue. You know how everybody bangs on DeAndre Jordan, but every time I watch the Clippers, he plays.
CHRIS MANNIX: Look at what he has to do out there, too. He's got, you know, two guards in the front court who don't defend anybody. He's got a bunch of guys around him. DeAndre Jordan's-- People throw his stats down. Like his defensive numbers are down. That's too shallow a look at it. He has to recover and defend everybody because the rest of the players around him don't defend at a high level.
