Sports

Is It Time To Start Worrying About The Cavaliers?

We knew Cleveland wouldn't be the same after LeBron left...but we didn't think the team would be this bad.

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers are now 0-4 on the season after losing in a blowout to the Brooklyn Nets. That's the same Nets team that has been rebuilding since approximately 1997. Cleveland is now the only team in the Eastern Conference without a win.

The loss to one of the Eastern Conference's perennial bottom-feeders comes right after a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks...another team that was earmarked for haplessness this year. Couple those defeats with back-to-back losses to a title contender, the Toronto Raptors, and a playoff contender, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and things start to look bad for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland's next games will be against a suddenly-good Detroit Pistons squad and another playoff team, the Indiana Pacers. At this moment, both of those games look like likely losses for this Cavaliers squad. That could drop the team to 0-6 on the season.

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Cleveland is the only team in the East that hasn't secured at least one win after four tries. The Oklahoma City Thunder, in the Western Conference, are the only other winless team in the NBA and they've played just three games.

While there have been bright spots — Cedi Osman, for one — there are plenty of reasons for long-term concern with this team.

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Kevin Love, who was signed to a massive extension in the off-season, has been putting up not-great numbers as the team's new centerpiece. While he is averaging 19 points a game, to go with 13.5 rebounds, he's shooting a dismal 34 percent on two-point shots, and 29 percent on three-point shots, according to Basketball-Reference.

If his shooting doesn't improve dramatically, his two-point shooting percentage would be the worst of his career. His three-point shooting would be the second-worst of his career, behind only his rookie season.

George Hill continues to start over first-round pick Collin Sexton and it's not entirely clear why. While Sexton hasn't looked amazing in reserve minutes, Hill is averaging only three assists per game, to go with 11 points. Sexton is averaging 2.5 assists and 10.3 points per game. The production is almost identical, yet Sexton isn't running with the starters.

Overall, Cleveland's defense has been atrocious to watch. The Cavaliers are tied for the worst defensive percentage in the league with...the only other winless team, the Thunder.

The Cavs will get another shot at getting their game together when they try to take down Atlanta on October 30. If the boys can't win that game, their next most-winnable contest would the November 5 game against Orlando.

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Photo from Jason Miller/Getty Images

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