CLEVELAND, Ohio — Want to beat the Cavs? It’s not exactly a state secret anymore.
The latest Wine and Gold Talk podcast laid bare a harsh truth that’s becoming increasingly obvious around the NBA: There’s a clear, repeatable formula to defeat the once-defensively dominant Cavs, and teams from contenders to tankers are exploiting it with alarming success.
“There are blueprints to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers,” podcast host Ethan Sands stated bluntly. “As I mentioned earlier, Pace is one of them. It’s probably the biggest one because the Cavs transition defense is just horrible. It’s abysmal.”
In a revealing discussion following Cleveland’s embarrassing 123-112 loss to the tanking Utah Jazz, columnist Jimmy Watkins joined Sands in dissecting the three major defensive weaknesses that have transformed the Cavaliers from fortress to welcome mat.
The first vulnerability? A transition defense that’s fallen off a cliff.
Teams are pushing the pace against Cleveland, knowing they’ll face minimal resistance.
The second? A shocking inability to control the defensive glass despite boasting what was supposed to be one of the league’s premier frontcourts.
“If you’re able to get on the offensive glass and create second chance points, you’re going to have a good chance of beating the Cavs because it’s not only going to give you extra possessions and extra looks at the basket, but it’s going to demoralize them mentally,” Sands explained.
The frontcourt struggles were perfectly illustrated against Utah, as Watkins pointed out: “Yusuf Nurkic has had a fine career ... He is essentially a replacement player. And he was plus-13 with 17 rebounds tonight against one of supposedly the best front courts in the NBA.”
That rebounding dominance isn’t an anomaly but part of a disturbing pattern. “This has happened for years in some regard with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley getting beat out physical on the boards like this,” Watkins continued, highlighting how a supposed strength has become a glaring weakness.
The third fatal flaw? Cleveland has somehow become the NBA’s worst 3-point defense — a stunning reversal for a team that built its identity on defensive excellence.
What makes this defensive collapse particularly baffling is the stark contrast with how the team describes itself.
The podcast highlighted Atkinson’s continued insistence, dating back to training camp, that the Cavs’ defense remains the team’s backbone and ahead of the offense, even as the numbers and film suggest otherwise.
Once a lock to finish among the league’s top 10 defensive teams, Cleveland has slipped outside the top 15 in defensive rating, prompting real questions about whether the Cavs still possess a reliable defensive identity or if it has quietly faded.
While the Cavaliers shot a respectable 41.5% from 3-point range against Utah, their defensive shortcomings rendered that offensive output meaningless. Teams are no longer intimidated by Cleveland’s size or defensive reputation — they’re exploiting it.
For a franchise that invested heavily in defensive stalwarts like Mobley and Allen, the current state of affairs represents a stunning fall from grace. A team once feared for its defensive prowess now gives up 32 assists to the rebuilding Jazz.
As the Wine and Gold Talk podcast made crystal clear, until the Cavaliers address these three fundamental weaknesses, opponents will continue to follow the blueprint, and Cleveland’s championship aspirations will remain nothing more than wishful thinking.
Want to hear more about the Cavaliers’ defensive collapse and other insights? Listen to the full Wine and Gold Talk podcast for the complete breakdown from the cleveland.com team.
Here’s the podcast for this week: