What is happening to the Cleveland Cavaliers? If the season ended today, then the Cavaliers would actually miss the playoffs. That’s very uncharacteristic for a LeBron James-led team and concerning for a team that expects to be playing in the NBA Finals.

The Cavaliers are currently 7-7 and they hold the 9^th seed in the Eastern Conference. This is the worst start to a season LeBron James has ever had, except for his rookie year. That year the Cavaliers finished the year 37-45 and just barely missed the playoffs. This year’s Cavaliers look to be in a similar pickle.

The biggest issue for Cleveland is their defense. They are the worst defensive team in the league and rank last in defensive rating. Not only is this the worst in the league this year, it’s the worst in NBA history. No other team has ever had a worst defensive rating than the Cavaliers.

Cleveland’s roster is the oldest in the league and the reality is that their roster doesn’t have the energy to play defense at even a satisfactory level. Even LeBron James, the best player on the planet, isn’t giving his full effort on the defensive end of the court. Their defensive woes begin with their backcourt defense.

The guards on Cleveland’s roster are JR Smith (32), Iman Shumpert (28), Kyle Korver (36), Isaiah Thomas (28), José Calderón (36), Derrick Rose (29), and Dwayne Wade (35). None of these players are known for their defense.

In fact, most of them are considered defensive liabilities. Thomas stands at 5’9 and simply outmatched physically in every single one of his matchups. Wade, Smith, Korver, and Calderón just don’t have the athletic ability anymore to keep up with elite guards in today’s NBA. The NBA is dominated by the backcourt and the Cavaliers don’t have anyone to matchup with talented guards in the league.

It doesn’t get much better in the frontcourt. Yes, the Cavaliers do have LeBron James. James can guard just about anybody in the league but there’s no denying that as he gets older, he has become more conscious about the effort he puts into the regular season. He doesn’t guard the other team’s best player like he used to when he was younger and he visibly takes plays off at least during the regular season.

Kevin Love, like many of his teammates has always been considered a defensive liability throughout his career and Tristan Thompson is currently hurt with a calf injury. The Cavaliers acquired Jae Crowder to help out on the defensive end, but he hasn’t really made that much of an impact so far.

There is some saving grace for the Cavaliers. This season, they’ve played the Celtics, Bucks, Wizards, and Rockets. These are all playoff caliber teams and they’ve only lost to the Rockets in what was a close game until the final buzzer. This indicates that the Cavalier’s issues are more of an effort issue. That is an easy fix for professionals.

That doesn’t mean their defensive issues don’t exist. In the seven games they’ve won so far, they’ve allowed an average of 109 points. This isn’t good enough to achieve their ultimate goal of winning the NBA Finals where they’ll likely meet a team that is capable of scoring more than 109 points and much better on the defensive end than the Cavaliers.