David Blatt takes shot at Cavs' defense after brutal loss to Thunder

Jordan Greer

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David Blatt takes shot at Cavs' defense after brutal loss to Thunder image

To put it kindly, the Cavs are struggling mightily on the defensive end of the floor. An old coach happened to notice.

Before the Turkish BSL All-Star Game on Sunday, former Cavs and current Darussafaka coach David Blatt took a quick swipe at his old team after Cleveland lost to Oklahoma City in particularly humiliating fashion Saturday afternoon. The Thunder started the game on an 8-0 run and never looked back, destroying the Cavs by a final score of 148-124. After allowing 43 points in the first quarter alone, Cavs players were booed off the floor by the home crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.

MORE: LeBron on playoff outlook: "We could easily get bounced early"

Blatt, who led Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2015 and was unceremoniously fired in 2016 after a 30-11 start, took the opportunity to joke about the Cavs' porous defense during a pregame interview with NTV Sport.

"Well, I don’t think we're going to have any problem scoring. I'm just wondering if we're going to defend anybody. That's what I'm worried about," Blatt said. "I hope we don't give up as many points as the Cavaliers gave up last night."

Ouch. Blatt saw his opening and didn't miss the shot. 

Things have gone south quickly for the Cavs in January. In nine games this month, Cleveland is 3-6 with the worst defensive rating in the league (114.3). It has gotten to the point where even Cavs players are wondering if the problems are fixable.

Here's how The Athletic's Jason Lloyd described the scene after Saturday's loss:

This is the worst it has ever been. That cannot be overstated or exaggerated. The mood around the locker room, the vibe among players, the general feeling throughout the organization is a stunning bewilderment of how it all fell apart so quickly... Even LeBron James is privately acknowledging to those around him that this is the worst it has been since he returned.

It was already bad enough in Cleveland. Blatt just threw some salt in the wound.

UPDATE: Blatt's all-star squad technically didn't allow as many points as the Cavs — because the total was three points higher.

Jordan Greer

Jordan Greer Photo

Jordan Greer has been with The Sporting News since 2015. He previously worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is a graduate of Westminster College and Syracuse University.