I wasn’t planning on writing again until this weekend. My plan was to get through tonight’s circus in New York and then recap the week from the comfort of my couch on Sunday. But I’m far too angry to let this go. Don’t worry, I’ll keep the rant short.

On Tuesday, the Cavs continued the trend of starting off games like they are taking a siesta. They got routed by the hapless Wizards and quickly found themselves in an 18 point hole. This is a red flag. Mike Brown is not properly preparing his team for these games. Acting like these games don’t matter isn’t working!

Luckily they cranked up their defensive intensity and destroyed Washington over the next three quarters to get the win. Smiles all around and horseplay ensued. Seemed like old times! I thought they had turned a corner. Everyone did. Now they were going to go on a run, right?

Not so much. Another awful first quarter last night against the Bulls was followed up with an even worse second quarter. 16 points scored in a quarter is absolutely unforgiveable for a team with so many weapons. There was no fire, no intensity. The defense was abysmal and nobody was making shots. Anthony Parker continues to miss layups and for the love of God, can somebody on this team make a technical free throw???? By my count the Cavs are now 1-6 on techs. That’s a blistering 16.6% from the line when nobody is allowed to get within 15 feet of the shooter. Way to focus on the details, guys! This is in addition to the craptastic regular free throw shooting in this game (12-20) and so far for the year (68.7%). That year to date FT% is second last in the NBA with only the Bucks shooting worse on freebies. Yeah, that’s the company I want my team to be in.

All of this pales in comparison to the major problem that is plaguing the Cavs right now. That is, Mike Brown is not a good coach. Don’t go off the deep end, I’m not calling for his firing or even saying he’s a terrible coach. He’s just flawed. I felt last year like he got himself to a point where he knows what his limitations are and consciously supplemented where he could from his staff (John Kuester) so that the team didn’t suffer from his shortcomings. But apparently there’s more to it than that. Brown can coach defense pretty well, as has been documented. However, even that skill set seems to have a flaw. I’m going to lay out all of Mike Brown’s warts, as I see them today, in three parts.

Defense Yeah, I know he’s a defensive genius, yadda, yadda. How many times did Chicago drive the length of the court last night and get an easy layup? Rose and Hinrich both did it at least 3 times each, singlehandedly shredding the supposedly great Cavs defense by simply dribbling the ball. Some say that’s the players’ fault. I agree, but only the first time. When it happens over and over, that’s a coaching problem. Brown was either ignoring that it was happening, didn’t notice that it was a problem, or didn’t know how to get his players to deal with it better. Red. Flag.

Also, the Mike Brown defensive system doesn’t always work. Orlando figured out how to beat it and the Celtics certainly did this year. What is his backup plan? Has anybody seen the “Mike Brown Plan B Defense?” I haven’t. He sticks to his plan, regardless of whether it’s working or not. Sometimes an increase in defensive intensity is enough to turn things around. But sometimes you need to change tactics. Mike Brown is completely unable to do so.

Offense Mike Brown doesn’t know it. He’s hapless on offense. The Cavs currently average 93.5 points per game, good for 24th in the NBA. If Brown is currently in charge of this putridity they’re showing us every night, he needs to put all his offensive eggs into Mike Malone’s basket and let his assistant run the offense. If Mike Malone is currently running the offense, then Danny Ferry needs to hire somebody who has coaching experience to come in and take over offensive coaching. Period. I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.

Rotations This is the one everybody is talking about today. Scott at Waiting for Next Year is calling for the removal of the “Twin Towers” lineup. I still think there are some situations where the Shaq and Z combo will work (Washington, for one). But I mention it here in the context of Mike Brown’s decision making regarding the rotation. Let’s use last night as an example. Even on paper, it’s obvious that the Bulls don’t have a real center. They don’t have a big guy who will dominate the low block. What they have is young, athletic, active bigs with huge wingspans who all like to run and gun. How, exactly, is a lineup with two aging 7 footers who could charitably be described as “slow of foot” going to be effective against that? I said in the pre-season that the Twin Towers approach is worth a try in some situations. Mike Brown has used it in EVERY GAME. A “one size fits all” approach to the NBA is destined to fail because each team is so different. Plus it completely squanders the potential flexibility inherent in the Cavs’ current roster. Change it up some, Mike! Be unpredictable!

Against the Cavs’ offense, Noah, Thomas, and Taj Gibson (a rookie) buzzed around the Twin Towers like gnats and disrupted everything. Against the Cavs’ defense, those same guys were way too quick for Shaq or Z to stop in the paint or on the break and then Brad Miller got open plenty of times to knock down mid range jumpers. It was clear in the first half to anyone watching that the big lineup wasn’t getting it done. Did Mike Brown go small in the second half? Nope. He trotted out the Towers again and got run on some more. When he finally did go small, for all of 3 or 4 minutes in the fourth, the Cavs took the lead back and looked in control. Why not stick with what’s working?

Are you aware that Chicago not only outscored the Cavs last night on the break (17-13) but also in the paint (38-36)? If the Twin Towers lineup was effective against the Bulls, those numbers would have been reversed. Mike Brown didn’t recognize it, stuck to his silly guns, and got beat. Vinny Del Negro knew it. At every timeout he was screaming at his Bulls to “keep running” and “just shoot.” And Vinny’s not even a great coach! He’s simply telling his team to keep doing what was working. This is basketball 101 stuff!

A similar lack of judgment has been on display regarding the bench. And not just last night, where J.J. played only 3 minutes and Moon played… wait, let me check… carry the 1 and… Right, zero minutes. Why? Because the guys Mike Brown was bringing off the bench were so effective? No, that can’t be it because Z was 0-9 and Delonte was 1-4. This isn’t the first time Mike Brown’s substitution decisions have been questioned. Why has Danny Green not even gotten dressed? He’s not on the injury report and there’s an open spot on the active roster. He’s in street clothes everyday!

On the one hand, if you have to go to Danny Green for a spark, you’re already in trouble. But do you want to know a secret? The Cavs are in trouble. Mike Brown may say that they were in the game right at the end and had a chance… hogwash. Chicago is an inferior team to begin with, and their starting point guard is not fully back from an injury, and their starting power forward had the flu, AND they were playing on OUR court! The Cavs should have destroyed the Bulls last night and it’s becoming clear that Mike Brown is the reason this team is faltering. Sure, Delonte is a distraction. Sure, the schedule has been brutal. Yes, there are new pieces to work in. If it looked like Mike Brown had things under control, I wouldn’t be so concerned. But it doesn’t look that way, so I am concerned.

I said I’d be brief but, well, I guess I lied. I’ll end with this. The Cavs are in New York tonight. What kind of lineup do the Knicks have? Run and gun, baby. Mike D’Antoni and his ridiculous “Seven Seconds or Less” offense will be in full effect. David Lee is a rebounding machine, but gives up a lot of size to Shaq, so the Big Witness Protection should be able to do his thing. But look who they have at power forward. Wilson Chandler is 6-8 and 22 years old. Al Harrington is 6-9 and never stops shooting from the outside. Even if they play someone like Jordan Hill at PF, he’s 6-10, but young and athletic. All of those guys will smoke Z at the 4 with their speed, agility, and aggressiveness. If Mike Brown does the equivalent of banging his head against a wall tonight by using the Twin Towers lineup, I fear I may finally put my remote through my television.

Good Luck, Cavs.

Kevin Hignett hawks insurance during the day. He spends the rest of his time being a dad and dreaming of a mid-June parade in downtown Cleveland. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinHignett