HOUSTON -- The countless questions about Cleveland's ranking in the main defensive categories have been exhausted over the last couple of years.

The 2017-18 season seemed to be the low point. Then came this year.

Coaches, players, executives, they are all aware of the numbers.

Last in opponent field goal percentage. Fifth from the bottom in opponent 3-point percentage. They are 23rd in points allowed, perhaps a shocking number considering they've given up at least 140 points in back-to-back games. Last in defensive rating, allowing 117.2 points per 100 possessions -- nearly four points worse than the also-rebuilding New York Knicks.

Only five teams have fewer steals. No one ranks lower in blocks, as the Cavs lack any semblance of rim protection -- a key ingredient for some of the NBA's top defensive teams (Oklahoma City, Utah, Indiana, Memphis, Miami).

Those are the numbers. They are unavoidable. The real question is why are they so bad? What (who?) is at the root of the issue?

"We don't have good defenders. Period," one player told cleveland.com late Friday night.

When asked for specific names, that same player declined to single anyone out before offering a slight hint.

"Watch the tape. You can see it. You can't hide them," he told cleveland.com. "Those teams will find the two of them in particular and attack, attack, attack. There are times when analytics and numbers are just numbers. This is not one of those times."

You don't have to be a gumshoe to crack this case.

Cedi Osman's defensive rating is 120.2. That's the worst mark for any player in the NBA who has logged more than 200 minutes this season. With Osman on the court, the opponents' offensive rating is a whopping 125.8. Foes have an effective field goal percentage of 58.0. With Osman off the floor, the numbers drop to 114.1 and 51.8 percent respectively.

Then comes rookie Collin Sexton, whose defensive rating is 118.0. It's the league's second-worst mark. With him on the court, the opponent's offensive rating is 124.7 and they have an effective field goal percentage of 57.4. With him off the floor, those numbers drop to 116.3 and 53.1 percent.

Now, this isn't entirely on them. Both are young and inexperienced. Even members of the organization have admitted they are asking the duo to carry too much of a burden at this stage of their development. But that's been forced upon them thanks to a nasty domino effect of unpredictable circumstances.

Not only is Osman playing more than 31 minutes per night -- a chance for the organization to get a better idea of his ceiling -- the Cavs were asking the 23-year-old swingman to defend the opponent's best player early in the season while also serving as one of the primary playmakers on offense.

Osman, essentially a rookie, showed he wasn't ready for that much responsibility and the poor metrics probably correlate a little bit with those October assignments.

Sexton isn't physically prepared yet. He just turned 20 and he's never had to navigate such powerful screens. He's never broken down film to this degree and had to know the level of detail involved in defending the pick and roll.

These are the natural growing pains of a young roster -- a group that has had very little continuity and far too many injuries.

How can the Cavs limit Osman's playing time when David Nwaba has missed 16 games this season, including the last seven, and Rodney Hood has been in and out of the lineup? Not to mention Kevin Love's early-season injury that has forced Osman to spend a large chunk of time as an undersized power forward.

The Cavs recently signed Cameron Payne to a 10-day contract to take some of the pressure off Sexton. Payne also provides an insurance policy in case Matthew Dellavedova continues to fight injuries. But before that, it was tough to tone down Sexton's workload because of a lack of available options.

How are the Cavs supposed to find what scheme works best when the group isn't together long enough to get those answers? How are they supposed to get into a rhythm and create an identity when there are constant changes?

On Friday morning, head coach Larry Drew was asked a few more questions about the defense, after the Cavaliers had allowed the New Orleans Pelicans to score 140 points, including 81 in the second half. This was hours before his team gave up a new season-worst 141 to Houston.

Do you have the personnel to be that kind of defense (a gritty one that does the little things)?

"I don't know. I don't know what we have right now, to be perfectly honest with you," Drew admitted. "I think what we do have we're going to continue to try to challenge these guys every game we play. Hopefully we can come up with better numbers. I'm kind of a realist when it comes to that. I take what we have and try to make it work.

"The message to our guys is every single night we step out on the court we're going to have to leave it on the floor because defensively that's how we are built. That's the makeup of our team. We have to play a grimy game. It can't be a passive game, can't be a cute game. We have to make it ugly. In order for us to even put ourselves in a position to win games, that's just who we are and how we have to play."

Then came another question.

What's realistically possible for this team on that end of the floor?

"I'm looking for, more than anything, just the consistency," he said. "I think that happens when you do come out and play solid defense, you play with an aggression, you don't give up second rebounds, you come up with loose balls, you come up with 50-50 balls. That's the thing I'm looking for more than anything."

The Cavs are bottom 10 in the league in deflections, averaging 12.3. They are last in loose balls recovered and contesting 2s. They are fifth-worst in overall contested shots.

The truth is, the answers to keep from being on the wrong side of history don't exist.

The Cavs have used 18 starting lineups. When they switch to a zone, they give up an abundance of wide-open 3's, including a handful from the corners. Some nights they've been forced to use nine players because of the lengthy injury list. Fatigue sets in, which often results in a lack of attention to detail and poor communication.

Drew has spoken a few times about how his short-handed squad tends to wear down. The team's best defensive player, Nwaba, can't seem to stay healthy. The roster is littered with poor defenders, which was a concern going into the season.

Nights when the offense is sluggish, shaky and out of rhythm, certainly doesn't help either. It's all tied together.

Oh, and, of course, playing young guys often leads to mistakes.

"We are asking guys to play a lot more minutes than they are used to and I think we are asking guys to have a lot on their plate," said Channing Frye. "A lot of it is experience, injuries and just the fact that like, what is (Sexton) supposed to do with someone like Jrue Holiday, you know? Not that they are excuses, but you have to look at it like, 'Damn, we are behind the 8-ball already.'"

This season is about growing. For Osman and Sexton in particular, the focus must shift to defense. As one player said late Friday night, there's no hiding from the film and at some point the crutches need to go away.

Defense is also about heart, desire and effort. Do you take it personally when your man scores? Is it painful to let teams get buckets with relative ease?

Is that desire there with this Cavaliers group? Do players even have the ambition to climb to a respectable level?

"No. I don't think so," one player told cleveland.com. "It's not there with some."