Cavs Are Improvising in Blatt’s Offense.

It has been said that basketball is to sports as jazz is to music.

The game has structure, but the players improvise, and they have to in order to be successful at it.

That’s why we think it is funny when we hear the Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t running the offense that coach David Blatt wants to run.

The wine and gold are getting more confident with Blatt’s system, which is designed to move the ball without a lot of dribbling, because we are seeing the passing game more and more each game. But the players still go back to one-on-one play from time to time.

Of course, that may be the coach’s compromise to the players, especially guys like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving who can probably break down the player guarding them at any point in the game.

Coaches want the players to be players, not robots. So, if a play is designed and the player sees someone open under the basket, good coaches want the man with the ball to make the right basketball play.

That was in evidence in the Cavs’ win over the Clippers a couple of weeks ago late in the game.

Blatt designed an inbound play late in overtime, with James as the inbounder. Apparently, the play was to get the ball to Kyrie Irving around the three-point line, so if someone was to be fouled, it would be the team’s best free throw shooter.

However, James saw Tristan Thompson break to the hoop, uncovered. So, we made the correct read and fired it to Thompson for a dunk, while being fouled. That’s what coaches want, break the play, especially if it leads to an easy hoop.

No coach wants to run set plays every time down the floor. It’s one way to get the players to carry a grudge against the guy in charge.

Of course, there are coaches who are control freaks and want to micro-manage everything their team does, but usually those coaches have a very short shelf life.

Most coaches probably don’t even want to call plays, because that would mean a lot of transition baskets, and their players would know where the ball should go and when it should move.

Take Wednesday’s win over Portland, which extended the Cavaliers’ winning streak to eight games. Irving was really the only player who had things going for Cleveland, and the coach and his teammates recognized that and got him the basketball.

The result was a 55 point night for the former first overall pick, and a win for the Cavs.

The previous game, only James and Irving were hitting shots vs. Detroit, so they carried the load.

To be sure, that wasn’t the coach’s design going into the game, but everyone adapted, and it led to a victory.

Blatt doesn’t want his team to have to depend on huge nights by his two all-stars to win every night, but right now, a few players are struggling to make shots (yes, Kevin Love is in a bit of a slump), so James and Irving are carrying the load. There is nothing wrong with that.

Tonight, perhaps J.R. Smith might get it going or Love can get hot, or Timofey Mozgov will be able to score inside, and the players will depend and feed off of them. That’s the kind of sport basketball is.

Early in the year, there was too much one on one play and too many players looking for their shots, and the offense struggled. That seems to be changing.

That means the Cavs are playing as a team, and selfishness is disappearing.

That’s a good thing and it could mean better things are yet to come.

Manziel’s Future? It’s Up to Him.

Last year, the Cleveland Browns excited the NFL and fans of the team by moving up a few spots in the draft to take former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.

The media swarmed training camp and Manziel’s progress in practice and the pre-season were closely monitored by everyone.

He didn’t win the job to start the season as Brian Hoyer led the Browns to a 7-4 record, but Hoyer started to show some warts and Johnny Football made his debut against Buffalo and led Cleveland to a touchdown on his first drive.

Unfortunately, that was the high point of his season.

However, after Hoyer struggled mightily at home against the Colts, a game the defense played magnificently, coach Mike Pettine named the rookie the starter against Cincinnati.

The Bengals led 14-0 after the Browns had the ball once, a three and out, and the myth of “Johnny Football” was gone.

What if Hoyer played well against Indianapolis, making the Browns 8-5, keeping them in playoff contention, and Manziel didn’t see any action after the Bills game?

Everyone connected to the Browns would be looking forward to the first round pick being the starter going into the 2015 season, and no one would be doing stories about how unprepared the kid was to be the starter in those games.

But the games against the Bengals and Panthers did happen and now there are serious questions as to whether or not Manziel has a future in the NFL.

Those games could show Manziel that he needs to put a lot of work into his profession or he will be out of the league fairly soon. Whether he does this or not, the proof will be during the spring mini camps and when the team convenes in Berea (or wherever) in July.

Right now, it doesn’t look like he is making it a priority in his life to be a starting signal caller in the NFL. He appears to be more interested in being a celebrity.

So, what should the Browns do?

We have already advocated that six quarters of action isn’t enough of a look to decide Manziel can’t be an effective player in the league, but he needs to show he has the dedication and he needs an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach who will tell him the style he played in college won’t work in the professional ranks, and teach him to be a pro passer.

If Manziel comes to camp in July and doesn’t put the work in, then the Browns have a big decision, and we wouldn’t have any complaint if they let him go at that point.

Until then, GM Ray Farmer can’t put all his eggs in Manziel’s basket, nor should he settle for Brian Hoyer. The Browns need to attempt to upgrade the position if they want to get to the post-season.

In the meantime, the people who want to “send a message” to the locker room by cutting the rookie aren’t thinking clearly. They view him as a punk who will never amount to anything.

That’s short-sighted. He has some ability and the Browns owe it to themselves to find out if he has the determination and drive to be successful in the league. However, they can’t wait too long.

Six quarters isn’t enough of a sample size. What they really need to see is the level of commitment from the player himself.

Maybe Browns Need to Stop Chasing QBs

In Cleveland, football season consists of two parts: The regular season, when games are actually played, and the draft season, which sometimes starts in the middle of the fall, because the Browns are usually struggling.

Part of the draft season is the constant search for the “franchise quarterback”, something the brown and orange have lacked since the days of Bernie Kosar.

This winter, with Brian Hoyer a free agent and Johnny Manziel teetering on the edge of his professional career, the search for the quarterback is in full bloom.

As GM Ray Farmer said after the season ended, most teams don’t have elite QBs, so most team have to figure out a way to win without one. That’s the boat the Browns are in today.

It is ridiculous to listen to some of the theories espoused by fans in this regard.

Some are willing to suffer through a 1-15 season in order to get “the guy”.

First, it doesn’t appear that an Andrew Luck type (and that’s the type of guy you are looking at) will be available in the 2016 draft.

Others are willing to overpay for a veteran, even an injured one like Sam Bradford of the Rams. Yesterday, we heard 92.3’s Dustin Fox talk about giving up the 19th overall pick for Bradford, who has played seven games in the last two seasons combined.

That’s crazy in our books. Would we give up a third or fourth round pick for the former first overall pick? Yes, but dealing a first rounder (not to say Farmer would consider this) is typical of what the Browns have down over the years.

They are talking themselves into bad decisions. Remember that two of our elite passers, Ben Roethlisburger and Aaron Rodgers, fell to their respective teams. They didn’t trade up to get them.

On the other hand, the Browns seemed to talk themselves into Brady Quinn, Brandon Weeden, and Manziel. They were intrigued, but not “in love” with any of them, meaning there wasn’t a consensus within the organization that these were the guys to make Cleveland a winning team.

So, what should the Browns do this off-season? Well, we would look to upgrade the spot by bringing in a veteran, trying to find someone better than Hoyer.

Maybe Jake Locker or Matt Moore, or perhaps work a deal for Philadelphia’s Nick Foles or Bradford. However, we wouldn’t give up a first rounder in either deal, nor would we think their current teams would expect one.

As for Hoyer, remember that despite all of Manziel’s unpreparedness to play in the NFL, at least some in the organization thought they were better off with the rookie than Hoyer going into the Cincinnati game. That’s how bad Hoyer played in the weeks leading up to that contest.

It is up to the coaching staff and personnel department to figure out a way to win with average quarterback play. Want a role model? Look within your own state, where the Bengals do it on a year in, year out basis.

A strong running game and a solid defense can win you many football games, just look at Seattle, who has a chance to defend its Super Bowl title next week.

Yes, Russell Wilson is a very good QB, but he is at least third on the list of reasons as to why the Seahawks win.

Do the Browns need to upgrade at quarterback? Of course, but it’s time they stopped passing on better players to pick people just to take them. It’s like they are a desperate high school senior right before prom.

Farmer and Mike Pettine has accumulated a lot of solid players at other positions. Maybe they should be dominant at other spots to cover for the weakness behind center.

The K in Kipnis Should Be For Key

The Cleveland Indians’ offense was inconsistent at best last season. They finished in the top half of the American League in runs scored (7th), but they scored three runs or less in exactly half of their games, going 25-56 when that occurred.

This means when they reached four runs, their record was 60-21, an outstanding mark. So, if the Tribe can cut back on some of those games where they score under four runs, their record should improve.

As a comparison, the Indians’ main rivals in the Central Division, the Detroit Tigers, scored three runs or less in 63 games, 18 less than Cleveland. The AL West champs, the Angels had this occur 65 times.

Kansas City, who most think have a mediocre offense, couldn’t get to the four run mark 79 times.

How do the Indians improve the scoring? Well, we are sure they are hoping for Brandon Moss, acquired from Oakland this winter, will help by providing more pop, having hit 25 home runs in ’14 and 30 dingers in ’13.

However, the key to the Tribe scoring more runs in 2015 is Jason Kipnis.

In 2013, Kipnis made his first all-star game appearance, hitting .284 with 17 homers and an 818 OPS. Last year, he got off to a slow start and battled injuries, his numbers dropped to just .240 with six home runs, none after the end of July.

In fact, in the season’s last two months, Kipnis batted a paltry .235 with only five runs batted in. Despite that, Terry Francona showed a lot of confidence in him by continuing to put him in the middle of the lineup.

Obviously, the Indians need the soon to be 28-year-old to be more like the guy who played in 2013 if the offense is to improve. And at that age, he should be in the prime of his career, plus his new six-year, $52 million contract kicks in this season, so Cleveland owes him a lot of cash over the next five seasons.

To make it simple, if Kipnis isn’t an above average offensive player over the next three to four seasons, the Indians will be in a lot of trouble.

He got paid off of the ’13 season, but his second season in the big leagues (2012) wasn’t outstanding either, as his OPS was just 714. His average was .257 and although he did bang 14 long balls, he only had 40 extra base hits. He accumulated 57 in 2013.

So, there should be some concern that last year wasn’t a total fluke.

Kipnis walked 76 times in ’13, but just 50 times last season, and the injuries shouldn’t be an excuse there, unless something was wrong with his eyes. He swung at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone and struggled with men on base, hitting just .221 with runners on. He hit .300 in this situation the prior year.

He also struggled at Progressive Field, batting just .218 there last season, compared to .288 in ’13.

Many fans talk about Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn as players the Indians need to be productive to make a run in 2015, but the simpler answer is a return by Kipnis to something close to his 2013 numbers.

If he can, Francona’s lineup should be much more productive. If he can’t, the Tribe will need to do something about a guy they owe a lot of cash to in the coming years.

Remaining Schedule Should Help Cavaliers

There is no question that the Western Conference of the NBA is much stronger than the East.

Currently, the Brooklyn Nets are the 8th seed in the East with a 17-24 record, a mark that would rank them 12th in the West. The Cavs, who sit in the fifth spot in on the right half of the NBA grid at 22-20, would be on the outside looking in if they played out west.

And there is no question the wine and gold have struggled this season, especially in the first couple of weeks in January, when they lost six in a row before winning the last three.

However, right now the Cavs have played the most games against the tougher conference in the NBA, and they are 6-11 in those games.

The team with the best record in the East, Atlanta, has played 30 of their 42 games in their own conference, a difference of five contests. They are 10-2 in those dozen games, but they will no doubt have a tougher slate in front of them.

Washington has the conference’s second best record and they’ve played 28 games in the East, going 9-5 vs. the West.

Toronto, the third seed, is the only team ahead of the Cavs in the standings that have played a similar amount of games as the wine and gold, having played 26 inter-conference games. The Raptors are 9-6 against the west.

Now, it is most definitely true that a 6-11 mark against the Western Conference is nothing to be proud of, especially compared to the top three teams, but the point is, the Cavaliers have fewer games against the tougher teams, and they don’t have to make any more west coast trips.

Which brings us back to the Wizards and Raptors, who have played four and five more home games than road games so far this season. Of course, this means they will play more on the road in the second half of the season, another advantage for the Cavaliers, who have split their 42 games right down the middle.

The Hawks, currently in another stratosphere, have actually played more on the road through 42 contests.

Milwaukee, immediately behind Cleveland in the standings, will get to play more at home than on the road for the balance of the season, having played just 18 of their 41 games in Beer Town.

On the other hand, they’ve only played 14 games out of conference, meaning they will see a steady diet of western squads for the balance of the campaign.

All this means that the Cavs have a solid chance to improve their lot in the standings if they stay healthy going forward and continue to play together. And obviously, if they can make up the ground between themselves and the Bulls (currently Cleveland is 4-1/2 games behind), they would get home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

With two more games vs. Philadelphia (yes, we know they lost the first game between the two teams), three more games against the Celtics, and two more with the depleted Pacers, they are opportunities for the Cavaliers to make up some ground.

And it is a big advantage not having to travel further than the central time zone again.

It’s no excuse, but David Blatt’s team hasn’t had the easiest schedule thus far, there has been a lot of travelling. Now comes the payoff for that slate, the wine and gold won’t go far from home the rest of the year.

Here’s Our Rating of NFL’s Top QBs

Recently, Browns’ GM Ray Farmer made the comment that most teams in the NFL play without elite quarterbacks, so they have to figure out a way to win.

We agree with that statement because we don’t think there are that many elite passers in the game today, although many fans and media alike would disagree.

During the playoffs, we’ve seen the following players described as being in that class: Tony Romo and Cam Newton. Guess what? They aren’t “elite”.

This is different from the term “franchise quarterbacks”, because which Romo and Newton are a part of because their teams aren’t looking for a new passer. Those teams have put their future in the hands of players like Romo, Newton, Joe Flacco, etc.

And another thing, winning a Super Bowl doesn’t make you an elite quarterback either. Yes, we are well aware Flacco did just that with the Ravens, but Eli Manning has won two championship rings, and of course, we can point to Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer doing the same thing.

And at this point with just three seasons under his belt, one winning a title, we can’t put Russell Wilson there just yet.

In order to be at the top of the heap at this position, the most important position in team sports, you have to be a player who can win a game, basically by yourself, and demonstrate it on a regular basis.

For our money, the top five quarterbacks in the NFL are as follows, in no particular order–

Tom Brady
Peyton Manning
Andrew Luck
Ben Roethlisberger
Aaron Rodgers

Yes, we understand Manning is fading and it’s been since the 2008 season since Big Ben won his second, but those are the elite guys in the NFL.

Brady and Rodgers are playing today to get another chance at a Super Bowl ring, and Luck is trying to make it for the first time.

The next five based on the totality of their careers would be, once again in no particular order–

Drew Brees
Russell Wilson
Philip Rivers
Eli Manning
Matt Ryan

First of all, see what we mean about not being that many “elite” QBs. Two of the players on this list (Rivers and Ryan) have never been to a Super Bowl, and have only been to the conference championship game once each.

Now, we are sure one of the questions will be about the omission of Flacco, who is a solid NFL quarterback.

First, we’ve witnessed too many “blah” games against the Browns over the years.

Second, in the seven years Flacco has been the starter, the Ravens have never ranked in the top ten in yardage, and has only been in the top ten in points scored twice.

Romo? His history shows he makes too many key mistakes at the wrong time. Newton? Not enough of a track record, and the Panthers’ offense has regressed since his rookie season.

So, that’s why we agree with Farmer. Many people around Cleveland just think if we don’t have the quarterback, the Browns should either tank the season to get one, or our perpetually doomed.

The coaching staff and front office can’t think that way. They need to figure out another way to get it done. Guys like Manning and Luck don’t come around too often, and as we are all aware, Brady was a 6th round pick.

Roethlisberger and Rodgers feel into their team respective laps.

The Browns made progress in the win column in 2014, the organization has to keep moving in the right direction, elite quarterback or not.

Cavs Biggest Problems: Defense, Three Point Shooting

By the end of this week, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have played half of their NBA schedule, and no one thought they would be struggling this much.

They are currently sitting below the .500 mark at 19-20, far from the juggernaut many experts predicted before the season started with LeBron James returned to the team, and GM David Griffin traded for Kevin Love.

Yes, there are a lot of new players that started the season with the wine and gold, and the recent trades made by Griffin have added three more new players (one of whom, Iman Shumpert hasn’t played yet), and that makes continuity and knowing your teammates very difficult.

The biggest problems seem to be on the defensive end, where right now it appears there isn’t a consistent effort on a nightly basis.

Part of the problem is the lack of quickness on the players defending the perimeter. That problem means they play off of the opponent to stop penetration, and then cannot recover to contest the jump shot. This has led in part to allowing a 51.6% defensive field goal percentage thus far, second worst in the league behind only Minnesota.

It seems like teams hit an inordinate amount of three-point shots against the Cavs, but the wine and gold ranks 19th defensively against the long distance shot. That’s not great, but they are getting hurt inside the arc.

In terms of defensive efficiency, the Cavs rank as the sixth worst defense in the NBA. That needs to improve and quickly.

Yes, we understand that Love and Kyrie Irving aren’t good defensively, but you can cover that up by team concepts. Right now, the team scheme needs to be revamped because it’s not getting it done.

Cleveland allows the sixth most dunk attempts in the league, but don’t allow a lot of layup attempts. However, opponents convert a good percentage of those layup attempts, which Timofey Mozgov should help with.

Where the Cavs get killed is on jump shots of between 16 feet and the three-point line, as opponents are making 46.3% of their shots, two percent more than the next worst team Toronto. Besides the Raptors, no one else is giving up more than 42.6% of these shots.

That’s because the perimeter defenders are having a problem closing out on shooters.

Oddly, this ties into the other problem, the lack of three-point shooting. Cleveland ranks 18th in the NBA offensively, which is disappointing for a team with Irving, Love, Mike Miller, and James Jones on it. The thought before the season was with all the ability the Cavs have going to the basket, these guys would have plenty of good looks from beyond the arc.

Irving shot close to 40% in his first two years in the league, but shot just 36% last year and is sitting around that mark again this season.

Love came into the season hitting 36% of his shots from distance, but he’s dropped to 34% this season.

Miller has been over 40% each of the last three seasons, but he’s dropped to 35.3% in 2014-15.

Jones is a career 40% shooter that is making 36.8% of those shots this season.

The latter two are big problems because they don’t provide the perimeter defense the Cavs need, and they aren’t making as many shots as they have in the past. And quite frankly, if Miller and Jones aren’t hitting shots, there is no reason to put them on the floor.

David Blatt would be better served playing Joe Harris, who is a little better defensively, at this point in time.

At this point, the Cavs still seem to be using the roster turnover as an excuse, which it shouldn’t be half way through the season. They really need to just start playing hard, especially defensively.

One other thing. This team needs to get out and run, but if the other team keeps scoring, it’s difficult to get transition buckets.

The defense has to get fixed right now.

Tribe Should Emphasize Plusses, Not Lack of Cash

Spring training is a little over a month away, and sports fans through northeastern Ohio are starting to think about baseball. The cold, cold winter does that to you.

On Friday, Indians’ president Mark Shapiro was doing a radio interview and when asked about the roster brought up (once again) that the team is financially limited.

Most of the interview was Shapiro talking about what the Indians have focused on most of the winter, namely the construction at Progressive Field. We get that, he’s the president now, not the general manager, so he doesn’t want to steal GM Chris Antonetti’s thunder.

However, it almost seems like a reflex for anyone in the organization to bring this up when talking about trying the add talent to the current roster.

And it is a sensitive buzzword for many potential ticket buyers. As we have said before, like it or not, perception is reality and the perception around Cleveland is the ownership is cheap.

We get it.

Most fans understand the Indians will never be able to have one of the top ten payrolls in the sport. However, there are many teams in the sport who have managed to stay relevant without spending $150 million on talent.

So, we will play public relations/advertising consultant for the Indians. Why not talk about the positives the Tribe has going into this season.

1). The Indians have had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 2000-01 years, and made the playoffs in 2013, and were still alive in the playoff chase until the last weekend of the 2014 season.

2). They have a widely respected manager in Terry Francona, who has piloted two World Series winners.

3). They are the only team in the American League with a player who finished in the top three in both the Cy Young Award voting (Corey Kluber) and the MVP voting (Michael Brantley). Really, the only team in baseball because although a Dodger claimed both awards in the NL, it was the same guy (Clayton Kershaw).

4). The Indians have a good core of young players. Their best players are Brantley, Kluber, Yan Gomes, Cody Allen, and Carlos Santana. All are under 30 years old.

5). They have one of the game’s top prospects in SS Francisco Lindor, who should make his big league debut in 2015.

6). The last two months of the ’14 season were highlighted by excellent starting pitching, led by Kluber, but also with dominant months from Carlos Carrasco (27), Danny Salazar (24), Trevor Bauer (23), and T. J. House (24).

7). The Indians had the sixth best ERA in the American League, and they did it with the youngest pitching staff in the AL at 27.2 years of age. And that figure includes the ageless Scott Atchison.

8). They traded for a left-handed slugger who made the All Star team in 2014 in Brandon Moss, who, by the way, also hit two home runs in the wild card game.

9). Although the players are far away, the ’14 amateur draft was rated the best in baseball by Baseball America.

Those are things to talk about if you want to encourage people to purchase tickets. That, and get rid of the dynamic ticket pricing that most fans dislike.

There are plenty of positives to talk about with the Cleveland Indians that don’t involve money and/or ripping seats out of Progressive Field.

We just wish the front office would talk about these instead of playing the “small market” card.

The Reshaping of Cavs Should Be Complete

The one thing you can say about Cavs GM David Griffin is that he isn’t afraid of change.

After watching his basketball team struggle more than expected, Griffin didn’t sit back and hope things would get better, he did something about it.

It has been painfully obvious if you know the game of basketball that the main problem for the wine and gold has been on the defensive end. They have ranked among the best teams in the NBA in offensive efficiency. The two trades made in the last few days have addressed the problem when the opponent has the ball.

The Cavaliers have had problems stopping perimeter jump shots and also have had breakdowns when opponents have gone to the basket. Picking up Iman Shumpert helps with the first issue and is a solid enough defender to stop penetration as well.

And if they do get to the hole, Griffin’s latest acquisition, Timofey Mozgov will be there to provide resistance.

Quite simply, Mozgov is a large man at 7’1″ and 250 pounds. He averaged 8.5 points and almost 8 rebounds (7.8) per game and is a career 51.3% shooter from the floor. Those numbers were compiled playing a little over half the game at 25.6 minutes per night. And he’s not horrible from the line either at a little over 73%.

But the biggest thing is he provides a presence and size inside that the Cavs haven’t had all year. Let’s face it, Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao are really power forwards masquerading as centers, and while they are solid defenders, they don’t provide the bulk or height needed to make opponents think twice about going to the hoop.

And Brendan Haywood hasn’t been dazzling when he has received minutes either.

Many people have questioned the deal because of the cost, as Griffin gave up two first round draft picks, a steep price for a player who averages less than 10 point and 10 rebounds per night.

However, if Mozgov has the desired effect, then the cost shouldn’t be an issue.

Not to compare the big man to Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond, but what if the same thing happens now as when Thurmond arrived in November of 1975.

When Thurmond was dealt to Cleveland on November 27th of that year, the Cavaliers were 6-11 after losing to the then Kansas City Kings 95-91. Bill Fitch’s squad went 43-22 the rest of the season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

Nate only averaged 17 minutes per game for that team, but he was the right fit at the right time.

If Mozgov proves to be a good fit and the Cavaliers get healthy and make a good playoff run, then giving up two first round picks, neither of which will probably be in the top half of the round, is inconsequential.

And it’s not as though Mozgov is an aging player, he’s 28-years-old, and should be a solid NBA player for many years.

That’s another good thing about the moves Griffin made. Shumpert will not turn 25 until after the end of the current season, so his future is in front of him as well.

When LeBron James and Shumpert get back from their injuries, you have a starting five of those two, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and probably Mozgov. That will enable David Blatt to bring these players off the bench: J.R. Smith, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion, Thompson, and his favorite, Matthew Dellavedova.

If Blatt doesn’t give the subs minutes then, maybe he doesn’t have an NBA future.

And in making the deals now, it gives the Cavaliers more time to learn each other prior to the playoffs. If he had waited until the deadline, it would have put that process behind another five weeks.

Regardless, kudos to Griffin for seeing the current roster wasn’t working and going out and trying to fix it. He gave it plenty of time, more than 25% of the season.

Now, let’s see how this version of the Cavs works out.

Griffin Makes the First Move To Improve Cavs Roster

The recent struggles by the Cleveland Cavaliers are partially the result of the injuries, but also an indication that the current roster wasn’t working.

We just wrote a couple of days ago that it was incumbent on GM David Griffin to do something to improve the bench.

That’s the reason Griffin chose to make a significant change, dealing Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three team deal that netted guard Iman Shumpert and swingman J.R. Smith.

Griffin parted with veteran Lou Amundsen and rookie Alex Kirk as part of the deal.

Really, it appeared more and more that Waiters wasn’t accepting his role with the current group of Cavaliers. In Sunday’s loss to Dallas, he kept trying to drive to the basket when a lane wasn’t there and took a series of questionable shots that didn’t appear to be part of the offense.

While the focus of many have been on the enigmatic Smith, the real key to the trade is Shumpert, a 24-year-old who can be the wing defender needed by the wine and gold.

Although he is currently sidelined with a shoulder separation, Shumpert is a capable shooter from behind the arc (34% lifetime), but he makes his bones on the defensive end. And that has been a huge problem for the Cavs over the last month.

Smith is a scorer, averaging 13.3 points per game in his career, and is known as a guy who when he gets it going can turn a game around. He has made 37% of his three-point shots during his time in the NBA.

Smith will take the role that coach David Blatt wanted Waiters to have, that of instant offense off the bench, and Griffin picked up a solid wing defender as well. And outside of James Jones, who is limited in other areas, mainly defense, Smith is needed because Mike Miller hasn’t provided the outside shooting the Cavs thought they were getting when they signed him.

And, by the way, picked up a first round pick from Oklahoma City, which can be an asset in a future move, probably in bringing a big man, which the Cavaliers also need.

Which brings us to Samuel Dalembert, who was released by the Knicks as part of this trade. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Dalembert, who is a solid, defensive oriented big man, eventually winds up in Cleveland for the veteran minimum.

He’s a “rim protector”, the new lexicon for a guy who can block shots and rebounds.

The deal will likely put Shumpert in the starting lineup at the two guard with Miller going back to a reserve role, along with Smith to provide shooting. If they sign Dalembert, it would give the coach four solid players off the bench along with Matthew Dellavedova.

And Shumpert and Dalembert should also improve the defense which has been the main weakness for the Cavs over the last month.

With the trade exemptions and the first round picks Cleveland possesses (Memphis and Oklahoma City), Griffin still has ammunition to go out and get yet another big man. Even when Anderson Varejao was healthy, the wine and gold was one big short, so there is still a need to add another.

Yes, the adjustment period will probably get longer now with new players coming aboard, but if the Cavs are clicking in March, they will be the team no one wants to face in the playoffs. And with the core still being LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, they can still make a long run in the East.