The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a better start than most people expected, winning four of their first nine games, and then lost by one point on the road to the 76ers, one of the NBA’s better teams.
They’ve lost the last four games by 11, 19, 18, and 24 points, and the first of those losses, at home to Miami, wasn’t as close as the final margin indicates.
The Cavs don’t have a deep roster, and it is well known they have plenty of very young players, and injuries have started to creep up, and that hasn’t helped the situation.
Especially when the squad’s big men, of which there aren’t many, are the people who are missing games.
Larry Nance Jr. is out with a sore thumb, and Kevin Love missed a loss to the Knicks with a sore back, and Tristan Thompson missed last night’s contest in Miami.
Thompson is the tallest of the trio at 6’9″, with Love at 6’8″ and Nance a small forward like 6’7″
Remember that two other tall men, John Henson (6’9″) and Ante Zizic (6’10”) have been available for four games combined in the 2019-20 campaign.
This is a continuation of the past few years where the wine and gold simply don’t have enough size on the roster, whether it be due to injuries or just not having the players.
Cleveland has gone with a three man rotation at center/power forward most of the year with Love, Thompson, and Nance. Since Zizic has returned, either Nance, Love, or Thompson, or two of the three have been out.
Henson appeared in one game, giving Cleveland four big men, and the Cavaliers won that game.
And it’s not just up front that the Cavs are small. Cedi Osman is the small forward and he’s 6’7″, and is backed up principally by rookie Kevin Porter Jr., who is listed at 6’4″.
Cleveland is also starting a pair of 6’1″ guards in Collin Sexton and rookie Darius Garland. Jordan Clarkson (6’4″) and Matthew Dellavedova (6’3″) are the reserves.
So, the Cavs’ backcourt is very small, and their frontcourt isn’t exactly huge either.
Look at the defending champion Toronto Raptors. They start veteran Marc Gasol (6’11”) at center, Pascal Siakam (6’9″) at the 4, and OG Anunoby (6’7″) at small forward.
When Love and Nance were out against the Knicks, coach John Beilein started Osman at PF and Porter Jr. at SF.
New York, with three long players in the starting lineup, dominated the wine and gold in the paint.
Being short (no pun intended) of length, Beilein needs perfect execution offensively, which he isn’t getting, and defensively, he has a problem.
Thankfully, Love and Thompson were excellent rebounders, so Cleveland doesn’t get beat too badly on the boards when they are playing.
What can Beilein do?
He can change his combinations to have more size. He could start by bringing Garland off the bench, replacing him in the starting lineup with Porter. That would give the Cavs a more traditional lineup with a bigger guard.
He could also give Alfonso McKinnie (6’7″) more time, perhaps shrinking Dellavedova’s minutes. And when Henson can play again, you could play Nance some at small forward too.
And sending Garland to the bench doesn’t mean cutting his minutes either. It just means limiting the minutes where he and Sexton are on the floor together.
We believe Beilein will make the adjustments. After being very competitive in the first nine games, his team has been blown out four straight games.
Also, the Cavs rank 5th from the bottom in three point shooting percentage. Shorter teams that can’t shoot doesn’t seem to be a blueprint for success in today’s game.
How long is the coach’s patience? We may find out soon.
MW
Cleveland Sports Perspective 