Sometimes when you set a goal, once you reached it you are satisfied, and the will to push further just isn’t there. That’s the way we feel about the Cleveland Cavaliers this past season.
After last season’s failure to advance in the “play in” tournament, the organization said they wanted to get to a best of seven series, which they did by finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference. And that’s why a lot of the message coming out of the team was that it was a successful season.
They attained their goal.
Of course, that’s what happens when you set too low of a standard. No, the Cavs weren’t going to win the NBA title this season, but the front office and coaching staff should set a standard of going as far as they can in a given year.
And if that was the goal, is that why Koby Altman and Mike Gansey did nothing at the deadline? After all, there was no one out there who would have put Cleveland in the NBA Finals.
We know what Altman said in his press conference after the wine and gold was eliminated by the Knicks in five games, no sweeping changes. Again, we hope this is just front office speak.
When Altman took a big swing and got Donovan Mitchell, the expectations for the Cavaliers changed. And they changed again when the team won 51 games and got home court advantage in the first round.
The front office didn’t adapt.
We have already addressed the lack of size on this basketball team. They are pretty much smaller at every position except for Evan Mobley at power forward and Jarrett Allen is pretty much a league average center.
The Cavs also need shooting, consistent shooting. When New York double teamed Mitchell and Darius Garland, beyond Caris LeVert, the Cavaliers had no one who could make the Knicks pay for the double team.
No matter how much the Cavs’ influencers tell you, opposing teams love when Isaac Okoro shoots three pointers. He is open for a reason. Mobley shot just 22% from distance this season, but perhaps more troubling was he shot just 36.2% from 10-16 feet.
If he became a decent three-point shooter, that would be great, but if you doubled the guards and they could get it to Mobley at the foul line and he could knock it down, that would be a great help as well.
Allen hits 51% from that distance, but rarely shoots from there.
LeVert is needed because beyond Mitchell and Garland, he is the only player on the team among the players getting big minutes who can create their own shot. That trio along with Ricky Rubio are the only players who were assisted on less than half of their made shots.
As a contrast, the Miami Heat, now in the conference finals have five such players.
If you are going to have Mitchell and Garland being your principal scorers, you have to build a team with shooters surrounding them. That opens up the floor come playoff team, when opponents start game-planning against you.
Mitchell has two more years on his current deal and then has a player option for 2025-26. That gives management two seasons to figure out a way to get this team deep into the playoffs, meaning getting to the Eastern Conference finals.
No more setting modest goals, they are on the clock right now.
So, running it back with the current group cannot be the plan, nor can the goal be to win a playoff series in 2023-24. They have to be in contending mode this summer.
Without a lot of assets, Altman and Gansey have to be creative in building a roster than can compete with the Milwaukees, Bostons, Philadelphias, and yes, New York and Miami.
That clock starts ticking the minute the NBA Finals end.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 