The Cleveland Cavaliers have entered the 2023-24 season with a seemingly endless list of injuries, and they are going to have their work cut out for them to not bury themselves in the standings.
They are 2-3 already and have two games against the Warriors and another game against Oklahoma City next week. If they don’t get Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen back soon, it shapes up as a very difficult early season for J. B. Bickerstaff’s squad.
Getting two players who made the all-star team two years ago will no doubt help the Cavs, but so far, we sense a difference about this team, and it’s not anything good.
Perhaps the Bickerstaff learned something in the first four games. Coaches always come into training camp talking about increasing pace, wanting to play faster. Of course, last season Cleveland played at the slowest pace in the league.
In the first four games, they increased the pace to 18th in the NBA and lost three of the first four. Last night, probably because they were still shorthanded, they slowed it down, and won.
Coincidence? Maybe, but maybe not.
Sometimes teams can handle things at the defensive end even though they are playing faster, and maybe someday the Cavs will be able to do that. Right now, it doesn’t seem like a good fit, and again, it could be because of the injuries.
However, we still see some things haven’t changed with this organization.
We have crusaded for the addition of more size for a few years now, and the Cavaliers don’t seem to think it is necessary. Not having Allen just shines a spotlight on this. Cleveland has just five players 6’10” or more on the roster, but outside of Evan Mobley and Allen, they really don’t use them.
Outside of Mobley, those players have accumulated just 62 minutes of playing time in the first four games, and 29 of those are from rookie Emoni Bates, who is essentially a guard or small forward. Tristan Thompson (6’9″) has been a tough inside force the last two games.
The Cavs have remained pretty close on the rebounding side of things, mostly because Max Strus has grabbed 7.0 per game, far exceeding his career rate of 2.3. But taller and bigger players can defend better.
And right now, the Cavs, who ranked 1st in defensive efficiency last season, are now 16th in the same category.
We know the organization put an emphasis on bringing in shooters this off-season, but it hasn’t paid off. Cleveland is certainly taking more threes, taking almost eight more per game than a year ago (37.8 vs. 31.6), but they are 20th in percentage of makes, down from 12th a year ago.
If your defense isn’t up to par, you need to have better shot selection. Right now, that’s not the case for the wine and gold.
The Cavaliers still seem to struggle to get Evan Mobley involved in the offense. Mobley ranks 4th on the team in shots, and two of the players ahead of him (Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert) have already missed a game. Sometimes within games, it seems like the big man is totally not involved offensively.
We are a believer in a hierarchy in getting shots, and with Garland and Allen out, Mobley should be getting the second most shots on the team.
There is no doubt the injuries have limited Bickerstaff’s use of the bench. Isaac Okoro, who has played very well to begin the season, has to start. Ty Jerome has missed two games with an injury, which pretty much leaves Georges Niang as the only second unit player in the role he was supposed to be in to start the year.
It’s just five games. And getting Allen, Garland, and LeVert back will surely help. But, the Cavs need to get back to their defensive roots and not be so dependent on the three-point shot.
That’s how they progressed from the time Bickerstaff started to being a playoff team. It’s their identity.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 