The Cleveland Cavaliers are a very good basketball team. Barring a monumental collapse, they are going to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year. They are currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference and are seven games ahead of the 7th seed in the loss column.
They accomplished this record without Darius Garland for 24 games and Evan Mobley for 23 games. Heck, Donovan Mitchell has missed nine contests, and Jarrett Allen missed the first five games of the season.
Through all those injuries, they have a 32-16 record, three games ahead of last year’s pace.
We say all of this because recently there seems to be a discussion about Garland and whether he can play with Mitchell. We know the pairing has worked, last season’s 51 victories proves this, as well as this season’s record.
One of the things that is different about the NBA is some styles of play work in the regular season, but don’t in the playoffs. For example, before Golden State made its run of titles, Charles Barkley commented that no jump shooting team had won, and he was correct.
Teams had to be able to get hoops inside and through fast breaks, because that was more reliable than long range shooting.
With last season’s success in the regular schedule, the Cavaliers now have to win in the playoffs to take the next step as a franchise. The front office felt they needed to add shooting, but the Cavs shot 44.8% from the floor and 32.7& from three in the series loss to the Knicks last season.
New York shot 42.9% in total, and 28% from three in the series. And you read that correctly, the Cavs actually out shot the Knicks.
If you remember correctly, Cleveland was beaten up pretty badly on the boards, in part because the guards could not stop the penetration, particularly from Jalen Brunson, and when Allen and Mobley went to help, the Knicks’ big men slid into position for easy offensive rebounds.
New York had 75 offensive rebounds in the five games. Cleveland had 46.
And that’s what Koby Altman and the brass have to think about, can a backcourt of Garland and Mitchell be strong enough defensively to win in the playoffs.
Basketball is a different sport because sometimes it’s not about talent, it’s about fit. Look at the Milwaukee Bucks. They acquired Damian Lillard in the off-season, and no question he is a superstar, but at the same time, they miss Jrue Holiday who was traded to get Lillard, and ultimately wound up in Boston.
And we have said before, what complicates things for Altman and the Cavaliers is Mitchell’s contract status, as he can be a free agent after next season.
No one should be saying Garland and Mitchell cannot play together. The Cavs have succeeded with that backcourt. But can they win in the playoffs and ultimately win a title?
Or would they be better off in the long run moving Garland for say, an upgrade at the small forward spot? That’s the question the Cavs’ front office needs to consider.
We get it. The Cavs are rolling. But the front office has to take a detached, independent view of the roster.
And that’s why the people like Altman get paid what they get paid. Sometimes they have to make tough decisions, especially with home grown players, in order to win championships.
The Cavs are a playoff team with Garland and Mitchell in the backcourt. The bigger question is could they be a title team by moving one of them?
Cleveland Sports Perspective 