The Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled since the NBA All-Star game. Much of the struggles have been because of injuries, but still, they are 7-8 since the game in Indianapolis, and their once solid position in the Eastern Conference standings is no longer.
When the break came, the Cavs were 36-17, second in the East, and three games ahead in the loss column over 3rd place Milwaukee, and five losses ahead of New York and Philadelphia.
As of today, they have dropped to third, and are just two games in the loss column ahead of New York, and three over Orlando.
We don’t think we need to say that if the wine and gold drop to the #5 spot, they will not have home court advantage in the opening round playoff series.
Donovan Mitchell came back from his knee issue to play two games last week, but said after Saturday’s defeat in Houston, he will likely miss more time due to the knee, trying to get it completely healthy.
So, with a tough stretch coming up, eight of the next 11 are on the road, J.B. Bickerstaff is going to have to come up with another way to win basketball games. They had great success without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley earlier in the season, but this time, it’s Mitchell, clearly the most important player on the team.
The Cavs are also missing Mobley again, this time with an ankle injury, and Max Strus. Both are important players, but they aren’t Mitchell, who carried the Cavaliers when Garland and Mobley missed a great deal of time in December and January and did it when Bickerstaff put the ball in his hands.
What would we do in the meantime?
First, we would slow the pace even more than they have already. Cleveland is 21st in the league in pace, and we would slow it down even more, especially against the better, more athletic teams in the NBA.
Second, we would start Caris LeVert in Mitchell’s absence and put the ball in his hands and that of Jarrett Allen.
We know we have been very critical of Darius Garland, but why not take advantage of what he is doing well right now, which is his long-range shooting. He was making 33% of his threes before the break, and has been on fire after, knocking them down at a 42.6% clip.
He still is turning the ball over more than we would like, and if we see him drive to the basket one more time and get stripped, we will lose whatever mind we still have.
LeVert is averaging 5. 2 assists per game with just 1.5 turnovers, and Allen has done a very good job operating out of the high point and finding open shooters on the perimeter. He’s averaging a full assist higher than he ever has in his career, and still could wind up with the highest scoring average since he came into the NBA.
We would also get Craig Porter Jr. on the floor more when LeVert is not in the game.
The organization might disagree because the Cavs have the league’s best road record, but we think it is important for the wine and gold to have home court for the first round of the playoffs.
That means to need to stack some wins despite the injuries. They only have six home games remaining, so they are going to have to gut it out on the road.
It won’t be easy.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 