Cavs Need To Be Tougher, And Not Physically.

If not for two “miracles”, the Cleveland Cavaliers would be 3-7 in their last 10 games. But Max Strus did hit a 59-foot shot to beat Dallas, and Dean Wade did go crazy Tuesday night in Boston, so the wine and gold have tread water since the week before the All Star Game.

Yes, Donovan Mitchell has missed five or those games, and hasn’t played the past three contests with a bone bruise in his knee after playing 44 minutes in a double overtime loss to Chicago last week.

Since Darius Garland broke his jaw in December, there is no question Mitchell is the driving force of the team, so his absence looms large.

After the loss Sunday night to the Knicks, the team that eliminated Cleveland from the playoffs a year ago, once again, talk turned to toughness. Many in the media took that to mean more physical play, but we also think the Cavs could use some mental toughness as well, and not just among the players.

We have long discussed the organization’s avoiding of adding bigger bodies. Yes, they have the two big men starters in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, but other that those two, the Cavaliers usually are smaller at every other position on the floor compared to their opponents.

The point is it is tough to impose your will on other teams with smaller players. Tristan Thompson returning from suspension will help add more size, particularly around the basket.

We will say it one more time: Basketball is the one sport where size matters. For example, the defending champion Denver Nuggets’ smallest starter is Jamal Murray, listed at 6’4″. The Celtics have the best record in the East, and their smallest starter is 6’4″ Derrick White.

Cleveland will play the West’ top team, Minnesota on Friday, and the ‘Wolves’ start two seven footers, and the rest of their lineup is 6’4″, 6’9″ and 6′ point guard Mike Conley.

However, we also think the team needs to be mentally tougher. The Cavs have a history of getting big leads and losing them, seemingly taking their foot off the gas. Heck, against the Knicks, Mobley hinted the team relaxed a bit seeing Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson leave the game in the first minute.

The organization doesn’t help with the incremental steps in evaluating the season. Again, the goal should be to win the NBA title. After the season, you can take pride that progress was made, but the goal should be win every game.

It also doesn’t help that J.B. Bickerstaff comes up with excuses, usually about the referees after many losses. We aren’t saying there isn’t a time to complain about officials, but you can’t do it after half of your losses.

Instead, he should tell his team to play through things. Win in spite of opponents being physical. Do different things when the usual isn’t working. That’s how you develop toughness. Don’t use being a young team as an excuse. After all, Cleveland isn’t even one of the youngest teams in the league. They are right in the middle.

To their credit, they weathered the injuries to Garland and Mobley, and right now, Garland is back, but now Mitchell is out, and Mobley could be out for a while again with an ankle sprain.

Toughness isn’t putting a hard foul on a driving opponent. In fact, these days, it gets you ejected from the game. It does involve having a mindset of overcoming anything thrown at you by an opponent. Not making excuses.

By the way, we understand teams can’t do that every night in the NBA. But there are games teams point to. You have to play those games with a bit of an edge.

Players Guardians Wanted To Look At Haven’t Shown Much To Date

During the winter and even right before spring training, the message from the Cleveland Guardians’ management was the reason they didn’t sign any veteran hitters was they wanted to look at the organization’s young talent, particularly in the outfield.

Yes, we know it is spring training, and not only that, it’s early in spring training, but it would not nice if a few of these prospects were showing something in the exhibition games.

You have to look at numbers during spring training games with a jaundiced eye. Observers need to be mindful of what pitchers the hitters are facing. Are they big league arms or guys who pitched in AA last year, and have a slim chance of making the squad that comes up north?

And again, it is still early. One of these hitters could go on a tear starting today and play their way onto the 26-man roster and perhaps into the starting lineup opening day in Oakland.

Looking at those young outfielders, none have flashed to date. Estevan Florial, acquired from the Yankees and mentioned more than a few times by Steven Vogt, is off to a miserable start, going just 1 for 13 with 8 strikeouts. He has walked twice.

Johnathan Rodriguez, who played at both AA and AAA last season, belting 29 home runs in total, has started 3 for 15 with one walk and has fanned four times. He has no extra base hits to date.

Jhonkensy Noel, kind of an all or nothing slugger who hit 27 dingers at Columbus in ’23, is 3 for 15 with seven punchouts. He does have two doubles however.

And rule five addition Deyvison De Los Santos, who has to be offered back to Arizona if he does not make the big-league roster, has started 3 for 15, but has only struck out three times.

Our favorite to win the shortstop job, Brayan Rocchio, coming off an excellent winter league season, is 1 for 12 with a walk, but has not struck out. His main competition, Gabriel Arias, who finished the year as the regular, is 3 for 11 and a walk, but has fanned four times, which is a problem for him.

The most impressive young players to date are three top 10 prospects, of which two have little chance to make the team.

The latter duo would be INF Angel Martinez, who has banged out 8 hits in 14 at bats with a walk and two strikeouts. The switch-hitter who will likely play at AAA this year has also pounded two doubles and two homers.

The other is OF Chase DeLauter, who has gone 4 for 8 with a HR in the big league games. The lefty hitter is the Guardians’ 2022 first round pick and will probably start the season at AA Akron.

The last of this trio should have a good shot to make the team, 1B/DH Kyle Manzardo. The left-handed hitter is 4 for 9 with two walks (three whiffs) and a double thus far. Manzardo spent last year at AAA, hitting 17 homers.

Add to this the Guardians traded a big-league starting pitcher to get him, and as we have said before, unless he’s overmatched in camp, he should be on the Opening Day roster.

Again, it’s early. But as the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression. Hopefully, these prospects can get it going sooner than later.

A Tough Stretch For Cavs Should “Let Us Know”

Since blowing out the Toronto Raptors on February 10th, the Cleveland Cavaliers have gone through a bit of a rough patch. It’s understandable because the wine and gold have been on fire since the calendar turned to 2024, winning 17 of 19 games through that contest in the Canada.

In the week leading up to the All-Star weekend festivities (we will ignore that abomination of a game), and after, the Cavs have a 4-4 record with one of those victories coming Tuesday when Max Strus hit a 59-foot shot to win the game against Dallas.

The wins came at home vs. Chicago in which the struggled, the Strus contest, and Ws against the hapless Pistons and Wizards.

They haven’t looked like the same team that rolled for the first six weeks of the new year.

Starting today, they will be tested in March with home games against the Knicks, who muscled them out of the playoffs last season and the Celtics, who are the best team in the East. It should give J.B. Bickerstaff a measuring stick of where his team is right now.

Following those games is a road game in Atlanta, then a three game homestand in which the team with the best record in the West, Minnesota comes in and so does the talent-rich Phoenix Suns.

The middle of the month has a road stretch, featuring two games vs. Miami (one is the only home game) and other road tilts at New Orleans, Minnesota, and Indiana. Overall, they have 11 road games out of 14 played, while the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse is hosting the Mid-American Conference tournament and the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Hopefully, the Cavs will find the formula that allowed them to be dominant from the time Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were injured to the week before the All-Star break.

Perhaps, the Cavaliers and the coaching staff were a bit in their own heads. The squad was sizzling putting the ball in Donovan Mitchell’s hands, and he played at an MVP level.

The Cavs talked about the different style of play adopted when Garland and Mobley were out. They pointed to the three-point shooting, but really that improvement came from increased playing time from Sam Merrill, who is still knocking them down at a 43.5% clip.

That’s way it was weird that Merrill received three DNP-CDs (did not play-coach’s decision) in a recent seven game period in which Cleveland went 4-3.

Dean Wade, who played 20 minutes or more in 11 out of 12 games in an 11-1 stretch throughout January, suddenly had his time reduced. He played less than 10 minutes in two games since play resumed.

We aren’t huge Wade supporters, but as we believe Charles Barkley once said, if it ain’t broke, don’t break it. It seems like Bickerstaff has decided to do just that.

Now, can he put it back together again? The obvious solution is that Merrill and Wade earned their time on the floor, and the adjustments should have been made by doing some slight trimming to some of the players getting heavier workloads.

After all, that would have them be fresher for the tough stretch coming up and then the playoffs.

Many of the national basketball media are having doubts about the Cavs making a deep run in the post-season. Playing well in a tough March slate could change some minds among folks who know the game.