Regardless of whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers win their first round series against the Orlando Magic, it feels like tonight’s Game 5 is a referendum on what the organization has built since LeBron James departed for Los Angeles after the 2018 NBA Finals.
We have not wavered on this, but although we do not think J.B. Bickerstaff is one of the NBA’s best tacticians, part of the problem for the wine and gold is the makeup of the current roster.
We have bemoaned the lack of height for the past two seasons, but it’s not only the tallness of the players, it’s the builds as well. For example, right now Darius Garland and Evan Mobley don’t have the strength to overcome physical play.
Also, the team isn’t mentally tough. They seem to be frontrunners. When things are going well, great, but as soon as something goes wrong, they don’t seem to know how to get things turned around.
And that falls on Koby Altman.
After last season’s playoff loss to the Knicks, Altman looked at the team and decided they needed more shooting, so they signed Max Strus who has one season shooting over 35% from three, and veteran Georges Niang, a career 40% shooter from beyond the arc.
So far in this series, they have made 4 of 28 from long range.
However, we thought at the time the biggest reason for the 4-1 “gentleman’s sweep” by New York last spring was the inability to match the physicalness the Knicks presented. And that was not addressed in the summer, and the two games in Orlando showed the Cavs are still lacking in that department.
Orlando has outrebounded Cleveland in the series after four games, and if the Cavs get to 100 points tonight, it will be for the first time in the series.
The popular thing in NBA circles is when a team loses, the team’s best player is to blame, a theory we do not subscribe to. That isn’t to say Donovan Mitchell has been great in this series, but it’s not as though the coaching staff has done anything to get Mitchell going.
He had a great first half on Saturday, scoring 18 points taking just one three pointer. In the disastrous third quarter, the Cavaliers were outscored 37-10, Mitchell took four shots, three of them from long distance.
When your opponent is on a run, you have to have a set to get your best player a good look. We are still waiting. And by the way, Cleveland’s second-best player, Jarrett Allen, took just two shots.
Meanwhile, Evan Mobley has taken more shots in the series than Darius Garland, a curious statistic. While Garland gives us headaches when he is trying to set up the offense, too much dribbling and very turnover prone, he has been the Cavs’ best three-point shooter in the series, making 9 of 22 (40.9%).
Even if the Cavs win tonight and go on to advance to the second round, these issues aren’t going away, unless Mobley and Garland spend extensive time in the weight room, which we would guess they already do.
As for tonight, let’s hope Bickerstaff is willing to try something different. We would not run away from Strus and/or Niang, but if they aren’t making shots, you have to try Sam Merrill and Marcus Morris, no?
And perhaps use Tristan Thompson up front to provide some muscle, and more resistance to Mo Wagner near the basket.
Orlando has made adjustments to get back in the series. Each of their two best scorers, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have gone off for 30 points. Now, it’s the Cavaliers’ turn to answer back.
The bigger question is can they?
Cleveland Sports Perspective 