Sometimes patience is needed and sometimes it is not.
Since the Cleveland Cavaliers were bounced out of the NBA playoffs, and earlier than they and many people expected to boot, there has been speculation about should they run it back with the so called “Core 4” or not.
After all, the wine and gold won 64 games this season, had three winning streaks of 12 or more games, and was the top seed in the Eastern Conference. We are a big believer in Charles Barkley’s line of “if it ain’t broke, don’t break it”, but we aren’t talking about a single season here.
Since president of basketball operations Koby Altman made the big swing for Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs have been knocked out of the playoffs the last three seasons in “Gentleman sweeps”, that is to say five games.
The first year they lost to the Knicks in round one, the last two seasons, in the conference semifinals.
When something happens once, you can write it off as a fluke, even twice, you can point to circumstances, but when it occurs three times, it is time to admit changes need to be made.
There are people who think when you say Altman has to make some moves, you are saying he should blow up the roster. That is absolutely not the case. Cleveland is still a relatively young team, in fact, maybe too young.
Mitchell will be 29 next season. Jarrett Allen will be 28. Darius Garland will be 26 by the end of next season, and Evan Mobley will be 24. At the end of this season, no one who was getting significant minutes for Kenny Atkinson was 30 years old.
These Cavs are a very good regular season team, especially in the early part of the year. But second halves of the season and the playoffs usually come with more physical play, and that seems to bother the team.
One move we would make is to get a veteran, yes, someone over 30, and can still play meaningful minutes for next season. We think it would be good to have a player who has seen it all in the NBA on the court when things start to go wrong. For example, the Pacers have Pascal Siakam, who is 31.
And in basketball, it’s not always about talent and putting the five most talented players on the floor. It’s about the fit. They have to be able to play off of and enhance their teammates’ games.
So, when we say Altman should move away from a particular player, it doesn’t mean we think said player is devoid of talent. What we are saying is the fit just isn’t working with that guy.
We see the analytics community will come up with efficiency ratings, etc. for a group of players and deem them to be successful, and maybe they are, but perhaps switching out one of those guys makes them even better.
We get the familiarity factor. This group has been together basically for three seasons and most definitely the longer you play together the more you know about each other.
But the things that have plagued the Cavs in the post-season, outside of the injuries, aren’t currently on the roster. Toughness, mentally and physically, has to come from more players, and of course, there is the height that is desperately needed.
Altman and his staff need to make some changes. With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, it won’t be easy, but change is needed. Hopefully, it’s an interesting summer for the Cavaliers.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 