Certainly, there is a lot of optimism about the Cleveland Cavaliers after the trading deadline when Koby Altman swapped Darius Garland, De’Andre Hunter, and Lonzo Ball for James Harden, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis.
The Cavs have won 10 of their last 11 games and although they sit in the #4 position in the Eastern Conference, they are just a game and a half out of the #2 spot.
We don’t want to pour cold water on everyone, but of the three wins since Harden arrived, Cleveland has defeated the Kings, who have the worst record in the West, and the Wizards, who have the worst mark in the East.
Yes, winning in Denver was a quality win, we are not minimizing that. But the real test is coming for this group.
It has been documented the schedule for the wine and gold is considerably easier down the stretch, one of the lightest slates in the Association, but the new roster will be test coming out of the All Star break.
After a home game tonight against Brooklyn, the Cavs hit the road for games against the red-hot Charlotte Hornets and the defending champs in Oklahoma City. Charlotte is currently a “play-in” team, and the Thunder came into town on MLK Day and waxed Kenny Atkinson’s crew 136-104.
The Knicks, currently the third seed in the East, comes to town on Tuesday, and the Cavaliers end February with a game in Detroit, and after another home game with the Nets, have a homestand against the Pistons, Celtics, and 76ers.
We will get a much better evaluation on all the roster moves after this stretch.
And you would think that in this stretch of games, Evan Mobley should be back on the floor, so we can finally see how Harden affects him on the offensive end. We have already seen how Jarrett Allen has been much more of a scorer, not only with Harden, but on the western swing.
Remember the 40 point, 17 rebound game against Portland came before the trades took place.
With Mobley back, another thing to watch is how Atkinson will handle playing time. Right now, he is basically starting with Allen and four guards, which makes a lot of minutes available for the glut of wings on the roster.
We would think when Mobley is back in the starting lineup, Jaylon Tyson will start at the #3, with Sam Merrill and Dean Wade (when he returns) coming off the bench. But the coach might want Tyson coming off the bench and have Merrill’s shooting space the floor for Donovan Mitchell, Harden and the big men.
And doing this would make Wade the backup for Allen and Mobley up front. If Atkinson wanted to go big, he can always use Wade at the #3 as well, he has shown he can defend on the perimeter.
Also, Nae’Qwan Tomlin should stay in the rotation. His energy and length have earned being on the floor.
The minutes for the wings will likely work itself out before the end of the season and Atkinson will have a better idea of his rotation for the playoffs, but in the meantime, players like Merrill and Craig Porter Jr. will be on trial for earning time on the floor.
Being deep is a good thing overall though, and hopefully the injuries are behind the Cavs so Atkinson will have a tough decision when the playoffs start.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 