With the Browns opening their season today and the Guardians in the midst of a race to play in the post-season, we thought we’d go against the grain a little bit and talk basketball. After all, the Cleveland Cavaliers did get to the Eastern Conference finals last season, and they open training camp in a few weeks under Kenny Atkinson.
Besides, both of those teams are very frustrating right now.
For years, we have said the wine and gold need to be bigger, and they have made some improvement along those lines. When they swung the big deal for James Harden in February was that if the Cavs were going to have a ball dominant guard who wasn’t a great defender, it is better for it to be the 6’5″ Harden, rather than 6’2″ Darius Garland.
Koby Altman has also acquired two 6’8″ wings in Mario Hezonja and Peyton Watson, who we would think will share time at the small forward spot with Jaylon Tyson. And don’t forget another 6’8″ player in Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who played in 64 games a year ago, getting most of his time before the trade deadline.
Remember that the deal for the 17-year veteran came late in the year. Harden only played in 26 games with the wine and gold, so the offensive became doing what Harden did best, using a lot of pick and roll. We are sure that will be the case again, with Harden getting the most out of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in that way.
Cleveland still has Tyson, Sam Merrill, and second-year player Tyrese Proctor to share time in the backcourt with Harden, and of course, Donovan Mitchell. With those players on the roster, we would love to see Harden’s and Mitchell’s regular season minutes controlled, especially Harden, who is now 37.
We would still love to see Altman add a better big man to back up Mobley and Allen than veteran Thomas Bryant, no disrespect to him, but Cleveland should consider itself a contender to win the title, and particularly in the playoffs, you need another big man who can make an impact. The Cavs saw that need in both their series against the Pistons with Paul Reid and the Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson.
Because the Cavs like to play “small ball’, our guess is they think they can easily slide either Watson, Hezonja, or Tomlin over to the four, but we don’t like that from a rebounding standpoint. Defense isn’t over until you grab the rebound. Thus, the need for someone to play center/power forward and can give the Cavaliers about 18 solid minutes.
As it has been for the last few years, the biggest question for the Cavs is Evan Mobley. Can he take the next step into being a perennial all-star. His points, rebounds, and shooting all took a drop last season, and we have doubts as to whether or not he can do it. We just don’t think it’s in his personality to assert himself.
We have seen questions about the depth on the team and we will go back to the old adage of “if you don’t play your bench, you won’t have one”. We said it last year and we will say it again, Atkinson has to use and trust his second unit early in the year. It will pay dividends in the second half of the season.
Last season, he went away from Tyson and Tomlin after the trade and probably could’ve used both in the post-season. Hopefully, that’s a lesson learned.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 