Browns Need Solutions During Week Off

We have decided there is something involved with NFL telecasts that cause people to lose their collective minds. There is no other explanation for what we hear from people, both personally and on social media after the Cleveland Browns lose a football game.

Rather than blame the coaching staff and the quarterback, knee-jerk reactions for many, we prefer to look at other areas as to why a team that had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season is instead sitting at 6-6.

This isn’t to say Kevin Stefanski hasn’t made mistakes and/or Baker Mayfield is playing at an All-Pro level. That isn’t true. However, it is far from the only or even main reason this football team is in a funk.

Offensively, the play of the wide receiving corps leaves a lot to be desired, and quite frankly, the Patriots and Ravens have given the rest of the NFL the blueprint to defend the Cleveland running game.

Simply put, it is load the box and dare one of the Browns’ receivers to get open. Outside of the occasional Jarvis Landry play, they can’t do it.

Think about the first drive on Sunday night. Mayfield had a completion to the Baltimore 10, but Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped it. Could the Browns punched it into the end zone from there? Maybe, and if they did, how different is that game.

The Browns are said to have a great offensive line, and certainly the middle of that unit, C J.C. Tretter and guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller are excellent players. However, the tackles are not at that same level, and we say that understanding Jack Conklin has missed a lot of the year with injuries.

To be frank, last year’s first round pick, Jedrick Wills, has had a disappointing sophomore season. He missed some time with an ankle injury earlier, but he is not providing the blind side protection Mayfield (or any quarterback needs).

And Blake Hance is a reserve on the other side.

This leaves the Browns vulnerable to outside speed rushers and is one reason Stefanski favors quick throws as part of the attack, to ease the pressure on his tackles.

We aren’t giving up on Wills, but it will be interesting to see if his spot is addressed in the draft.

We also keep coming back to the defense. Yes, yes, we know they forced four turnovers against the Ravens. Want to know what they didn’t do?

Stop the run. Again. Baltimore rushed for 148 yards, and when it counted in the fourth quarter, shoved it down the defenses throat, eating five minutes off the clock.

Isn’t that the same as Mayfield having big stats, but then failing to lead a fourth quarter comeback?

It is the sixth time in the last eight games, the defense has allowed more than 100 yards on the ground, and that’s a killer.

And the 148 yards by Baltimore is the LEAST gained running the ball in the last three weeks.

If you cannot stop the run in the NFL, you have a big problem. If you look at the teams allowing the most rushing yards, it’s a lot of losing teams, the Lions, Texans, Jets, and Giants among them.

The Chargers, Vikings, and Steelers are also in this group. LA has the best record on the group at 6-5.

Yes, it’s a passing league, but you must stop the run.

The remaining schedule isn’t easy, but a win after the bye in the rematch against Baltimore puts the Browns back on the periphery of contention. As the head coach said, it’s a week to week battle right now.

Hopefully, some solutions will be found in the week off.

Will Guardians’ Payroll Increase And Does It Help Ramirez’ Future?

According to Baseballreference.com, the Cleveland baseball team had a payroll of just under $50 million, a figure that gave them the fourth lowest in the sport, ahead of only franchises telling their fans they are in a rebuild mode: Miami, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore.

Why the ownership went that low, we do not know. We understand their reasoning for trading SS Francisco Lindor (although we don’t agree with it), but why did they also move Carlos Carrasco?

Their top four highest paid players from 2020 (Lindor, Carlos Santana, Carrasco, and Brad Hand) were pared from the roster, and the highest paid player brought in was Eddie Rosario, who lasted until the trade deadline before he was traded.

The lowest payroll to make the post-season in 2021 was Tampa Bay, and they spent $14 million more on players than Cleveland.

We know the Dolan family is looking for a minority owner to replace John Sherman, who went on to buy the Kansas City Royals (they had an $85 million payroll). However, according to reports, the Dolans’ want that investor to be a “silent” partner. So, good luck with that.

It has also been reported the Guardians will spend more in 2022, the question is how much more. Right now, their 40 man roster is top heavy with players who have no major league experience, which means they would be paid the minimum salary if they are on the big league roster.

What the minimum salary is will be determined when the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is made. But, to repeat, as of right now, a little over 1/3rd of the roster will be making the minimum, and that’s only if they are wearing a major league uniform.

So, it would seem there could be money to spend. The Toronto Blue Jays were 15th in spending at $118 million, and it would be shocking if the Guards (we aren’t using Cleveland.com’s “Guardo’s”) were anywhere near that neighborhood.

We would guess the payroll would be around $65-80 million. At the latter figure, they would still be 22nd in 2021, and 27th at the lower figure. Both would be in the comfortable area (for the Dolans) of the bottom third of the sport.

The first logical move would be the approach the team’s best player, and based on MVP voting over the past five seasons, one of baseball’s best, on a long term extension. Jose Ramirez, who has finished in the top six of the American League’s MVP voting four times in the last five seasons, is still under control via team option for 2022 and 2023.

He will be 31 at the end of that last season.

We are sure the Guardians will talk to Ramirez about keeping him here, but it will be not easy and we doubt the third baseman will be interested in giving a hometown discount.

Remember, he didn’t receive a big signing bonus when he signed with Cleveland before he turned 18 out of the Dominican Republic. According to WAR, he’s the 21st best player in the history (since 1901 remember) of the franchise.

By the end of next season, he should rank in Cleveland’s top ten all time in home runs and doubles, and in two more seasons, will creep into other categories as well.

Will the ownership have the stomach to pay one player a per season salary of close to $30 million? Because, if we were Ramirez’ agent, that’s the neighborhood we would want to be in.

If progress isn’t made toward an extension, we would guess this is Ramirez’ last season with Cleveland, and if the team isn’t in the pennant race at the deadline, he might be moved then.

This isn’t a doom and gloom scenario, it’s just how this ownership group does business.

Hopefully, the payroll will increase for 2022, and a bigger wish is a minority owner is found, and it is someone with the wherewithal to buy the team outright down the road.

The rumor is the payroll will increase, but will the action match the whispering?

Thoughts As Browns Start The Stretch Drive

The playoff destiny for the Cleveland Browns is right in their collective hands. The next two games (with the bye in between) are against the division leading Baltimore Ravens, and four of the remaining six games are against teams from the AFC North.

If Kevin Stefanski’s squad starts playing their best football starting Sunday night, they stand a good chance of playing beyond the 17th game of the year.

We think 11-6 will get a spot in the tournament for sure, but 10-7 will give you a decent chance in this year’s AFC, but you will be subject to the tie breakers. So, Cleveland needs to go at least 4-2 the rest of the way.

A split vs. Baltimore keeps them in it, but losing both (and the Browns have certainly struggled recently against the Ravens lately) has them looking toward next season.

Here are some thoughts on the Browns heading into this critical stretch:

**There has been a great deal of discussion about whether or not Baker Mayfield should be playing while he is battling his injuries. We feel it indicates a lack of confidence in Case Keenum. Remember, the coaching staff seemed reluctant to start Keenum in the Denver game.

It is crazy to think while Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt are watching practice and see Mayfield hobbling around and not being able to make plays, that they think screw it, we are just going to play Baker even though Keenum is probably better.

Conversely, we don’t believe for a minute that Mayfield is “forcing” his way out on the field.

Our guess is the Browns will have a different backup QB in 2022.

**There is no question the Browns need to upgrade the wide receiver position in the off-season. This is not an indictment on how the team handled the Odell Beckham Jr. situation either.

Jarvis Landry hasn’t been a 100% since early on, and although Donovan Peoples-Jones has stepped up, he’s been hurt lately. Anthony Schwartz can fly, but seems to have trouble getting off the line against press coverage, which can be addressed by getting stronger.

Beyond DPJ and Schwartz, no wide out is averaging over 12 yards per catch. If they were open, we think Mayfield would find them (and yes, we know Landry was open on the first pick he threw against the Lions).

**The defense against the run has slipped badly since the beginning of the season. In the first four games, the most yards given up by the defense on the ground was 82. In the seven games since, they’ve allowed more than 100 yards rushing in five of them.

We know the Browns can run the ball, and the old rule in the NFL (which still holds true, by the way) of “you can’t win if you can’t run the ball and you can’t stop the run”, only holds to Cleveland on the defensive side of the ball.

They allowed 168 yards on the ground against Detroit even though the Lions were playing an extremely inexperienced quarterback.

Is Jadeveon Clowney’s injury that much of a problem?

The Ravens love to run the football, so if Joe Woods and his staff don’t address this before the game Sunday, it could be a long night for the visiting team.

All of the concerns and worries about the Cleveland Browns can be eased by a victory in Baltimore. Win, and you get a week off to heal up before coming home for three of the last five, including a rematch with the Ravens.

It’s right there for Kevin Stefanski and his team.

Sexton’s Injury And Its Effect On Okoro

It was curious that the news came out about Cavaliers’ guard Collin Sexton being ruled out for the rest of the 2021-22 season late Friday night.

It seems there is some tension in the relationship between the former first round draft pick and the team since a contract extension was not reached prior to the start of the season.

We agree with the organization’s stance since we don’t know what the market is for the 6’2″, soon to be 23-year-old shooting guard. Why not allow him to see what other teams are willing to pay him and allow the Cavs to match it.

Regardless, we are about to see how important Sexton is to this basketball team. Yes, J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad has lost three in a row, but that probably has more to do with the absence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

Little used Ed Davis was forced into action in the last two losses to Brooklyn and Golden State.

Before the season started, most thought Sexton was the team’s best player. He led the team in scoring last season at 24.3 per game, ranking 18th in the NBA. But where would he rank on the team’s pecking order right now?

You could make an argument that he would be fifth, behind Darius Garland, Mobley, Allen, and Ricky Rubio. That’s not an indictment of Sexton’s ability, but more about the development of Garland and Allen, and adding Mobley and Rubio to the roster.

Right now, Sexton has been replaced in the starting lineup by Isaac Okoro, but that presents a bit of a problem. Although Okoro is a much better defender, he’s a liability on offense, shooting 37% from the floor and is just 6 for 34 from behind the three point line.

So, if he is standing outside, there is no reason for opponents to guard him, and that in turn, causes driving lines to close and create a lack of room inside for Allen.

You have to wonder how much longer Bickerstaff can go with Okoro in the starting lineup. His defensive ability is valuable to the team, but if he doesn’t need to be guarded, that’s a problem.

We think the coaching staff likes Cedi Osman and Rubio coming off the bench, but one of them may have to start to give the floor better spacing.

Going back to Sexton, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for him because the contract extension wasn’t reached. If the team continues to do as well as they were before Allen and Mobley went out, he has lost a lot of leverage, and you have to wonder if GM Koby Altman would go in a different direction.

It has been pointed out by some that the Cavs have scored 100 points in a game only once (last night) since Sexton was injured, but we would remind those folks that the wine and gold haven’t had their full complement of players since then either.

Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen have been out, and now so have Allen and Mobley.

As for Okoro, we said when he was drafted that taking a defense first player with the fifth overall pick wasn’t a good move. That said, there is still time for him to improve his shot to make it passable and punish teams that leave him wide open.

If he doesn’t, he will become a nomad in the league, moving from team to team as a defensive specialist.

A Flurry Of Moves Highlight Guardians’ First Day

Well, on the first day of the official name change of the Cleveland baseball team, the Guardians made a bevy of roster moves, designed to get the squad ready for the Rule 5 Draft.

Several of the minor leaguers were no brainers to be added, notably INF Tyler Freeman, OF George Valera, and INF Brayan Rocchio, all among the top 10 prospects in the organization.

Others figured to be added, like C Bryan Lavistida, two players making a name for themselves in the Arizona Fall League, INF Richie Palacios and Jose Tena, who won the batting title in the prospect oriented league, and P Cody Morris, who could pitch in the major leagues next season.

You wonder if Tena would have been added had he not had such a great AFL season.

What is very curious is that 14 of the 40 players on this roster have no major league experience, so you have to wonder are more moves in the works, if and when moves can be made due to the absence of a collective bargaining agreement.

The most notable players designated for assignment were OF Harold Ramirez and Daniel Johnson.

Ramirez received 339 at bats with the team in 2021, hitting .268 with 7 HR and 41 RBI (703 OPS), decent numbers, but was a defensive liability. Johnson, who was acquired in the Yan Gomes trade with Washington, hit .221 with 4 home runs, in just 77 at bats.

With all of the problems the Cleveland outfield had offensively in 2021, why Johnson didn’t get more of a chance was a head scratcher. In fact, we was sent down in the midst of a period where he was 8 for his last 28.

Out of the remainder of players released, the biggest surprise here was Kyle Nelson, who had a 3.72 ERA over his minor league career, but pitched just 10 innings at the big league level. We would guess the emergence of Anthony Gose, aced out Nelson.

We were happy that Steven Kwan was added. The left-handed hitting outfielder is an on base machine, getting on base at a .380 clip in the minor leagues. We were hoping he would have been added to the big league roster in September.

However, Oscar Gonzalez was not added. Gonzalez, who will be 24 years old next season, belted 31 homers at the AA and AAA levels this past season, and our guess is he is a good candidate to be drafted by another organization.

Somehow, Bradley Zimmer and Oscar Mercado survived this purge. We hope Gonzalez isn’t lost because of the blind loyalty to two players who really haven’t been productive for awhile.

Zimmer got his biggest look since his rookie year of 2017, and still had the same problems that have plagued him throughout his career, namely, he can’t make contact.

He fanned a whopping 122 times in 348 plate appearances, hitting .227 with a 669 OPS. In his career, totaling 754 at bats, the soon to be 29-year-old former first round draft pick has a 658 OPS.

We get that his tools are enticing. He has tremendous speed and good power when he connects, but that isn’t often. He’s a great athlete, but he’s just not a baseball player. And it’s not like he has age on his side as a prospect.

Mercado will be 27 next season, and had a very good rookie season in 2019 with a 761 OPS. Since then, he is 59 for 300, a .198 batting average. He did walk 21 times in ’21, but hit just .224, so his on base percentage was just .300. His OPS was just 669.

Browns Need To Unite, Not Finger Point

For many years, the Cleveland Browns were a train wreck. They were perpetually at the bottom of the standings, and went through quarterback after quarterback and coach after coach trying to reverse this trend.

After the debacle on Sunday, a 45-7 beatdown at the hands of the New England Patriots, it feels a little like those days in Berea, and it is up to GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski to nip it in the bud.

Myles Garrett questioned defensive coordinator Joe Woods immediately after the game about the philosophy and John Johnson III basically agreed with him.

Stefanski said he addressed the situation with Garrett, and clearly the message needs to be sent to the locker room that things like this need to stay in the locker room.

After all, the head coach is very careful in his post game press conferences not to blame anyone. We know Stefanski gets some rolling eyes when he says he has to “coach better”, but we feel he has told his players HE will take the blame when they lose and give them the credit when they win.

That’s called being a leader.

We are sure that is not the message within the locker room and in meetings following a loss. The staff points out what went wrong and makes it incumbent on the players to improve and do what they are supposed to do.

Make no mistake about that.

This doesn’t mean the coaching staff is blameless. If Woods is indeed calling for schemes that have not worked in practice, he is losing, if not lost the trust of the defensive players. Coaches simply cannot call something where the players think to themselves or actually say in the huddle, this isn’t going to work.

Once you start doing this, the coach has to rebuild the trust with his guys. Otherwise, the bond is broken.

What Stefanski and Berry must do is remind the players they are in this together win or lose, and he has their back, which he demonstrates every week. The Browns simply cannot have the sniping and grousing in the media. It serves no good purpose.

The Browns need to do everything better right now, including the coaching staff. They have talent. They need to eliminate the pre-snap penalties, the dropped passes, the blown coverages that seem to plague them weekly.

For example, there is no question Baker Mayfield’s interception was a terrible decision. However, if Donovan Peoples-Jones catches the second down pass (the previous play), a clearly catchable ball, the result is third and short, and that play call is completely different.

It has to start this Sunday though. Much has been made about the remaining schedule for the Browns, but the reality is they will probably only be a decided underdog (seven points or more) in one game, the Christmas Day tilt against Green Bay.

So, could they win five out of the final seven and finish at 10-7, which based on the AFC right now, probably gets them in? Of course they can.

But they have to start playing better, coaching better (especially defensively), and stop making mistakes.

This is why Kevin Stefanski was brought in. He is just like everyone else and needs to unite the troops.

Cavs Continue To Amaze Early On.

We cannot say enough how surprised we are by the start for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While it is still very early, the Cavs are currently in 4th place in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5 record, and have done it battling with players out with COVID (Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen) and others missing time with injuries, including last year’s leading scorer in Collin Sexton and second year player Isaac Okoro.

The wine and gold have a very tough stretch coming up with a road game vs. Brooklyn on Wednesday, followed by home tilts with Golden State, Brooklyn, and Phoenix heading into Thanksgiving. Hopefully by then, Love and Markkanen will be back on the court.

We have said for a few years now that this organization wouldn’t go anywhere until they emphasized defense, and we will pat ourselves on the back a bit for that one. Cleveland is second in the NBA in least points allowed and 8th in overall defensive rating.

Both figures are the best they’ve ranked in many years.

The Cavaliers have a pretty solid top of the roster right now, but beyond the top eight players, they need to get more help.

While before the season, most would have said Sexton is the best player (not us), now he might rank no higher than fourth. Through these 14 games, rookie Evan Mobley would rank at the top, averaging 14.6 points, 8 boards, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks per contest.

And he was shooting over 50% from the floor before last night’s game, and perhaps more impressive, is a 77% free throw shooter.

Add in third year player Darius Garland and you have a very good (and very young) guard/big man combination for opponents to worry about.

Garland currently leads the team in scoring at 16.8 per night, but has also dished out 6.7 assists and is knocking down three point shots at 40%. The playmaking of Garland and veteran Ricky Rubio have Cleveland ranking 7th in the league in assists, compared to 21st last season, and 24th in 2019-20.

We haven’t talked yet about Jarrett Allen, who we felt was the Cavaliers’ best player when last season ended, and this year has combined with Mobley to create a formidable barrier to scoring that the team has lacked, since who knows when?

Still just 23 years old, Allen is scoring 14.2 points and is grabbing 10.9 caroms a game, and is shooting (or perhaps dunking) 69.4% from the floor.

What is special is both Allen and Mobley are able to guard smaller men out on the floor, and we know from watching Tristan Thompson on the teams that went to the NBA Finals what a valuable ability that is.

Another player who has really helped out is a man many were ready to write off, and that’s Cedi Osman. He’s making 40.6% of his three point attempts, and if that is sustainable, he can be a help off the bench. He’s a solid defender and we still think his strength offensively is as a slasher.

When Love and Markkanen return to action, J.B. Bickerstaff will have nine players who can give him solid minutes. He will then have to figure out who else deserves minutes so he can play ten players.

It could be Dylan Windler, who has hit 9 of 21 from behind the arc, something he has struggled with in his injury plagued career. The wine and gold badly need players who can make shots from outside because it opens things up for Allen and Mobley inside.

The next four games will be measuring stick for how good this team is. However, even if they lose the majority of these contests, this team is fun to watch and the future bodes well.

After the past few seasons, that’s a large step in the right direction.

Avoiding Turnovers Is Key For Browns Today.

What a difference a week makes for the Cleveland Browns.

Seven days ago, there was turmoil surrounding the team, at least from the media and fans. The Browns decided their relationship with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was untenable, releasing him on Friday.

They had also lost three of their last four games, the offense looking stagnant in the last three contests, and were heading into Cincinnati to take on the explosive Bengals, who were sitting at 5-3, having handily defeated the Raven just two weeks prior.

A loss in southern Ohio would have Kevin Stefanski’s crew under the .500 mark and any chance of winning the AFC North dissolving.

Of course, we now know Cleveland took care of business against the Bengals, winning 41-16 to raise their record to 5-4, and with the Ravens losing to Miami on Thursday night, a win today against the Patriots would put the brown and orange just a half game out of the division lead.

It is very likely all four teams in the North will be within a half game of each other, and with most of the division games still left to play, the Browns still have four of their six remaining, they will be more important than ever.

The Patriots are a challenge because of their coach, the fabled Bill Belichick, most certainly going to the Hall of Fame, and likely to pass Don Shula at some point to be the league’s all-time leader in coaching wins. He currently sits 43 wins behind Shula.

Their defense forces turnovers, they rank fourth in the NFL in this statistic, but otherwise, their defense is in the middle of the pack, ranking 11th vs. the pass and 14th vs. the run. They have intercepted 13 passes.

In the two games they did not force a turnover, losses to New Orleans and Tampa Bay, the Pats scored just 13 and 17 points. It’s tough for them to put points on the board without the defense’s help.

And outside of the 54 point explosion in the second Jets game, the most points New England has scored this year is 29, in a loss to Dallas.

However, if you look at their schedule, two of their five wins are against the Jets, and they also defeated Houston. Those two teams have combined for three victories this year. They have won three in row though, including a victory over the Chargers, who Browns fans are all too familiar with.

The question for Stefanski and Baker Mayfield is can the offense hum like it did a week ago without the presence of Nick Chubb. D’Ernest Johnson did a fine job a couple of weeks ago vs. Denver and is certainly capable of putting up a 100 yard game, particularly with the offensive line relatively healthy.

When the Browns have both the ground attack and passing game working, they are a handful for any defense in the NFL.

With Chubb out, it will be interesting to see what Belichick wants to take away from the Stefanski, who by the way is similar in demeanor to the former Browns’ coach. They like to make teams one dimensional.

With 11 teams over .500 in the AFC, and Cleveland and New England being two of them, this is an important game in the conference standings.

Can the momentum gained in the win against the Bengals carry over? If the Browns hold on to the football, they will emerge from Foxboro with a needed victory.

Looking At Free Agents Who Can Get On Base For Guardians

With the hot stove league season firmly in place, we have discussed the Cleveland Guardians’ need to help their offense, which has dropped to ninth in the American League in runs scored.

We also feel the biggest need for the team is getting hitters with the ability to avoid making outs. We understand that may sound trite, but Cleveland ranked third from the bottom in on base percentage at .303. In a nutshell, they need batters who can reach base in other ways besides getting hits.

Guardians’ hitters ranked fourth last in the AL in drawing walks a year ago, and only Jose Ramirez walked more than 50 times last season. Myles Straw drew 67 walks, but only 29 were in a Cleveland uniform.

Are there any free agents available that could help in this area. Yes, the front office could (and should) target players on the trade front who get on base as well, but we wanted to look at the players already available.

We also aren’t going to look at players who will be well outside of the price range the Guardians operate in. So, even though Kris Bryant has a .376 on base mark, we know the Cleveland front office isn’t living in an area where they could give the former Cub and Giant what he is looking for.

We would be interested in a one or two year deal for former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen, who not only gets on base, but also would solve one of the corner outfield spots.

McCutchen is 35 years old and had a 778 OPS in 2021, hitting .222 with 27 HR and 80 RBI. He did walk 81 times however, so his on base percentage was a respectable .334. If his batting average got back into the .250 range it has been over the past few years, he would be a solid addition.

Another intriguing option, although he might want big money, is Anthony Rizzo. In our opinion, the Guardians need a first baseman, and Rizzo had a .344 OBP last year and a 783 OPS, hitting 22 dingers, knocking in 61 and drawing 52 walks in his time with both the Cubs and Yankees. He has a lifetime .369 on base average.

There is also soon to be 34-year-old Tommy Pham, coming off a poor season with San Diego, in which he hit .229, but still had a .340 OBP. He also had 15 homers. The right-handed hitting Pham has a career .364 on base mark, and also has a career 810 OPS. He might be worth a one or two year deal as well.

And last is the player the Guardians have been linked to by many sources, former Oakland A’s outfield Mark Canha. He will be 33 next year, and over the last three seasons, has on gotten on base at 39.6%, 38.7%, and last year’s 35.8%, drawing a career high 77 walks.

He also has some pop, hitting 60 home runs over the past three full major league seasons.

All of these players strikeout a little more than we would like, but as long as they are drawing a good share of walks, we can live with the whiffs.

Adding one of these players would be a big help to the offense for Terry Francona’s squad, and the fact they are veterans wouldn’t hurt. The game is measured by the number of outs, and these guys do a better job of avoiding them than what the Guardians currently have.

NBA’s Biggest Surprise? How About The Cavs?

It is fair to say the Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA through the first three weeks of the 2021-22 season.

Faced with a brutal early season schedule, which had them playing just three of their first 11 games at home, and with games against eight playoff teams from a year ago, J.B. Bickerstaff’s crew has gone 7-4, winning the last four contests, and now have a schedule featuring eight of their next nine at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Just think about what you will think if the Cavs take care of business at home.

However, this is still a very young basketball team, so it is tough to predict the future, but they have won the last four despite not having Isaac Okoro, Kevin Love at all, and no Lauri Markkanen for the last three. All three of those players are in the nine man rotation Bickerstaff favors.

After the first two games, in which the Cavaliers allowed 132 and 123 points respectively, we would not have thought this type of success would be possible. We have said on many occasions, that until defense is taken seriously by this organization, winning would be very difficult.

Since then, the 113 points put up by the Lakers on October 29th (game #6) is the most scored against Cleveland. They rank in the top half of the league (13th) in defensive efficiency.

They also started trying to race up and down the floor in those first two games, but since have slowed it down, so much that Cleveland is 25th in the NBA in pace.

It’s a formula that has led to success. Hats off to Bickerstaff and the coaching staff for developing a system that allows this group to have some prosperity.

Bickerstaff decided to go with size at the beginning of the season, using Markkanen, Jarrett Allen, and rookie Evan Mobley at the same time. That move has paid dividends to date, even without Markkanen on the floor lately.

Allen, who signed a $100 million deal over the summer, has played like an all star, averaging 14.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per night, and shooting 68.7% from the floor. He also keyed two wins on the defensive end in this streak, defending Damian Lillard and OG Anunoby from making game winning shots.

We can’t say enough about Mobley. When we saw him at the summer league, he looked frightfully thin, but obviously he has a great work ethic. He’s noticeable bigger and stronger, and playing like someone in the conversation for Rookie of the Year.

He’s scoring 14.9 points and grabbing 8 rebounds per game and is a force defensively near the basket and on the perimeter. And he’s shooting 52% from the floor. Add in two and a half assists and 1.3 blocks, and you have someone impacting both ends of the court.

The scoring is more balanced as well. Collin Sexton doesn’t have to score 25 points per game anymore. This year’s team has eight players averaging nine points or more per contest. They have five players taking more than 11 shots per night.

And what an addition Ricky Rubio has been! We said when he came over from Minnesota, he knows how to play. His 13.7 points and almost 7 assists per night have been invaluable so far.

And despite what on most nights is a nine man rotation, no one is playing more than Mobley’s 34.4 minutes per night, and that’s probably a little high considering he’s a rookie (and his frame). Our guess is when Love and Markkanen return, that number will go down some.

Right now, this group is one of the game’s surprising teams, and the key word is “team”. If the wine and gold can continue this style of play on this extended home stand, it could be a fun winter in downtown Cleveland.

Teams will start figuring a way to counter what the Cavs are doing, but they do have veterans in Rubio and Love to help the young guys through it.