Clarkson Deal First Of Many?

After winning two straight games, the Cleveland Cavaliers took the first step to rebuilding their roster for the 2020-21 season.

They moved Jordan Clarkson to the Utah Jazz in exchange for oft-injured guard Dante Exum and two future second round draft picks.

It may not seem like a big return for the wine and gold’s third leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, but perhaps it was a deal GM Koby Altman thought needed to be made sooner than later.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that several veterans weren’t happy with coach John Beilein’s “rah-rah college” coaching philosophy.

We immediately figured Clarkson was one of those critical, which was merely speculation on our part, mostly because Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. came out and quickly squashed the comments, and Kevin Love spoke highly of Beilein during training camp.

So, if Clarkson was indeed not happy here, Altman probably figured the sooner, the better to get him out of here.

Plus, Beilein was playing Clarkson at the end of close games because of his scoring ability, especially when his shot was falling, and this generally took one of his young guards, usually Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr. off the floor during crunch time.

Porter, in particular, has been earning more time with his recent play, averaging 11.1 points per game on 51.1% shooting in December, and it would figure that he would get first crack at Clarkson’s minutes.

Plus, Clarkson was going to be a free agent after the season, and why not get something back for the veteran who arrived in Cleveland with Nance at the trade deadline in 2017-18.

He also isn’t a “move the ball” type of player than Beilein prefers.

Exum is a wild card because he’s suffered with injuries pretty much since he entered the league as the fifth overall pick in 2014.

First, he’s 6’5″ (an inch taller than Clarkson, which we have said is a must in any deal), and at his heart is a point guard first.

The only year he was relatively healthy was 2016-17, when at 21 years old, he averaged 6.2 points and 1.7 assists per night in 18.6 minutes.

This season, he’s barely played, getting into 11 games and playing just 83 minutes.

However, in the Cavs’ position, why not see if Exum can be an NBA player? It’s not as though Cleveland is making a playoff run, and if he can play up to the potential of his draft status, the wine and gold have a 24-year-old lottery ticket.

As we said before the real reason for the deal is to clear out a potential problem in the locker room, and to open up playing time for Porter, who by the way, when he plays well, the Cavaliers are a much better team.

This is the first of probably a few more moves for Altman before the trade deadline in February.

Besides Love, who has asked to be moved, Cleveland still has free agents (read: Expiring contracts) to be in Tristan Thompson, Brandon Knight, John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova, and Ante Zizic.

The Cavs might be interested in bringing back Thompson and even Dellavedova next year, and Zizic can’t get on the floor right now, but all of these guys could be available for future draft picks plus a bad contract.

Although the return wasn’t great, this was a move Altman felt he needed to make, and right now was the best time.

Has Anyone Thought Maybe It’s Not Kitchens?

With the Cleveland Browns dropping the last two games, they now sit at 6-9 on the season, and a season once filled with expectations (before it started) will end next weekend at Cincinnati.

That means no playoffs once again.

And, because we live in Cleveland, Ohio, there is clamoring for head coach Freddie Kitchens to be fired. Because, fans can’t get enough of the revolving door at the position.

Now, we have no idea if Kitchens will ever be a winning NFL coach, but we do think he should get an opportunity to learn from his mistakes in 2019. We say this because we don’t know that all of the Browns’ problems should fall on the head coach.

Look, the time management decision at the end of the half is indefensible, and so was the comment that he was going to go for it on 4th and 1 from his own 28 yard line with a 6-0 lead after the ill-fated Kareem Hunt option pass.

However, what if Kitchens gets the same opportunity next Sunday and runs the ball to run out the half? Then, he learned from his mistake/experience.

We understand the impatience. The Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 and have made the playoffs once. They haven’t had a winning season since 2007. People want to see a winning football team.

Fans and media alike are clamoring for Ron Rivera, recently fired by the Carolina Panthers. But Rivera spent nine seasons in Carolina, and had three winning seasons. Is he the answer for sure?

Based on that record, we would say not. Former Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy is also mentioned, and he at least has nine playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title on his resume.

However, his running attack has never been effective (yes, we know he had Aaron Rodgers), and the Browns’ best offensive weapon is Nick Chubb.

Our main point here is we, as fans, don’t really know who is to blame for this losing season. It is just assumed that it’s the head coach, and that may not be fair.

It could be a disconnect between the offensive coordinator and the head coach. It could be a more complicated offensive attack than some players can handle, and/or that offensive could be something that doesn’t play into the skill set of the quarterback.

Or it could be Mayfield is a passer who wants to know exactly where is receivers will be, and the receivers the Browns have like to free lance.

Of course, it could also be Kitchens trying to be too much of a friend to the players instead of their boss, or being stubborn in not doing what the front office wants to do.

The only people who really know what happened to the 2019 Cleveland Browns are in the building in Berea. John Dorsey has been very quiet as this season progressed, and perhaps he is doing some self reflection as to what he did wrong in the off-season.

Again, we understand the frustration and lack of patience with the 2019 season, every Browns’ fan can’t wait for a playoff spot.

But you have to trust in the front office that was assembled. Dorsey, Alonzo Highsmith, and Elliot Wolf have been around the game a long time. So, if Kitchens is back next season, it’s because that trio wants him to be back.

And everyone should be okay with that. Obviously, they know a little more about the reasons for another losing season than everyone else.

The Reason To Keep Frankie

The Cleveland Indians were in the news this week, but not for anything the front office would be happy about.

Mostly, the news involved what to do with their star shortstop, Francisco Lindor.

Lindor isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2021 season, meaning he can play with the Tribe for two more full seasons with Indians just having to pay what he gets in arbitration, likely around $16-17 million this year and depending what kind of season he has, over $20 million in ’21.

At that point, Lindor could walk away from the franchise, with the Indians just getting draft pick compensation.

Many feel the Indians should move now because a deal involving the star shortstop would allow a possible trading partner two full seasons on Lindor, thus they would be willing to give up more to the Tribe.

However, we believe the best course of action for the Indians is to keep Lindor for two more years and see how everything plays out.

Here are our reasons:

Winning. Cleveland’s win totals over the last four seasons are 93, 91, 102, and 94. They are most definitely a threat to reach the post-season in 2020 and 2021. Why give away that chance, which leads us to…

2. Return From A Trade. Most likely, a deal for Lindor will bring back an established major leaguer who won’t be as good as Lindor along with some top prospects, who probably won’t be very good players (if they ever become very good) for a few years. Trading your best player weakens the team in the short run.

3. Youth Is Still On Tribe’s Side. The Indians are a reletively young team. In their current projected starting lineup, only catcher Roberto Perez and 1B/DH Carlos Santana are over 30 years old, and Lindor (26) and Jose Ramirez (27) are entering the prime of their careers, meaning their best years should be coming very soon.

4. Pitching. The Tribe still has plenty of it. Even with the trade of Corey Kluber, the rotation is still headed by Mike Clevinger (29), Shane Bieber (25), Carlos Carrasco (33), and a pair of 25-year-olds in Aaron Civale and Zach Plesac to round it out. The bullpen could be very tough in late innings with Brad Hand, and newcomer Emmanuel Clase and rookie James Karinchak. No reason to waste it.

With the Kluber deal, the Indians can still pay Lindor what he gets in arbitration this season, and improve the offense with the money saved in the Kluber trade, and still be at a comfort level in terms of payroll.

Plus, a lot of things can change in two years.

First, the basic agreement expires after 2021, and who knows, maybe the owners get a “franchise tag” in the next round of collective bargaining. Also, with the news that came out about John Sherman when we bought the Royals, it appears the Dolan family is at least thinking about selling the franchise.

And don’t forget the Indians local television deal ends after 2022, so another influx of cash could present itself to ownership.

Our point is simply this, don’t force yourself into a false deadline. Sometimes the best course of action is to let things play out.

All sorts of things can happen in two years. Heck, the Indians might even win a World Series. And that has a better chance of happening with Francisco Lindor wearing a Cleveland uniform.

Is Patience Best Course Of Action For Browns?

The Cleveland Browns had great expectations coming into the 2019 NFL season, and instead they were a huge disappointment, likely finishing the year with a losing record.

Again.

Many folks around northeast Ohio place the blame solely on head coach Freddie Kitchens, demanding his head as soon as the 16th game of the campaign is completed in Cincinnati.

However, it’s not just Kitchens who should be blamed and that’s why we can’t get on board with firing him when the season ends.

This is not to say Kitchens is the next Bill Belichick or John Harbaugh, but rather he should get the opportunity to make changes based on his experience of 2019. Let’s see if he can grow in the position.

We understand everyone’s impatience, but is it worth the risk of starting over…again.

Besides, there are other things we would like to say answered or addressed by the Browns’ front office.

Can John Dorsey change his philosophy of team building? Right now, the Cleveland GM bases everything on talent, and talent alone. He doesn’t seem to worry about character or work ethic.

Sometimes (Kareem Hunt) it works. Other times (Antonio Callaway, Odell Beckham Jr.) it doesn’t.

You have to look beyond the talent. Does the player have a solid work ethic, do they work hard in the off-season, are they a good teammate? Do they want to be great?

Our thought is (and we wrote about this earlier in the season) the Browns need more guys like Nick Chubb and J.C. Tretter, guys who play hard, do their work, and value winning above everything else.

We would like to see two players in particular dedicate their off-season to working toward winning.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Baker Mayfield reached out to say, Drew Brees, a quarterback similar in game and stature, and pick his brain on how to prepare for a season, and how to dedicate yourself to having a successful NFL career.

And what if Beckham, instead of jet setting around the globe, got his body in top condition? After all, he’s battled injuries in each of his last three seasons. We would also like to see him in mini camps, so he can develop chemistry with his quarterback.

We are sure Mayfield and Beckham aren’t the only issues too.

The offensive and defensive coordinators should also be examined.

If Kitchens returns, does his philosophy match Todd Monken’s? We have had the nagging thought all season that the offense run late last season when the Browns were lighting up the scoreboard isn’t the one they ran this season.

Did the defenses adjust, or did the Browns adjust themselves out of success?

Defensively, stopping the running game has to be a priority. The Browns have consistently finished in the bottom half of the NFL in run defense over the past 10 years.

We understand today’s pro football is pass happy, but if you can’t stop the run, it makes it tougher to rush the passer and play press coverage.

Again, the organizations’ philosophy was to pressure the QB, and that’s a sound strategy, but you can’t ignore stopping the ground game either. For the most part, teams that don’t stop the run are bad football teams.

In our opinion, it would be best if everyone took a step back and fix the things that went wrong in 2019, rather than throw it all away and start over in 2020.

The Browns are no longer devoid of talent, but they now need to become a team.

The Kluber Deal Isn’t Over Yet.

Our thoughts on the Indians’ trade of two time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber? Let us know when it is complete.

Yes, we understand the deal with the Rangers has been completed with the Tribe getting reliever Emmanuel Clase and OF Delino DeShields Jr. in exchange for Kluber, but what Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff do from here is what will form opinion on the transaction.

We don’t have a huge problem with the concept of dealing Kluber, even though he is arguably the best pitcher Cleveland has had since Bob Feller. You deal from strength, and starting pitching is the Indians’ strength.

In reality, we thought Kluber was going to be moved a year ago, coming off a 20 win season, because the Tribe had holes to fill, and moving the veteran right-hander could have filled at least a couple of those needs.

They kept him and Trevor Bauer going into the 2019 season, and now both are gone, bringing Franmil Reyes, Clase, DeShields, and Logan Allen, a top 100 prospect as recently as before last season, and Scott Moss. Both Allen and Moss are southpaws, and could be in Cleveland this season.

Cleveland needs help in the bullpen, and Clase could team with James Karinchak to form a high octane duo to set up Brad Hand. Clase has a 100 MPH cutter, and Karinchak is a strikeout artist. No question the Indians needed some power arms in the back end of the bullpen.

DeShields isn’t really a factor for us. He had a 672 OPS last season, and away from the hitter’s haven that is (was) Globe Life Park, that figure drops to 519. It is hard to imagine him making an impact on Terry Francona’s roster in 2020.

Those two in themselves don’t qualify as enough return for a man who was one of the best starting pitchers in baseball as recently as 2018.

The reason we say we can’t evaluate the move right now is the roughly $14-15 million saved by Cleveland in the deal. If as Antonetti says, that cash will be used to strengthen the roster, then it could be a great move.

The Indians still have holes at either 2B or 3B (Jose Ramirez will play the other spot), and they could certainly use another proven bat in the outfield. If the front office uses the saved money to fill those areas, then the ballclub might be better off in the long run.

Without Kluber, the Cleveland has a projected starting rotation of Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Carlos Carrasco, Aaron Civale, and Zach Plesac. The also have Adam Plutko, Jefry Rodriguez, Allen, Moss, and hopefully Triston McKenzie available in AA and above.

At least one and maybe more could be candidates for the bullpen too.

The ball is now in the hands of the front office. Use the newly found money to supplement the major league roster.

Of course, we thought they would do the same thing last winter, and they wound up just trimming the payroll from where it was in 2018.

After winning 93 games a year ago, the Cleveland Indians shouldn’t be looking at a rebuilding mode, they should be looking at chasing down the Minnesota Twins.

Hopefully, they will add to the roster so they can return to the post-season in 2020.

Tribe Needs They Should Be Looking To Fill.

With baseball’s Winter Meetings now concluded, and Francisco Lindor still on the Cleveland Indians’ roster, we can now focus on the holes the Tribe still has on its roster right now.

The Indians’ offense was slightly below league average at 4.75 runs per game (the AL norm was 4.88), so that’s a good place to start. Especially when you consider the pitching staff was third in ERA and one of only four American League teams under 4.00 (Tampa, Houston, and Oakland).

The offense needs to get better. Right now, Terry Francona has three solid hitters in his lineup: Lindor, Jose Ramirez, and Carlos Santana. Franmil Reyes should be able to provide power (and lots of it), but he also strikes out a ton and needs to get on base a little more.

Oscar Mercado showed signs of being a good player (761 OPS), but he’s another young player who needs (and should develop) more patience at the plate.

And Jordan Luplow was a terror vs. southpaws in 2019 (1181 OPS), but his minor league numbers don’t indicate he should be strictly a platoon player in the big leagues. We would like to see him get an opportunity to play everyday.

However, the latter two players are somewhat gambles, and a team that figures to be in contention in 2020 has to minimize the “ifs” on the roster.

What has to be addressed before spring training?:

2B/3B: Jason Kipnis is a free agent, and let’s face it, hasn’t been the same since 2016, and Ramirez has told the front office he will play either spot, he just wants to stay put. So, president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff have to fill this spot, and the internal options aren’t very promising.

They could give the spot to Yu Chang, who had a 560 OPS in a limited role late in the season, but his minor league numbers aren’t exciting either, .251 career batting average, 762 OPS.

They also have Christian Arroyo, a former top 100 prospect who was acquired from Tampa at the deadline last season, but he has been injured much of the last three seasons, and has a 622 OPS in 70 big league games.

We would be looking for another alternative.

OF: We mentioned Mercado and Luplow earlier, and the plan is to use Reyes some in rightfield, but no doubt, he will be more of a DH, so there are a lot of at bats to fill in LF and RF.

With Yasiel Puig a free agent, the candidates include Greg Allen (644 career OPS), Jake Bauers (691), Bradley Zimmer (652), and Daniel Johnson, who batted .290 with an 868 OPS at Columbus and Akron a year ago.

We would think the brass would like another proven bat to patrol the outfield.

Bullpen: Last season, Francona and pitching coach Carl Willis patched through the season with Brad Hand and some twine and rubber bands to put together a solid relief corps.

Fans also got a look at strikeout artist, rookie James Karinchak, who whiffed everyone in the minors, and then eight big league hitters in 5-1/3 innings.

No doubt, the Indians need more power arms at the back of their bullpen, to bridge the gap from an outstanding starting rotation to Hand, and also to not overuse their closer, which is what happened a year ago.

The Indians have some starting pitching depth to fill some of these holes. And while a few of the young players are promising, a contending team has to have fall back options.

That’s what Antonetti, Chernoff, and his crew should be working on between now and when the 2020 Tribe gets together in Goodyear, Arizona.

Evaluating Baker So Far.

A certain media member in town consistently refers to Baker Mayfield as “statistically the worst quarterback in the NFL”. While that is true, you have to remember that the statistic he refers to is really called “passer rating”.

The stat measures basically three things: Completion percentage, average yards per attempt, and how many touchdowns and interceptions you throw. You can pile up incredible numbers in those categories while you are losing a game 28-7.

The point is it is not a true measurement of how great a quarterback is, it does measure how efficient you are as a passer.

The current NFL passing leader is Ryan Tannehill, followed by Kirk Cousins, Drew Brees, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson.

Brees is a future Hall of Famer, while Jackson and Wilson are the favorites for league MVP. The other two?

Cousins was also in the top five a year ago, and the QB who was 6th was Case Keenum, who is no longer a starter in the NFL.

As a frame of reference, the others in the top five last season were Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Matt Ryan, and Aaron Rodgers. Four excellent signal callers.

Looking at Mayfield, if his interceptions were cut in half, his passer rating would increase from his current 77.6 to 85.3, moving him from 33rd to 24th in the NFL.

So, we were thinking, rating aside, where would the Browns’ quarterback rank in the league based on just our opinion, devoid of any statistics.

AFC East: Tom Brady, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Ryan Fitzpatrick. It would be presumptuous to put Mayfield ahead of Brady, but we’d take him over anyone else, including Allen, who is still more dangerous with his legs than his arm.

AFC North: Jackson, Andy Dalton, Duck Hodges. As we said, Jackson is the co-MVP favorite, and until Roethlisberger retires, we would take him as well.

AFC South: Tannehill, DeShaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew. Watson is spectacular, still wish the Browns had taken him in 2017. Otherwise, we’ll take Mayfield over the rest.

AFC West: Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr, Philip Rivers, Drew Lock? Rivers is a borderline Canton enshrinee, but has been bad this year, Mahomes is last year’s MVP and a top two or three QB in the game today. We would prefer Mayfield to Carr, Rivers, and Lock right now.

NFC East: Dak Prescott, Carson Wentz, Daniel Jones, Dwayne Haskins Jr. Although Wentz has struggled this year, and we aren’t huge fans of Prescott, we acknowledge they should both rank ahead of the Cleveland QB.

NFC North: Rodgers, Cousins, Mitch Trubisky, Matthew Stafford. The first two have to be ahead, white Trubisky is clearly behind. Stafford puts up a lot of stats, but doesn’t win. For the sake of argument, we’ll take him over Baker.

NFC South: Brees, Ryan, Jameis Winston, Kyle Allen. No question here, Brees and Ryan are ahead of Mayfield.

NFC West: Jimmy Garoppolo, Wilson, Jared Goff, Kyler Murray. We would say only Murray would be behind his former teammate at Oklahoma.

That would rank Mayfield 16th among the quarterbacks in the league, and you can make a case he could be a little higher.

That’s why talk of being a draft bust is ridiculous. Some players start off great, then have a learning curve, and then wind up being great players.

If at this time next year, Mayfield has shown more signs of regression, then perhaps his leash will be shorter. But let’s wait until that is seen.

The OBJ Dilemma

You would think the center of the drama world might be in New York City or Hollywood, CA, but they have nothing on what goes on weekly in the Cleveland suburb of Berea, OH, the home of the Cleveland Browns.

Yes, the Browns won Sunday to move their record to 6-7 and keep their flickering playoff hopes alive, but after the contest, all everyone could focus on was the continuing saga of Odell Beckham Jr. and the comments about the medical staff by QB Baker Mayfield.

Beckham seems to love this. There is always some kind of issue swirling around him, whether it be a visor tinted too dark, or what kind of shoes he is wearing, or now, is he injured, and if so, what is the extent of the problem?

The big question is does it affect the rest of the roster?

Look, we don’t want to come off as “get off my lawn” guy. Quite frankly, if Beckham were playing at a level that made him one of the best wide receivers in the NFL he could play barefoot with a crown on his head.

Unfortunately, probably due to the injury, he’s not. He’s not even the best player at his position on the team, that would be Jarvis Landry, who seems likely to set a career high in receiving yards in 2019.

We haven’t forgotten the rumor about him telling Browns’ opponents to come after him in the off-season either. We hope that’s all it is, a rumor. Because there is no way GM John Dorsey is going to recoup what he spent on Beckham during the off-season.

We could argue the organization has bent over backwards to make OBJ happy, from changing an offense that worked in the second half last season, to Mayfield trying his best to make him part of that offense. And we definitely feel the quarterback is forcing the ball to him.

There is no question Beckham is gifted. He has the talent to be the best in the sport, and a bust in Canton to go along with it. We question whether or not that’s what he wants.

As former Cavalier Jarrett Jack once said, some players love the game, others love the lifestyle. Which is Beckham?

This isn’t to say Beckham is a bad teammate. He’s a willing downfield blocker on running plays, and hasn’t complained about his role until the comments came out this past weekend. His average yards per game is at a career low.

Again, that could be due to the injury.

His teammates like him as well, much like they did in New York.

If Beckham wants to be here in 2020, we would like to see a renewed emphasis on football. That means more appearances at the off-season programs, not all of them, but enough build a rapport with Mayfield.

It also means running routes with more precision, something his QB prefers to a free lance approach.

We’d also like him to take more of a leadership role, although that may not be in his makeup.

If he can’t or won’t do that, maybe it is better for the Browns to move on from this noble experiment. It was noted earlier in the year that perhaps it was too soon for the Browns to take on a player like Odell Beckham Jr.

We believe you need to have a culture of winning in place before taking on a “diva wide receiver”. That’s something Cleveland is still working on.

If Anything, Beilein Should Be Tougher On Young Cavs.

We have been saying for the past couple of seasons, the one good thing you could say about the front office of the Cleveland Cavaliers, is they haven’t brought in any knuckleheads.

After the reports that some players are quoted that coach John Beilein’s too much of a “rah rah” college coach, we stand corrected.

To be fair, it could be a false report, or it could also be the rantings of a disgruntled player who is trying to ease his way out of Cleveland, but with the Cavs currently at 5-17, and losers of 12 of their last 13, it wasn’t a good time to be happening, for everyone involved.

First of all, Beilein was brought in for his teaching skill. The wine and gold have a very young roster, outside of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson, and maybe of them need to learn how to play the game, and we aren’t speaking about just the pro game either.

Second, if a player is upset about not getting playing time in Cleveland, he should be more worried about his future in the NBA. The Cavaliers are one of the worst teams in the league, and if you can’t get on the court for that team, then perhaps as Chuck Noll used to say, you need to get on with your life’s work.

In our opinion, Beilein should be tougher. The coach says he wants a team that moves the ball, like Boston or Dallas, but his starting guards average 2.9 assists (Darius Garland) and 2.4 assists (Collin Sexton) per game.

The teams’ best player, five time All Star Kevin Love, averages the third most shots on the team, behind Sexton and Thompson, and is barely ahead of Garland and Jordan Clarkson.

And it isn’t like Love is coasting, waiting to be dealt to a contender. He’s still averaging 10.5 rebounds per night, and this is for a Cleveland team that is smaller than the opponents on a nightly basis.

What would be do if we were coaching? We know Beilein was brought in to develop the young players, so he is trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but we would start making some cuts in playing time to send a message.

Sexton is showing signs of being a “chucker”, looking for his shot before anything else. It might be time to have some time to understand what the coach is looking for offensively.

We have said this for a few weeks, but we would move Nance into the lineup at small forward (he’s shooting 37% from three) and move Cedi Osman to the two. That would instantly make Cleveland bigger, but Nance is a very good passer and Osman isn’t bad, so it would increase ball movement.

And maybe, it lights a fire under the second year guard, who we think has regressed from the way he ended his rookie season.

It would also open up some time for Alfonzo McKinnie, who we would like to see more of.

Whose minutes would be cut? We understand the Cavs would like to deal Clarkson, an asset because of his expiring contract, but his shoot first mentality is an odd fit here anyway.

Moving Nance to the three would also open up minutes for Ante Zizic, who the organization needs to find out about.

Thompson was very vocal after Friday’s game about the comments about the coach, saying it was a bad look, although he was much more forceful than that.

GM Koby Altman should be finding out who made the comments and get them out of town as quickly as possible.

The Cavs made a bold choice in bringing in Beilein. Now they need to have his back.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Thus Far For Cavs

After getting off to a decent start to the NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have become what most people thought going into the season. They are one of the worst teams in the league at 5-15.

Only three teams have a worse record: Atlanta (5-16), New York (4-17) and Golden State (4-18).

With three players 20 years old or younger getting primary minutes, the wine and gold’s poor record isn’t unexpected. And we certainly feel John Beilein has done a solid job teaching and guiding the young roster.

That said, here is the good, the bad, and the ugly as the Cavs hit the quarter pole of the 2019-20 campaign.

The Good. Tristan Thompson has improved his offense, averaging 13.9 points (more than two points above his career high) and continues to rebound well, also at career high 10.6 per game. Whether he stays with the Cavs or is moved before the trade deadline, he has been a positive influence both on and off the court.

Larry Nance Jr. has improved his perimeter shooting, hitting 39% of his three point shots. He’s averaging 10.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. We do wish the team would take advantage of his passing more often.

Kevin Porter Jr. has shown flashes enough that we can see him living up to his reputation as being the steal of last year’s draft being the last pick in the first round.

He’s getting 20 minutes per night, usually at small forward where he is usually undersized. And he’s a pretty good passer for a rookie too.

The Bad. Collin Sexton seems to have leveled off, perhaps because he is sharing the playmaking duties with rookie Darius Garland. His three point shooting has dropped to 32% from 40% last year, and his assist total has dropped. There are too many possessions for the Cavaliers where Sexton is the only one touching the ball.

Which brings us to this–Kevin Love is getting the least shots per game of his Cleveland career at 11.4. Love is still the Cavs’ best offensive player. It would help if everyone else on the team realized that.

Granted, he’s missed some time lately with a back issue, but the five time all star has taken more than 14 shots just three times since the sixth game of the season. He took more than 14 is three of the first six games.

The Cavs need more size. They are statistically the smallest team in the NBA, averaging 6-5.5″ per player. The league average is a full inch larger. The tallest Cav is Ante Zizic, who plays little.

Basketball has changed, but you still need big guys to play it at the NBA level.

When Cleveland plays a team with any size at all, they get battered inside. Any move GM Koby Altman makes this season should involve bringing in size, at all positions.

The Ugly. For starters, Matthew Dellavedova’s three point shooting percentage of 9.4% (3 for 32). Perhaps, Delly is better off passing on the long range shot.

Cleveland is third last (ahead of only New York and Portland) in assists. This has to be Beilein’s pet peeve, as he stresses ball movement ad nauseum. Watching games, there is still way too much dribbling and not enough passing.

It might help if the ball were in the hands of guys like Love and Nance, both good and willing passers more often.

And the Cavs’ defense is starting to show signs of returning to last year’s horrific state. Part of it is the size issue as Cleveland is last in the NBA in blocked shots. The wine and gold need a rim protector in the worst way.