Cavs Running It Back? Bad Idea

With the NBA Finals soon to be over, the NBA crazy time will start very quickly. The draft will occur at the end of the month, followed by the free agency period where trades will occur.

In his post-season press conference, Cavs’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman made comments alluding to the wine and gold’s “Core 4”, and his desire to keep them together.

After all, his supporters will say, the Cavaliers have made progress in each of the last three seasons, going from making the “play-in” tournament and losing to getting into a seven game series to winning a first-round match up.

While all that is true, it can also be true to realize that might be the ceiling for this group. And really, isn’t that what Altman is paid to determine.

The first thing for Altman to decide is who will be the new head coach. It seems like it is down to three candidates: James Borrego, Kenny Atkinson, and Chris Quinn. We would have no issue with either of them.

Our only issue with Quinn would be he is the first lieutenant to Erik Spoelstra, the league’s best coach. Sometimes, these guys try to be their mentor, and since they aren’t that guy, it doesn’t work.

The people who think staying the course with the Cavs led by Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, usually are thinking about it from (surprise!) the offensive end of the floor. However, we say it all the time, basketball isn’t just about scoring points.

Our feeling continues to be Cleveland cannot continue with the small backcourt because Mitchell and Garland do not complement each other, but also because it is not effective from a defensive standpoint. So many contending teams have size at the guard position, and the Cavaliers don’t.

That puts them at a disadvantage.

The other thing that bothers us is the constant talk of having to move Jarrett Allen. We get it, “you can’t win with two non-shooting bigs”, that’s the argument, correct? But what we find difficult to fathom is how you get better by trading your second-best player, and that’s what Allen was this past season.

He averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 boards per night, shooting 63.4% from the floor. If you could trade Allen for a player who has a chance at being your best player, then yes, you can trade him. We doubt that would be the case.

And yesterday, it was reported that Mitchell doesn’t want Allen moved, and that will have weight within the organization.

As for Mobley’s “dominant” series vs. Boston in the second round, need we remind everyone he didn’t do this against Joel Embiid, Bam Adebayo, or even Kristaps Porzingis, he did it against 37-year-old Al Horford, a solid pro, but not a player who should be giving a player like Mobley fits.

Also, trading Allen (or Mobley for that matter) would be removing one of the few players with size on the roster. We understand a big man would come back in any deal, but that player likely wouldn’t be as skilled.

And Cleveland needs to add size, not get smaller. That’s for sure.

If Altman can add a slew of wings in the 6’7″ to 6’9″ range and add another big man to back up Allen and Mobley without giving up one of his core players, then great. We just don’t think that’s possible.

Can Kwan Do Something That Hasn’t Happened in 70 Years?

We understand that batting average as a statistic has been devalued in today’s game and that on base percentage is more meaningful, after all baseball is about getting on base (thus avoiding outs) and moving once you are on, which slugging percentage measures.

However, back in the day, when we were growing up, it was a big deal, the man who led their respective league in average was considered the “batting champ”, and it is still considered part of the traditional “triple crown”, a player who leads the league in average, home runs, and runs batted in.

We bring this up because in our lifetime, Cleveland has never had a batting champion. The last Indian/Guardian to lead the American League in average was Bobby Avila, and that occurred way back in 1954.

No, we aren’t that old!

A few players have come close. In the 1994 strike season, Paul O’Neill of the Yankees was awarded the batting title with a .359 average. Albert Belle was second at .357 and Kenny Lofton was fourth at .349.

Belle also hit 36 homers and knocked in 101 runs in just 106 games. No doubt it is among the things fans were robbed of by the players’ strike/lockout.

We bet most people won’t remember the previous high finish in the batting race, but it belongs to Miguel Dilone, who hit .341 in 1980 to finish third behind George Brett’s epic season of hitting .390 and Cecil Cooper who hit .352.

Dilone was a speedster who wound up with a lifetime .265 average, but for that season, he was a catalyst, with a .375 on base percentage and 61 steals, which at that time was a club record, topping the 52 swiped by Ray Chapman in 1917.

Could the string be broken this season? We don’t want to jinx the incredible Steven Kwan, but it sure looks like a possibility.

Kwan is currently second in the AL batting race, but that comes with an asterisk. The official leader is Bobby Witt of Kansas City at .326, and Kwan is second only because right now he doesn’t have enough at bats to qualify for the lead. If you add the necessary at bats in, Kwan ranks second at .318, just three points behind Witt.

However, Kwan’s real batting average is .380, 54 points better than the Royals’s shortstop and as soon as the Guardians’ leftfielder has enough at bats, he will have a sizeable advantage in the race.

The Guardians have played 66 games, and a qualifier has the have 3.1 plate appearances per contest, meaning Kwan would need 205 times at the dish. He currently has 183. Keep in mind, he is a leadoff hitter, so he often gets five at bats per night, so he should close that gap very soon.

Kwan is also putting up great numbers in how the game is viewed now. His on base percentage is .445 which would also lead the league with enough at bats, and he is slugging .534. His previous career best in that category was his rookie season, when he slugged .400.

Can it continue? If you mean hit .380, that might be a bit much to ask, but could he become Cleveland’s first batting champion since 1954? Let’s judge it when he finally qualifies for the top spot and see what kind of edge he has then.

We’ve been watching baseball in Cleveland a long time and we don’t remember a hitter like Steven Kwan. And even though batting average isn’t as important as it once was, doing something that hasn’t been done for 70 years is very much an accomplishment.

Remembering When Starting Pitching Brought Confidence To Guardians’ Fans

As recently as 2018, fans of the Cleveland baseball team were spoiled by their starting pitching. The rotation consisted of Corey Kluber (who won 20 games that year), Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, Trevor Bauer, and a rookie fifth starter named Shane Bieber.

At the time, we thought going into every game, the Indians had a legitimate chance to win because they had the edge between the two starting pitchers.

Even into the pandemic season of 2020, Terry Francona’s starters were at the top of the sport. Bieber emerged as a Cy Young winner that season, and he was backed up by Carrasco, Clevinger (before he was traded), Aaron Civale, and rookie Triston McKenzie.

Baseball people started to refer to the “Cleveland Pitching Factory”, with the organization seemingly able to crank out starter after starter. Heck, it happened last season when McKenzie went down in spring training, Zach Plesac proved ineffective, and Cal Quantrill was hurt, the Guardians simply went to the farm and called up Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen, and Gavin Williams.

Apparently, this season the factory has been shut down for repairs or something, because the organization is scrambling to put an effective starting pitcher on the mound each and every night.

It was certainly curious when the organization released Quantrill after the season rather than pay him through arbitration, where he figured to make about $6 million, not a lot of money for a guy who can give you innings.

The right-hander has pitched to a 3.58 ERA in Colorado this season logging a staff high 73 innings. By the way, those innings would also lead the Guardians’ staff.

The only pitcher signed over the winter was Reds’ castoff Ben Lively, who has been a savior for this year’s staff.

Bieber was lost to elbow surgery after two starts, leaving a huge void in the rotation, which coming into the season consisted of him, the three rookies, and McKenzie, who missed most of last year with an elbow issue.

Of the trio of first year arms called up last year and thought to provide the backbone of the rotation going forward, only Bibee has been close to his ’23 form, with a 3.73 ERA in 70 innings with 76 strikeouts and 19 walks.

Williams has missed all year with an elbow issue, but hopefully can return soon. Allen has made his 13 starts but has a 5.57 ERA.

McKenzie has not pitched like the guy who put up a 2.96 ERA in 2022. He has allowed a league leading 14 dingers (tied with his teammate Logan Allen) and also leads the league in walks with 36 in 62.2 innings of work.

Right now, the rotation has more holes than an old guy’s socks. And there were no solutions at hand.

Xzavion Curry has made three spot starts, one very good, the other two being “meh”. The ERA of the pitching staff at Columbus is 5.46 and the best starter down there is journeyman Connor Gillispie, who has a 5.02 ERA, although he has 60 strikeouts in 57.1 innings. He’s 26 years old.

The bullpen has taken on a heavy burden for the big club to get off to this 42-22 start. How long can they sustain the success pitching all of these innings? Could they do it all year? Sure, but based on the past, eventually it is going to catch up with them unless the starters start carrying their weight.

As we said, Lively has been a savior and Bibee has been solid. Carlos Carrasco has been a nice story in his return to the franchise, but he can’t be trusted to get through a lineup a third time.

McKenzie needs to throw strikes and he and Allen need to keep the ball in the yard.

More likely is the front office is going to have to overpay to bring in an arm. With the Cleveland bullpen, they may be able to get a guy who can soak up innings and keep the team in the game.

The rest of the team is doing too well for the rotation to be a burden.

Thoughts On Hoops And Cavs…

Some basketball thoughts and how they pertain to the Cleveland Cavaliers as the NBA Finals are in full swing.

**This has been a theme for us all year, but both the Celtics and Mavericks are significantly bigger all around the court than the Cavs. Boston goes with two 6’4″ guards, their forwards are 6’6″ and 6’7″ and with Al Horford at center they are still taller at three spots than the Cavs.

If Kristaps Porzingis is at center, they are taller at four spots with only Evan Mobley having a size advantage.

Dallas goes 6’10” at center, 6’7″ and 6’5″ at the forwards, and 6’7″ and 6’2″ in the backcourt. But they have two bigs they bring off the bench in Maxi Kleber and Dereck Lively, both of whom are 6’10”.

The Cavs simply have to get more size, particularly in the backcourt and small forward and running it back with the same crew simply doesn’t get that done.

Last year’s champs, Denver, goes 6’11”, 6’10”, 6’8″ up front with guards who are 6’4″ and 6’5″. The 2021 title holders, Milwaukee, started a 7 foot center, a 6’11” and 6’7″ pair at forwards and a backcourt of 6’4″ and 6’5″ players.

**Hall of Famer Becky Hammon, coach of the WNBA Las Vegas Aces, a great player and longtime assistant coach for the Spurs took some heat during the NBA season for suggesting it is difficult to win with a smaller player as your best player.

We agree with her. Think about it, how many small players were the best players on championship teams? We can think about only Isiah Thomas, who at 6’1″ led the Pistons to back-to-back titles.

It isn’t impossible. But that’s what the Cavaliers have to think about when building around Donovan Mitchell, should he agree to a contract extension.

And remember those Pistons’ teams had three big men, 6’11” or bigger among the top eight on their team in minutes, and one of the best wing defenders ever coming off the bench and getting starter minutes.

We aren’t saying they should abandon the Mitchell led team, but we are saying they need to put some size around him.

**Don’t forget the Cavs do have the 20th overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and there should be some size and experience there when they make their selection.

By experience, we mean players who have played a couple of years in college and because of that should be able to contribute right away. A couple of our favorites are 6’9″ Tristan da Silva, a four year college player at Colorado out of Germany and 6’10” Bobi Klintman, who played one year at Wake Forest, but is 21 years old.

We did see one mock draft with Cleveland taking a 6’5″ combo player and if that happens, we will lose any shred of confidence we have with the current front office.

It has been a while since the draft has been a thought in Cleveland. The Cavs did draft Ochai Agbaji in the first round in 2022, but he was quickly dealt to Utah in the Mitchell transaction.

Hopefully, whoever the Cavs select later this month will be around longer than Agbaji.

You’re A Candidate, You’re A Candidate…Cavs Coaching Search

By now, perhaps you too have received a request by the Cleveland Cavaliers to interview for their head coaching job. The Cavs have at least five or six candidates to date that they have received permission to interview.

That seems like a lot, particularly because when you made the decision to fire J. B. Bickerstaff, you would think they had at least one or two people in mind to take the job. That doesn’t seem the case.

We also wonder if there are so many candidates because they are looking for someone whose idea for the team is the same as Koby Altman’s, and that may be difficult to find.

We would think most coaches would look at the Cavaliers’ roster and say it will be very difficult to win in the playoffs with two small guards, two solid big men, and a bunch of undersized wings.

Our personal position is we would like someone with previous NBA head coaching experience. On the other hand, we don’t want a retread either. We consider the latter to be someone who has moved around the league from team to team, like a Doc Rivers or a Nate McMillan.

But someone who has had one job deserves a second chance. Isn’t everyone better the second time they do something? We have mentioned previously that we like Kenny Atkinson, who went 118-190 in four seasons with Brooklyn, and took them to the playoffs in one season.

James Borrego seems to be a solid candidate as well, after an interim gig with Orlando in 2014-15, he guided Charlotte for four seasons, the last one resulting in a 43-39 record, which you would think they would initiate statue building instead of getting a pink slip.

One of the candidates mentioned is troubling to us, and that would be Johnnie Bryant, reportedly someone with a close relationship with Donovan Mitchell. In our opinion, that would be a colossal mistake.

What happens if the Cavs aren’t winning with Bryant at the helm? Is the organization stuck with him because Mitchell likes him?

Bryant has no track record of being a head coach in the NBA. Could he lay the hammer down on Mitchell if need be? That’s a tough one because Mitchell would be the guy who got him the gig.

It also puts Mitchell in an imposing position within the organization, and frankly, he’s an excellent player, top 20 at least in the league right now, but he hasn’t earned that kind of gravitas.

It has been reported that Mitchell didn’t like the talk that he wanted Bickerstaff out, so does he want the pressure of being the guy who hired the next coach too?

If we were a candidate for the job, we would want to remake the roster to what currently works in the NBA, which means adding size, and we would want to know if the front office is amenable to doing that.

Especially if you are someone who didn’t play in the league and is hoping for a second chance to sit in the first chair. There aren’t many coaches who get a third chance without great success prior (see Mike Budenholzer).

Hopefully, this is Altman doing a thorough job in canvasing rather that an exercise in seeing who agrees with him.

We use this comment a lot in the world of sports: “The wise man knows what he doesn’t know”. We hope that doesn’t apply here.

Do Guardians Really Need A Shortstop? Not So Fast

As the calendar turns to June, the Major League Baseball trading deadline is now less than two months away. And with the Cleveland Guardians off to a tremendous start, speculation has started as to what the front office will be targeting at the July 30th deadline.

It doesn’t take in depth analysis to realize the Guardians need starting rotation help, although you could say that with most contending teams.

Obviously, losing Shane Bieber after two starts was a huge blow, and not having Gavin Williams to date, has really wiped out 40% of the rotation. Williams is making progress, making a rehab start last week, and perhaps he can be back before July 1st.

Still, although Tanner Bibee has been very good (4-1, 3.74 ERA) he is averaging less than 6 innings per start. The same is true of the other rotation pieces, Triston McKenzie and Ben Lively.

This is put a heavy toll on the bullpen, which has been the strength of the team. The list of the top ten in the American League in appearances features four pitchers wearing Cleveland uniforms: Emmanuel Clase is tied for the league lead with 30. Hunter Gaddis and Nick Sandlin are tied for fourth at 29, and Scott Barlow is tied for 7th at 28.

Add in Tim Herrin with 27 games and rookie Cade Smith with 25. So far, no one has lost effectiveness, but you would hate to get into August and have the relief corps suffer a downturn.

The other position that comes up is shortstop. However, if you look at WAR, the Guardians’ weakest positions have been RF and catcher. The rightfield issue may sort itself out as we wouldn’t be surprised if David Fry starts getting more playing time there now that Stephan Kwan has returned.

We have written about Fry before, and when you are hitting .355 with an OPS of 1128, your manager is going to figure out how to get you in the lineup.

Brayan Rocchio doesn’t have a lot of pop, and we are sure people look at his .203 batting average and say he has to be replaced. But looking inside the numbers, you see that Rocchio is tied for second on the team in walks with 23, behind only Fry with 24.

So is on base percentage is .308, which is the American League average. And Rocchio has been more than adequate defensively, which is important because first and foremost, shortstop is a defensive position.

Let’s not overlook the Guardians’ excellent start and the way the hitting has produced runs certainly buys Rocchio more time.

And we have always said this. If Cleveland was having problems producing offense, then Rocchio would certainly be under more scrutiny. But they are winning and scoring.

We have also always felt that good lineups need seven solid bats in the batting order to be productive. The league average OPS is 699 right now, and the Guards have five hitters over that figure, but over the last month, Tyler Freeman is close at 694.

We are willing to give Rocchio more time, especially because he has an acceptable strikeout/walk ratio, meaning he is not getting dominated by opposing pitchers.

If you are asking, we would add pitching first and foremost, because we agree with former skipper Terry Francona, when you think you have enough pitching, you go out and get some more.

We would rank the trade targets this way: 1). Starter 2). Reliever 3). Starter…….4). shortstop.

Six weeks from now, we may sing a different tune.

With Watson, We Have To See It To Believe It.

Since we live in northeast Ohio and football is discussed all year round, the talk about Deshaun Watson is relentless. So, we guess we will dive into the conversation about the Browns’ quarterback too.

We will start by not understanding how anyone can have confidence that Watson will be one of the best signal callers in the NFL. We do agree that at one point in his career, Watson was a top five QB in the league, but we are getting farther and farther away from that occurance.

We understand passer rating is not the true measure of quarterback play, but with Houston, Watson had a 104.5 rating and in his dozen games with the Browns, that mark has dipped to 81.7.

Every metric has decreased significantly from his time with the Texans–

Houston Cleveland
Completion % 67.8 59.8
Yards/Attempt 8.3 6.5
Interception % 2.1 2.6

In 2020, Watson completed 70% of his passes. In his 12 games with the Browns, he has had one game, last year’s win over the Titans where he initially was injured, where he completed that high of a percentage (27 of 33, 81.8%).

Can Watson get back to close to the level he played at in Houston? The Browns are trying everything to help him. They hired a new offensive coordinator, Ken Dorsey, who has experience guiding a mobile passer.

Perhaps the bigger question is what happens is the Browns get off to a poor start, and quarterback play is a large factor? Cleveland has a huge financial commitment to Watson and has it for three more seasons.

Meanwhile, the rest of the roster is set up to win now. Myles Garrett is 28 years old and in his prime, winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season. Joel Bitonio is 32 and in his 9th season. Amari Cooper is 29, and David Njoku is now 27. Denzel Ward is 26.

They made the playoffs last season with Watson starting only six contests, and really only played in five. It would figure that if he played like he did in Houston, the Browns would be a Super Bowl contender.

The situation reminds us of the Odell Beckham situation. When the Browns traded for him in 2019, it had been two seasons since he was truly an elite receiver. Fans and media alike kept waiting for the guy who dazzled the NFL in his first three seasons, but that Beckham didn’t exist any more.

What if the same is true with Watson? Understanding the huge trade capital involved and the guaranteed money involved, if the quarterback cannot turn back the clock to 2020, what will Kevin Stefanski be allowed to do?

We understand everyone wants him to be that guy again, but because of circumstances, suspension, and injury, it has now been three seasons since anyone has seen it.

We would guess within the confines in Berea it has been discussed, because that’s what organizations due, and that’s why Jameis Winston was signed. The Browns need an alternative starting QB in case of injury or in case Watson’s play is just slightly above average.

Until we see the 2020 version of Deshaun Watson, we will remain skeptical. We would bet there are folks who think the same way within the offices in Berea.

Can’t Focus On One Thing In Evaluating Baseball Players

Baseball is changing, and we don’t mean the rule changes put forth by the commissioner a few years ago. For the record, we like the pitch clock and don’t have an issue with limiting the number of pick off throws by a pitcher.

As for the “ghost runner” in extra innings? Well, you can’t win them all, right Rob Manfred?

Over the past 40 years, there have been many new statistics, most of them add a lot to the game and give more information as to how valuable a player can be. Others, such as numbers reflecting expected numbers, tell both fans and front offices to be patient with players, particularly young ones.

A statistic that has come under fire recently, mostly because of a comment made by ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, is exit velocity. Quite frankly, it is cool to measure how hard players are hitting the baseball.

One issue among some fans is they take a number like exit velocity, and it is the only thing they look at. For Cleveland fans, Steven Kwan has a very low exit velocity, but there is no question he is a good hitter.

Two-time batting champ (and hitting for a high average still helps teams) Luis Arraez also doesn’t hit the ball that hard. Yet, in an interview a couple of years ago, Shane Bieber said he was one of the players he hated to face.

The point is while it is something that can be measured, it really has nothing to do with how good a player is performing.

We hear this locally when hearing about Guardians’ infielder Gabriel Arias. His fans constantly point out how hard he hits the baseball. Unfortunately, he doesn’t hit it all that often. He has an average exit velo of 89.8, and a hard hit rate of 39.7%. He also strikes out 31.7% of the time.

Compare those number to Kwan, a much more accomplished hitter. His exit velocity average is 82.3 MPH, and his hard hit percentage is 18%.

Let’s compare Arias to a less accomplished major league player, Tyler Freeman. He has an average exit velocity of 89.1 MPH, a tick below Arias, and his hard-hit percentage is 41.4%. His K rate is just 15.9%.

Those numbers would indicate why the Guardians’ front office have stayed with Freeman longer despite struggling early this year.

By the way, the Guardian who ranks 7th in hard hit percentage. It’s Jose Ramirez. And Arias’ exit velocity is also a tad higher than Ramirez. The difference is the five-time all-star only strikes out in 11.3% of his plate appearances.

We understand to market itself, especially to younger fans, baseball tries to point out excitement, the spectacular play, the rocket off the bat, etc. However, lost in that is what helps teams win games, which is the object of the sport.

It’s not sexy or exciting to hit a ground ball to the right side to move a runner to third base with less than two outs or hit a sacrifice fly, but it helps winning.

Sabermetrics is a good thing, but it seems to have gone overboard. A recent question about what the biggest problem about baseball was recently asked, and someone said the overuse of analytics in today’s game.

There were a lot of responses agreeing with that sentiment.

The point is in evaluating players there are many things to look at, no one should focus on just one. And also, people need to remember the game is not a skills competition, they keep score for a reason.

Guardians’ Success Through 33% Of The Slate? Look To The Bullpen

It is difficult to imagine a better start to the season and Steven Vogt’s managerial career than what has happened to date for the Cleveland Guardians. We have now reached the 1/3rd mark of the 2024 campaign, and the Guards are sitting at 36-18, one of the sport’s best records.

They rank second in the league in runs scored per game at 4.98, almost a full run per game higher than the 4.09 the finish the 2023 season with. They are third in the AL in ERA, despite losing their #1 starter, Shane Bieber, to Tommy John surgery after two starts.

Last year, the Guardians struck out fewer than any team in the AL, and this year, they still don’t fan a lot, ranking 12th in the Junior Circuit. Their on base percentage is exactly the same as 2023.

They are hitting more homers though. After being last in the league in ’23, they are now 7th, led by franchise icon Jose Ramirez, who is fourth in home runs with 15 and leads the AL in runs batted in with 52.

The switch-hitter has four top five MVP finishes and seems on a mission to win the award this season, although it seems the criteria has changed over the past decade.

It should be pointed out the hitting has done this well without the presence of Steven Kwan, who was leading the AL in hitting when he went on the injured list and had a .407 on base percentage at the time.

It appears he will be back in the lineup, perhaps as early as this weekend’s home stand.

The biggest surprise offensively has been David Fry, who has a 1087 OPS, a .344 batting average with six homers and 19 ribbies. He’s demolishing left-handed pitching at a .421 clip (1452 OPS).

Right now, Vogt is trying to find him more at bats.

The outfield, which outside of Kwan, was dreadful offensively last season, has also improved. Tyler Freeman has an OPS 80 points higher than last year’s CF Myles Straw, and in rightfield, the combination of Will Brennan, Estevan Florial, and the since released Ramon Laureano, have combined for nine round trippers.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Fry in RF when Kwan returns to the active roster.

But the real star for the Guardians so far has been the bullpen, which has far exceeded expectations.

As spring training closed, it was a real concern. Trevor Stephan and James Karinchak, considered the two likely men to pitch the 7th and 8th innings were out. They did get Scott Barlow from San Diego to ease the burden on Emmanuel Clase, but he may have been the only guy with proven success in the late innings.

Enter Hunter Gaddis, who as a starter was prone to the gopher ball. He has a 1.78 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

Enter Tim Herrin, a southpaw who had an ERA over 5 last year in his big-league debut. He’s accepted that his stuff is plenty good enough to get major league hitters out. He has a 0.82 ERA.

Enter Nick Sandlin, who gave up 12 dingers in 60 innings in 2023. This year, he is Vogt’s “pacifier”, allowing just two circuit clouts on the season, and just 11 hits in 24.2 innings, fanning 28.

Enter Cade Smith, who didn’t know he made the final roster until the morning of the opener in Oakland. Armed with an electric fastball, he’s punched out 34 batters in 23 innings.

Can they keep it up? That probably depends on the starters providing enough innings to keep the relievers fresh. But right now, when the Guardians have the lead late, victory is pretty much assured.

They are the real story behind the Guardians’ success so far. And after 54 games, it’s now a pretty good sample size.

With JB Out, The Pressure Is Now On Altman

Thursday, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t surprise anyone when they announced coach J.B. Bickerstaff would not be returning next season. Bickerstaff was the right man for the job after the John Beilein debacle, but in the NBA, as in life, times change.

Bickerstaff gave the Cavs an identity. They would be a good defensive team and put forth maximum effort. After going 14-40 under Beilein, they won five of the eleven games under the new coach before the season ended due to COVID.

The wine and gold were 29th in defensive rating that season, and during the last three years, they were in the top ten in the league.

We ran into assistant coach Antonio Lang at a mall that season (we don’t know him, but recognized him) and in talking to him (small talk) we said it was a tough season and also remarked at how small the Cavaliers were.

Of the top eight players in minutes that season, the tallest players were Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. who are both 6’8″. And yes, that’s a theme we will address later.

As we said though, times change in the NBA and while the franchise should be grateful to Bickerstaff for setting a course for the young Cavaliers, now after appearances in the post-season the last three years, it is time for a new voice.

And by the way, that’s okay. There are many times coaches and managers are great in making a young team competitive but someone else comes in to put them over the top.

The term “a new voice” has been mentioned several times about the Cavs and we do not disagree. Cleveland needs a better offensive philosophy than the pick and roll heavy system they have used under Bickerstaff.

And we also still believe the frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen can work with a different offensive scheme. It would require Mobley to develop a solid 15-to-18-foot jump shot, but the defensive force that duo gives you is tough to give up on.

Mobley’s biggest strength is being able to guard smaller players on the perimeter and making him a center probably takes that away.

The dismissal of Bickerstaff now puts the pressure to win on president of basketball operations Koby Altman. We said many times during the year that we had issues with the coaching but had equal issues with the roster construction.

We think Cleveland has run its course with the two small guards and no size at the wing position set up. In most games and playoff series, the Cavaliers have a size advantage at one spot, power forward with Mobley. They are undersized at both guard spots and at small forward.

Going back to the conversation with Lang in early 2020 about the roster being small, the person in charge of that roster was also Koby Altman, meaning it’s a trend.

The NBA is getting bigger. The smaller starter among the four teams in the conference finals is Kyrie Irving, listed at 6’2″. The Pacers have a 6’5″ small forward, but both their starting guards are 6’5″ too.

Altman said in his presser he didn’t see the need for changes, but we attribute that to executive speak, he’s not going to tip his hand. The Cavs need players in the 6’7″ to 6’9″ range that can play on the wing and can play.

They also need depth at center and power forward.

J.B. Bickerstaff probably wasn’t the guy to push the Cavaliers forward, but now Koby Altman needs to prove he is the man to build a roster of an NBA title contender.

We will see what the summer brings for the Cleveland Cavaliers.