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.

Fry Gets A Chance And Makes The Most Of It

In sports, like life, sometimes you only get one opportunity to do something to change everything. You can take advantage of the change or fail to do so, and it makes all the difference.

Every year, sports fans want players to get opportunities and if they don’t succeed right away, they want the teams involved to continue to give the player a shot, but most franchises need and want to win, so it is tough to give someone who isn’t getting the job done more chances.

There is no doubt that if the team is winning, young, struggling players get more of a shot. For example, Brayan Rocchio isn’t hitting right now (565 OPS), but the Guardians are winning, so there isn’t pressure on Steven Vogt and the front office to make a change at shortstop.

And other times, the player simply isn’t ready. There are Cavs’ fans clamoring for rookie Emoni Bates because he is supposed to be a good three-point shooter, but Bates doesn’t do much of anything else right now, so no coach of a playoff team is going to put him on the court.

Back to the Guards, no one has taken advantage of his opportunity more than David Fry, who is working on getting more and more playing time the old-fashioned way. By earning it.

Fry has 103 plate appearances on the season, ranking in a tie for 9th on the team, but he has a 1010 OPS with 4 homers, 16 RBIs, and 18 walks for the season. Frankly, his production is forcing Vogt to put him in the lineup more often, which the skipper is doing.

It helps that Fry can play a number of positions. He can catch, and has seen time at 1B, LF, and 3B.

He didn’t get a call up until last season at age 27, but his minor league numbers are pretty good. He has an 815 OPS in AAA, getting on base at a .347 clip and slugging .468. His first year in the Cleveland organization (2022), he had a 779 OPS and raised that a year ago before his call up to 946.

Fry was in the Opening Day lineup because a southpaw was on the mound for Oakland and he went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and started the next day and went 1 for 2 with two walks. In his next start a week later, he belted a three run HR to beat the Twins.

Had he gone 0 for 9 in those games with five strikeouts, would Vogt have given him more chances? Ultimately, of course, but it was easier to find him at bats because he was getting hits.

He has destroyed lefties, hitting .424 and a 1426 OPS, but has held his own against righties, batting .300 with an 819 OPS.

No doubt a good deal of his success has been predicated on controlling the strike zone. Fry is second on the team in walks despite his relatively few at-bats, so by and large, he isn’t swinging at bad pitches, in effect, getting himself out.

That’s how you do it. You get a chance and do something with it. Many, many years ago, there was a young player put into the lineup because a veteran player needed a day off. The young player didn’t come out for over 2000 games.

We aren’t suggesting David Fry is Lou Gehrig. But he is taking advantage of his opportunity. And that’s the way it should be.

Can Guards Upgrade The Offense More?

The Cleveland Guardians finished 12th in the American League in runs scored a year ago, and so far this season have improved that department greatly.

Over a quarter of the 2024 season has been played, and right now, the Guards are second in the AL in runs.

A year ago, they ranked 12th team OPS, 10th in on base percentage and 14th (second to last) in slugging percentage. To date in ’24, they are 5th in OPS, 6th in on base average, and 7th in slugging percentage.

They famously hit the fewest home runs in the league a year ago, and currently are 6th in the AL.

Everything is much improved.

Could it be improved even more? We hope the improvement doesn’t cause president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff to think the offense couldn’t get better, because with the Guardians’ pitching staff, which ranks 4th in the league in ERA, and particularly the bullpen, which has been dominant, it could raise Steven Vogt’s team even more.

And it is pretty clear where Cleveland can get more production is in the outfield, where two of the most struggling players play.

They made maybe the first move yesterday calling up Johnathan Rodriguez from Columbus and designating Ramon Laureano for assignment.

Rodriguez was hitting well at AAA with an 838 OPS (.276 batting average) with a 25.4% K rate at Columbus, hitting 7 homers and drawing 29 walks. He’s a right-handed hitter.

Rodriguez could be a possible upgrade to the outfield offense.

We say possible because as hot as Kyle Manzardo was in the minors this season, he has gone just 5 for 31 with the big club since his promotion with 10 strikeouts in 33 plate appearances. (NOTE: He struck out in his first five big league at bats).

Laureano really struggled to contribute. He was signed in the off-season because he had a decent track record hitting lefties but had a 518 OPS (.177 batting average with one home run).

And over the last month, he is just 2 for 25 with 15 strikeouts in 27 plate appearances. He is a good outfielder with a great arm and the ability to play CF, but it was getting difficult for the organization to find him at bats.

The other outfielder having a tough go is Estevan Florial.

Florial has contributed some huge hits this season, a pinch-hit homer against the Yankees and a three-run blast to tie up a game in Houston, but other than those moments, he has struggled mightily.

He has fanned in 40 of his 103 plate appearances, a whopping 38.8% rate. He has a 596 OPS vs. right-handers (to his credit, he is 4 for 11 vs. southpaws), and over the last month, he is batting just .153 with 26 whiffs in 64 times at the dish (40.6%).

The best left-handed bat in the state capital is Daniel Schneemann, an infielder who has started getting playing time in LF and RF. Should we read into that?

He has come out of nowhere the last two seasons (he batted .205 at Akron in 2022) and this season is hitting .310 with a 1041 OPS. He’s belted 8 round trippers and has walked a team high 35 times.

Schneemann also provides more versatility because he can play both infield and outfield.

Is the organization thinking they can improve the offense more? We know they are always looking for ways to improve the ballclub. The first move has been made, is another one to follow?

More Thoughts On The Cavs’ Roster

All kinds of stories were written after the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs Wednesday night, some of them were pretty easy to see truth in .

And it looks like everyone has decided that if Donovan Mitchell stays, the front office will be moving on from Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen.

We will come back to that. It’s also expected that J.B. Bickerstaff will not return as coach. We’ve been pretty transparent that although we don’t think Bickerstaff is a great “x’s and o’s” coach, we don’t hold him solely responsible for the early exit.

(NOTE: We don’t think the front office thinks it was an early exit, it was the GOAL).

However, there have been published reports that Bickerstaff’s job was on the line in December, and if you were thinking of replacing him that early in the year, you shouldn’t have brought him back after last season.

Now for the roster. We have been saying this for months, but if Mitchell signs an extension, the Cavs need to move on from Garland. They simply do not play well together. This is a problem for those who view basketball as a fantasy game, where statistics are just plugged in.

It isn’t. It doesn’t mean Garland is a terrible player and it doesn’t mean he won’t go somewhere else and be better. He just isn’t effective playing with Mitchell.

Also, we heard this debate: You’d be selling low on Garland. This cannot be a consideration. If you want the team to be better in 2024-25, you can’t run back the two under 6’3″ ball dominant guard starting backcourt.

The Cavaliers may move Garland for a normal sized (not 6’5″) small forward who fits better but doesn’t have the “numbers” of the player they are trading. That’s alright.

As for the Allen and Evan Mobley frontcourt, we would like to give the new coach a chance to make it work, especially since Cleveland needs size.

Mobley had a great series vs. Boston, but remember the Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis, and were playing Al Horford and Luke Kornet at center, players Mobley is clearly more skilled than.

We also disagree Mobley needs to be a three-point shooter for the combo to work. We think a reliable 15-to-18-foot jumper shot would do the trick and allow both of the bigs to thrive.

Allen was the Cavs’ best player in the playoffs when he was injured and for the season, their second best behind Mitchell. Does anyone else think trading the squad’s second-best player in an effort to get better is a bad idea?

The difference is it is clear that the Mitchell/Garland pairing doesn’t bring out the best in either player, while we understand the NBA folks all think bigs have to shoot threes now, we don’t buy into that.

We think a different coach can make Allen and Mobley an effective center/power forward combination. Besides, if Mobley plays center, his biggest value of being able to defend away from the basket is taken away from him.

There is no question the Cavs need to get bigger. They need more size in the backcourt, on the wings, and can’t have only two effective players in the middle. Size matters.

We would like to see the organization give Luke Travers a spot next season. Remember him? He was a second-round pick in 2022 and is a 6’6″ do it all kind of player. In the Australian League, he scored 12 points, grabbed 7.6 boards and dished out two assists.

We know Summer League isn’t a true judge of anything, but he played well there the last two years. We think he could help next year.

And remember, the Cavs do have a first round pick this year. Hopefully, they take someone who can help right away.

Cavs’ Season Ends, Let The Speculation Begin

What seemed inevitable after Donovan Mitchell injured his calf during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal became a reality last night, as the Celtics wrapped up the series in five games with a 113-98 win.

Jarrett Allen didn’t play at all in the series because of a rib injury, and down two starters, they simply didn’t have enough scoring or depth to be able to compete with the team who had the best regular season in the NBA.

Outside of the Game 2 eruption of 118 points, the most points the Cavs scored in the series was 102 in the Game 4 defeat. And when your opponent regularly hits triple digits, it makes it very difficult to win.

Credit J.B. Bickerstaff for having his depleted crew, and they didn’t have Caris LeVert yesterday, play very hard and made both games without Mitchell competitive. The wine and gold didn’t roll over, they made Boston work to win the series.

Tremendous efforts by Evan Mobley and veteran Marcus Morris, particularly in the second half, kept the series winning contest close. Mobley scored 33 points, 25 of them after halftime, while Morris, picked up after being bought out, scored 25 points in total, making five of six three-point shots. That pair scored 36 of the team’s 46 tallies after the half.

The use of Morris in the playoffs was very puzzling because when he was used, he usually did very well. Yet, he received a DNP-CD in Game 4, a crucial game especially because it was home.

Now the speculation on the future of the franchise will begin. Will Bickerstaff return? We have been critical of the coach the past two seasons, but to be honest, we can’t lay this series loss just on him.

Will Koby Altman stay on as Vice President of Basketball Operations? Let’s face it, this roster was poorly constructed to win in the playoffs, they simply aren’t big enough. They start two short guards, two big men, and don’t have an upper echelon player in the 6’7″ to 6’9″ range.

At the very least, the Cavs need to bring in someone from outside to evaluate the current roster. Altman seems to overlook the weaknesses of players he brought in.

None of the basketball people we know understand the love affair with Dean Wade. He’s a pretty good defender, but crazy inconsistent. He simply doesn’t play well in enough games to justify the faith in him.

The Cavaliers don’t have enough “guys who can play”, meaning players who have a diverse skill set. They have way too many one-dimensional talents.

Isaac Okoro is a defender, but other teams don’t feel the need to guard him. Sam Merrill is a shooter. Tristan Thompson can rebound, but you don’t want the ball in his hands offensively. Georges Niang is a three-point specialist.

And beyond Mobley and Allen, there really is no size on the roster. The Cavs signed Damian Jones in the off-season, but he rarely saw action.

More versatility is needed going forward. Max Strus isn’t the three-point shooter the Cavs thought they were getting (they could have looked at his stats), but he’s a decent passer and rebounder for his size. But his size says he should be playing guard.

The biggest question though is Mitchell. Will he sign an extension or not? If he does, the logical move would be to trade Darius Garland, as it is pretty obvious the two do not mesh well.

We’ve heard folks say Garland still has a good reputation in the league, so he could be the bait to bring in more size.

As for the debate as to whether or not Mobley and Allen can play together? We would like to see a different perspective from another coach before determining it can’t work.

The Cavs did indeed make progress from a year ago, winning a post-season series, but the organization seems to put limits on itself. They were one of the final eight teams playing this season. To virtually stand pat again would be a waste of this opportunity.

They did that last year. They can’t afford to do it again.

Guardians Need To Find An Alternate Leadoff Man

Former Cleveland skipper Mike Hargrove used to say if you have a leadoff hitter and a cleanup hitter, it was easy to make up your lineup.

With Steven Kwan at the top of the order, Steven Vogt had no problem in that regard, being able to pencil in Kwan at #1 and Josh Naylor in the #4 hole.

In his third year, Kwan was having his best year yet. He had a .373 on base average as a rookie, a season in which the Guardians won the American League Central Division.

After a step back last season (.340 OBP), Kwan was off to a tremendous start in 2024, getting on base at a .407 clip and currently leading the AL in batting average at .353. In addition, his slugging percentage was almost 100 points higher than his career high during his rookie year at .496.

Add in his suburb defense, and some in Cleveland might find this absurd, but Kwan was on track to be an MVP candidate.

Alas, Kwan suffered a hamstring injury a little over a week ago, and so far, Vogt hasn’t found a steady replacement.

You want someone who can get on base consistently (obviously) and unfortunately the next highest on base percentage among the regulars belongs to Josh Naylor, who has we said, is the Guardians’ fourth hitter in the lineup.

Here’s an out of the box thought. David Fry seems to be working his way into more playing time because every time he is in the lineup, he produces. In 87 plate appearances, Fry has 14 walks (to go with 21 strikeouts) and also has a .309 batting average and three home runs.

He’s getting on base at a .437 clip, and he’s also a threat to put you up 1-0 with a leadoff home run. As we said, it’s very unconventional, but the job of the leadoff man is not to steal bases, it’s to get on base.

Besides Fry and Naylor, the only other player on the roster with an OBP over .300 is Andres Gimenez at .307, and his average is that high only because he’s been hit with seven pitches, a total that is second in the AL.

Vogt tried Estevan Florial (34:7 strikeout to walk ratio) initially, and then tried Brayan Rocchio, who is tied for second on the team in walks (with Fry, behind J. Naylor), but neither really did well.

On Sunday, he used Tyler Freeman, who is just 4 for his last 35, but he is among the team leaders in getting on base via walk or hit batsman. He’s led off in the minors, but of course, it’s different at the big league level.

It is obvious that Kwan’s loss has created a huge hole. And not having Jose Ramirez swinging the bat well combined with no Kwan has really bogged down the hitting attack. It has become very home run dependent, something we never thought we would say about the Guardians.

They 5th in the AL in producing round trippers.

While finding a decent leadoff man would help, so would Gimenez and Ramirez starting to hit like they can and very soon.

Hopefully, this is just a slump, and the offense will start producing better very soon. That will be needed if the Guardians want to continue to sit at the top of the AL Central standings.

Oh Yeah, The Browns Drafted Some Players

Lost in the excitement of the Cavaliers’ playoff run and the Guardians’ surprising start, the NFL Draft came and went a couple of weeks ago and the Cleveland Browns selected six players.

(We say this tongue-in-cheek because we know for many people in northeast Ohio, the Browns are the only professional team that exists. It certainly seems that way listening to local sports talk).

Anyway, this was the last season the Browns were still paying off their trade for Deshaun Watson, so they did not have a first-round pick, and of course, that selection is usually the one that gets the most attention.

And the Browns were a very good team in 2023, going 11-6 and making the playoffs. Really, they had no glaring holes, so for the most part, the players selected in the draft are adding to the depth of the roster.

They took a local guy, Streetsboro’s Michael Hall Jr. out of Ohio State with their second-round selection, and actually he could be someone who could get playing time seeing how defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz likes to rotate his lineman.

Before the draft took place, we were asked whatever happened to the University of Michigan offensive lineman who broke his leg against the Buckeyes. Well, Zak Zinter was Cleveland’s second selection in the third round. With Joel Bitonio now 33, the Browns need a guard that can be his replacement down the road.

Zinter may be that guy. He probably would have been taken earlier had it not been for the injury in his final college game.

The rest of the picks are probably special team type players. GM Andrew Berry fed his need to draft a wide receiver in Jamari Thrash out of Louisville. He’s a big play guy and Cleveland seems to always be looking for a “burner”.

Nathaniel Watson is purported to be a run stuffing linebacker and the buzz around him from the local media seems to be that of a special team ace.

Berry also loves to draft cornerbacks and in today’s NFL that’s not a bad theory. He got one on the second round in Myles Harden from South Dakota, and the reports on him are he should have gone earlier.

And their last pick, DT Jowon Briggs from Cincinnati, provides another defensive lineman for Schwartz and the coaching staff to develop.

We were a little surprised the Browns didn’t draft a running back, even after they signed D’Onta Foreman as a free agent from the Bears. Foreman gained over 900 yards two years ago with Carolina, and we feel Cleveland needs a consistent ground threat, because no one knows what Nick Chubb will be when he is ready to go.

Everyone keeps talking about how Cleveland is going to be pass happy with Watson this season, but at their core, the Browns and head coach Kevin Stefanski like to have a strong ground game. Frankly, we also think this is the team’s best path to winning.

That doesn’t mean we don’t believe that the Browns’ best chance to make a serious run at a conference championship is having Watson play like he did with the Texans.

The pressure is on the QB and still, giving up three first round picks and paying him a boatload of guaranteed money, it should be.

Some Struggles Among The Guardians’ Fast Start

There is no question the Cleveland Guardians have been one of the more surprising teams in Major League Baseball, jumping out to a 23-13 record and first place in the so far surprisingly strong AL Central.

The much-maligned division currently has four teams over the .500 mark.

That said, there have been some disappointing starts for a few of the Guardians’ players thus far. It’s still early and we don’t mean to dwell on the negative when the team is playing so well, but here are players we would like to see get going.

Bo Naylor had a strong second half last year, hitting .252 with 10 home runs and an 893 OPS, but has struggled at the plate and defensively so far in 2024. The left-handed hitter has just a 558 OPS and leads the team in strikeouts with 38 in 103 plate appearances.

His whiff rate is at 37% right now, compared to 23% last season and while he is among the team leaders in taking walks, his walk rate has dropped from last season.

Defensively, he already has four passed balls (he had 5 last season) and there have been several others where the pitcher was charged with a wild pitch, and the Guardians are tied for the AL high in that category, and we felt Naylor could have done a better job blocking it.

Remember, the Guardians as an organization value defense first behind the plate.

We aren’t saying Naylor should be in danger of losing his job, but we better contact and better defense should be the goal going forward.

Ramon Laureano was resigned in the off-season because he could can play CF and RF and because of his success against southpaws, a career 777 OPS against lefties. However, let’s not forget he was designated for assignment by the lowly A’s, where he hit .213 with a 645 OPS.

To date, he is 5 for 30 vs. left-handed pitching with 13 strikeouts and no walks in 32 plate appearances. Overall, he is hitting .150 with 27 whiffs, 7 walks, and a single home run. Could Johnathan Rodriguez, hitting .280 with an 867 OPS, be poised to take his at bats?

We are sure the organization doesn’t want to bring up Rodriguez and platoon him, and that might be the thing saving Laureano right now.

We knew one of the three rookie starting pitchers the Guardians had last season would have struggles, and Logan Allen is the one having the most troubles. Gavin Williams is still sidelined and while Tanner Bibee hasn’t been dominant, he does have a 4.46 ERA.

Allen had a solid second start of the season, going 6.2 shutout innings against Seattle, but other than that start, he’s pitched to a 7.71 ERA in 32.2 frames. He has a solid strikeout to walk ratio (33K:14 BB) but has allowing 47 hits, including nine home runs.

And to be fair, Allen didn’t pitch poorly in Houston, where bad defense did him in.

The problem is the lack of alternatives right now until Williams returns. Xzavion Curry gave Cleveland a solid start in his lone appearance for the big club, but currently has a 6.86 ERA at Columbus.

And add in the uncertainty (at least in our mind) every time Carlos Carrasco starts, and it’s clear the Guardians need Allen to get back to the guy who had a 3.81 ERA and gave up a hit an inning a year ago.

The Guardians are rapidly approaching the quarter pole of the season, but they need to see progress from this trio going forward.

On To Round Two And Boston For Cavs

Well, they did it. The Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic. And they overcame an 18-point first half deficit to do it.

Early on, the Cavs couldn’t make a shot on offense and defensively couldn’t stop Paolo Banchero, who had 24 points in the first half.

The game may have turned oddly enough when Max Strus and Darius Garland, who were a combined 1 for 8 from the floor, missing all five of their three-point shots, both had to leave the game in foul trouble.

J.B. Bickerstaff went to Caris LeVert, who he benched in the second half of Game 6, and Sam Merrill, who hadn’t been playing much at all, probably because it was all he had.

LeVert hit 4 of 6 shots and Merrill hit two threes and two free throws the remainder of the half and Cleveland trimmed the lead to a more manageable 10 points at the half.

In the second half, Donovan Mitchell took over, scoring 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting, Strus got it going, knocking down 3 out of 4 from long range, and Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro played tremendous defense.

Mobley was a force inside, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking five shots in addition to 11 points. Okoro forced Banchero into a 4 for 15 half from the field, putting the young Magic all-star into check.

In the end though, it was Mitchell. He scored 39 points in all and attacked from the opening tip off, getting to the line 17 times, making 15. He kind of willed the Cavs to victory.

So now it is the #1 seed in the East, the Boston Celtics, who had the NBA’s best record in the regular season going 64-18. They ranked first in the league in offensive rating and third in defensive rating.

And they have stars on top of stars: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and one of the league’s unsung very good players in Derrick White.

However, Porzingis is currently on the shelf with a calf injury, so actually from a size standpoint, the Celts are a much better matchup for Cleveland. Beyond him, the Celtics have only one player who gets more than 20 minutes per night and is 6’9″ or more in Al Horford.

Boston loves the three-point shot, leading the league in attempts and makes, and second in percentage. Their flaw has been when they aren’t going in, they just keep taking them.

The biggest thing though for the Cavs is they have to get offensive production out of someone besides Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, if he can get healthy.

This means Darius Garland simply must play better. Garland hit a three in the fourth quarter and the whole team seemed to celebrate because he’s struggled that much.

Actually, he did shoot well in the series, it was everything else that was awful. He seemed to be very shaky with the ball in his hands and defensively is a problem as well. If he can move the ball (meaning he stops dribbling the air out of the ball) and hit shots, he can be a big asset.

We would also like Bickerstaff to reset. Go back to playing Georges Niang at least to start the series, and we would still go 10 deep, giving time for Sam Merrill, Marcus Morris, and Tristan Thompson.

It’s a new series. We don’t think the Cavs can win; it will be more about how competitive they can play in the series to determine how the team should be reshaped this summer.

Game 7 Today. Which Cavs Will Show Up?

After the Cavaliers won the first two games of their first round series against Orlando, some fans and media members alike got overly excited and were thinking about a series sweep.

We thought that was incredibly misguided and obviously they didn’t spend too much time watching the Orlando Magic. Today, the series will be decided with a Game 7 matchup.

After a closely contested first half which saw the Cavs trailing by four, the wine and gold came out with a 13-0 run to take a nine point lead and it looked good for Cleveland to advance. They led by five after three quarters.

But the Magic outscored the Cavs 30-18 in the fourth and both teams are heading back to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Donovan Mitchell had a tremendous game, scoring 50 points on 22 of 36 shooting. The shot total might seem high if you didn’t watch the game, but frankly no one else could put the ball in the basket. Literally.

As we said, Cleveland had 18 points in the final quarter. Mitchell scored every single one of them. No one else seemed to want to shoot. The all-star took 13 of the 19 shots. Evan Mobley missed three shots, Darius Garland one, Marcus Morris one, and Georges Niang one.

Late in the fourth quarter, a graphic showed Mitchell had 47 points and we were surprised. We didn’t think he had than many. We knew he was scoring at will in the paint, but we didn’t think he was “hogging” the basketball.

It was a strange game right from the start. J.B. Bickerstaff started Morris, who didn’t play outside of garbage time in any of the first four contests. Yes, Morris deserved playing time after his performance in game five, but start?

Why move away from what worked in the game five win.

Then Caris LeVert, who played almost 29 minutes per night in the regular season, and has been the first man off the bench in the series, played seven minutes in the first half, missed one shot, scored one point, had two steals and two turnovers, and was a -1, didn’t get in the game in the second half.

Don’t understand running away from one of your primary players in a close game.

Niang, who didn’t play in Game 5 (we didn’t understand that either), reappeared in Game 6, and did hit a three, his only field goal make, but didn’t get a rebound.

Cleveland was dominated on the boards again, 48-38, familiar because that’s what happened a year ago.

Of course, the Cavaliers’ best player in the series, Jarrett Allen, missed his second game with a rib injury. Since he’s averaged almost 14 boards per game in the series, he would’ve made a difference.

Will he be back for Game 7? Your guess is as good as ours.

Garland seemed to overly defer to Mitchell in the fourth, taking just one shot. He’s clearly been the best long range shooter for the Cavs in the series, yet took just four threes, making one.

With Allen out, Cleveland desperately needed another scorer and Garland had 21 for the game, but of course, none in the last quarter. And there was no third scorer as the next best point total was Max Strus with 10.

Orlando had three, with as usual, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner leading the way with 27 and 26 respectively, but Jalen Suggs contributed 22 points.

What will happen today? Are the Cavs mentally tough enough to handle a winner take all contest? Will Allen play? Can someone step up and provide offense besides Mitchell and Garland?

Remember, under Bickerstaff, the Cavs have had two such games. In Game 5 last year vs. New York, at home, the wine and gold trailed by 10 at the half and lost by 11.

The previous season in the “play in tournament”, also at home, the Cavaliers led by 10 at the half, but were blitzed in the second half by Atlanta, getting outscored 56-40 with Trae Young lighting the Cavs up for 32 second half points.

History doesn’t paint a kind picture. But there is a reason they still play the game.