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.

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.

Thoughts On A Game One Win For Cavs

The first piece of business for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs was not to blow the home court advantage after the first game.

They did just that, defeating the Orlando Magic 97-83, to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Orlando shot the ball putridly, making just 32.6% of their shots, and if you take their all-star, Paolo Banchero out of the equation, it was even worse at 27.5%. And even worse, they missed 11 free throws as well.

In essence, they shot the ball like a bunch of guys playing in their first playoff experience would shoot it.

The Cavs’ big men showed up big time in the first game, with Jarrett Allen getting 16 points and grabbing 18 boards, and Evan Mobley knocked down a couple of threes early before operating in the paint with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.

And of course, Donovan Mitchell led the way offensively, with 30 points on 11 of 21 shooting, and had several key baskets in the paint when the Cleveland offense bogged down.

After having a 53-41 lead at halftime, the Magic turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter, cutting the advantage to four, but the veterans off the bench, Georges Niang and Caris LeVert, keyed a 13-2 spurt to push the advantage back out to 15 at the end of the third.

Orlando’s top two scorers, Banchero and Franz Wagner combined for a little over half the Magic’s points, but they received little help from the rest of the roster. We don’t think Gary Harris, Joe Ingles, Cole Anthony, and Markelle Fultz will all fail to make a shot like they did yesterday.

As for the Cavs, they knocked down their first five long range shots, but then shot just 3 for 25 the rest of the way. We would expect a better shooting night for the wine and gold from long distance in Game 2 on Monday night.

We were concerned about taking care of the basketball in the series, and they got away with it in Game 1, turning the ball over 17 times against 12 takeaways. They have to do better going forward.

Orlando’s Jalen Suggs harassed Darius Garland, who did knock down a couple of big threes late, but Garland had five turnovers, and we think Suggs thinks he can take the ball from the Cavs’ guard any time has wants to.

J.B. Bickerstaff did play nine men, although Sam Merrill only got four minutes, missing two shots. We hope the coach continues to put Merrill out there. We understand he didn’t hit shots early, but he has the ability to have a different dynamic offensively.

We would also like to see Marcus Morris get some time as well. We know Bickerstaff likes to use just eight players, particularly in the playoffs, but we think Morris can help.

Monday night, we would guess Orlando will shoot better, but on the other hand, the Cavs should be better from behind the arc too.

The Cavaliers out rebounded Orlando 65-53, and if they can continue to control the backboards, they will be just fine. There is no doubt the Magic will make adjustments before Game 2, and we will bet they will put more pressure on the Cleveland ball handlers.

It will be up to the coaching staff to have something else in the bag. Getting the next game puts a ton of pressure on a Magic team with very little experience.

Some Good, Some Bad As Cavs Head To The Playoffs

Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers survived the slog they have been plowing through since the All-Star break and will have home court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The next challenge will be to win a series, maybe two, and get on a run in the post-season.

The Cavs’ first round opponent is not determined as of yet because as of this morning, Orlando, Indiana, and Philadelphia are all tied for fifth in the conference standings, and actually, J.B. Bickerstaff’s crew could wind up in the #2 spot in the East as they sit just a game behind Milwaukee and New York in the standings.

However, Donovan Mitchell will not play today and Darius Garland may not as well. We will see who Charlotte plays, but it looks like it will be kind of like a scrimmage today for the Cavs.

Even though the wine and gold have won the last two games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse after a disastrous west coast trip, we still aren’t confident in their chances when the playoffs start next weekend.

Wednesday night, we get it. After losing three in a row, it is tough to get back into the win column, and the Cavs were very sluggish against a Memphis team that was kind of using a “G League” roster.

And in Friday’s win, which should have been treated as a playoff game against Indiana, because had Cleveland lost, they would likely not have home court advantage, the Cavs blew a big first half lead, before holding on to win.

THE GOOD THINGS WE SAW

Mitchell is looking healthier. He scored 62 points in the two games, shooting 45% from three point range, and dished out 13 assists.

Evan Mobley looked active. Against Memphis, he was deflecting passes and blocking shots, getting 12 points and 12 rebounds. Friday, he was plaqued with foul trouble, but made 6 of 7 shots, although he did take an ill-advised three late in the game.

Caris LeVert continues to be unsung and really, underappreciated. The Cavs finally seized control of the game when LeVert arrived in the third quarter. He was +13 in that quarter alone. And against Indiana, he scored 16 points, grabbed six boards and dished out five assists.

TROUBLESOME STUFF

In the playoffs, each possession has added importance, and that’s what continues to concern us about Darius Garland. Somehow in Wednesday’s win, he was only charged with three turnovers, watching the game, we would have figured double that number, and against the Pacers, he did make several huge threes down the stretch, but we hold our breath when he has the ball and is pressured defensively.

If Garland is having problems with this in the playoffs, will the coach cut back his minutes? As we all know, the playoffs are a different game.

We understand Bickerstaff doesn’t like playing a lot of guys, and we also know Sam Merrill is banged up right now. However, we also feel in the playoffs, you need players who have been there.

Marcus Morris didn’t play in either of the two games and has been seemingly out of the rotation since the win over Utah. Tristan Thompson has barely played in the last 10 games.

We think the Cavs are going to need them in the post-season. Remember last year, when Danny Green was needed after only playing three games in the regular season due to injury?

Let’s hope Bickerstaff opens his mind to playing more guys in the post-season. If someone like Georges Niang (although we think he will be fine in the playoffs) is struggling, you have to try someone else.

There is a fine line between confidence someone will do the job and it becoming a problem for the good of the team.

As everyone found out last season, the NBA playoffs are different.

Cavs Need To Get Healthy And Right The Ship. Quickly

The last month for the Cleveland Cavaliers has been a conundrum. They’ve been missing several key players, including their best, Donovan Mitchell, who has played in just five of the 17 games following the All-Star break.

Evan Mobley and Max Strus are two other starters who have not been available for the bulk of the second half schedule because of injuries.

In that time period, Cleveland has defeated the league’s best team, Boston, the third seed in the West, Minnesota, and had impressive road wins against New Orleans and Indiana.

But they’ve also lost home games to a battered Miami Heat team and Brooklyn.

There are only 12 games remaining in the regular season, and the wine and gold have a west coast trip before the season comes to a close. And they are in real danger of losing home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, as both the Knicks and Magic are just one game behind in the loss column.

What all this means is coach J.B. Bickerstaff needs to find a winning formula and quickly. Yes, the Cavs have a very good record on the road at 21-13, but we don’t think they want to have their first-round playoff match up without the majority of the games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

First and foremost, they need to get Mitchell healthy. He is their unquestioned leader, and when Darius Garland and Mobley were injured in December and each missed about a month, the ball was put in his hands and he thrived.

Averaging 27.4 points and 6.1 assists per night, along with five rebounds, his ability to score inside, driving to the bucket is sorely missed. And remember, he’s still shooting 37.3% from behind the arc.

Jarrett Allen has held his own, scoring 16.3 points and grabbing 10.8 boards on a nightly basis, as well as being a solid defender, and Caris LeVert has stepped up his game too.

LeVert gets criticized by many of the younger fans because he doesn’t make threes (which is really a stupid criticism) has also stepped up particularly the play making that Mitchell provided. He is dishing out 7.9 assists since the All-Star game, although his scoring and shooting is down.

To us, he has sacrificed his scoring to do what is best for the team, and perhaps that is the first step for many of the other Cavs in order to right the ship.

Cleveland did sign veteran Marcus Morris Jr. to a ten day contract, and at 6’8″, Morris provides some size in the front court and he can knock down shots.

Bickerstaff isn’t blameless either. We do believe he made the decision to have LeVert handle the playmaking duties over the turnover prone Garland, but we don’t understand his substitution patterns at times.

He went through a stretch where he ignored Sam Merrill, who despite a slump in early March where he hit just 4 of 29 threes, has knocked down 17 of his last 37 (46%). Friday night, he didn’t use Craig Porter Jr., even though Garland wasn’t playing particularly well.

And he played a sore kneed Mitchell 44 minutes in an overtime, and that’s when Mitchell went back out of the lineup.

We hate to say it, but how the Cavaliers perform from here on out and during the playoffs will likely determine if Bickerstaff returns as head coach next season.

Also, we also believe if Mitchell signs an extension with the Cavs, a roster shake up will occur, and Garland will likely be traded.

The Cavs do need toughness, but part of that starts with adding size, something outside of Allen and Mobley, the wine and gold desperately need.

Cavs Now At A Crossroad

After a four-game trip that started well in Miami, the Cleveland Cavaliers dropped the final three games and now seem to be at a crossroads. Their record has dropped to just two games over .500 at 14-12, and Friday, they received bad news.

Two of their starters, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, will be out for extended periods due to injury, Garland with a broken jaw, and Mobley is having arthroscopic surgery on his knee. Garland will miss approximately three to four weeks, and Mobley six to eight weeks.

As we said last week, the Cavs’ season has been weird, filled with several injuries, and with extended absences of two starters, the depth will really be tested.

We have complained about the make-up of the Cleveland roster for a while now, so coach J.B. Bickerstaff will have his hands full trying to keep his team in playoff contention, because injuries or not, missing the post-season after last season’s 51-win campaign, would be a disappointment.

We would assume that the loss of Garland means the ball will be put in Donovan Mitchell’s hands, and he is averaging 5.1 assists per night, and frankly, has been better with the ball than Garland in terms of turnovers this season, averaging one less per game.

That would move Max Strus to the two guard, giving the wine and gold a more traditional sized backcourt. However, moving Strus creates an opening at the small forward spot, and therein lies the roster construction problem.

Bickerstaff likes to bring Caris LeVert off the bench, so the candidates to start at small forward would seem to be Isaac Okoro or Georges Niang. Dean Wade might have been a choice as well, but he’s probably the starter in Mobley’s spot.

You would think a player who was the fifth overall pick should be the starter, but Okoro still is not a viable option offensively, so it is difficult to give him extended minutes because opponents don’t feel the need to guard him.

So, we would probably go with Niang, because it would seem to spread the floor for Mitchell. Having Strus, Niang, and Wade on the court together could give Cleveland the ultimate floor spacing.

There is a flaw to this though, and that is Wade is nowhere near the rebounder that Mobley is. On a per 36 minute basis, Wade gets 7.5 rebounds, compared to Mobley’s 11.2.

Wade needs to show up once and for all. The organization has a much higher opinion of him than we do, and now would be a good time to see why.

We have talked about the lack of big man depth for the Cavaliers for some time now, and here we are again. For some reason, Bickerstaff seems reticent to use Tristan Thompson on a regular basis, even though the veteran is just 32-years-old.

We know Thompson is offensively challenged, but he can still defend on rebound (he gets 11.3 boards per 36 minutes). He going to have to be out there every night now, we would think.

Garland’s injury would seem to force rookie Craig Porter Jr. on the court. He’s been impressive in limited appearances, and this should give him an opportunity to see if he can adjust since defenses will see him more often.

And as for the big men, maybe we will see Damian Jones and/or Isaiah Mobley get an opportunity to see some minutes.

The Cavaliers have a top heavy roster, with five very good players (Mitchell, Garland, Jarrett Allen, Mobley, and LeVert). Now, two of those guys will be missing for a while, and they will need more from the everyone. That doesn’t mean hoisting up more shots either.

They just need everyone to do a little more. For example, Mitchell to be more of a distributor, Allen, a couple more buckets per game, etc.

If players don’t step up, the Cavs might have too deep of a hole to dig out of when Garland and Mobley get back.

Our Likes And Dislikes So Far For The Cavs

After a bit of a slow start, the Cleveland Cavaliers have reeled off four victories in their last five games and in five of the last seven. They have now played 15 games and we feel that’s enough contests to see some trends, both good and bad.

First, the good.

Winning Despite Injuries. As we said, we are only 15 games into the 2023-24 season and only three Cavaliers have played every game: Evan Mobley, Max Strus, and Georges Niang. Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and Jarrett Allen each missed five games, and Caris LeVert and missed three.

Those guys are four of the top six players on the roster, and the Cavs are 8-7 anyway. That is absolutely a good thing.

Max Strus. We weren’t as enthused as many about the signing of Strus because of his size and his defense, but he’s provided another playmaker, which wasn’t thought to be a big part of his game.

He is averaging a career high 3.9 assists per contest, almost two more than his previous season high. The same for his rebounding, where he is at 5.6 per game, his career high set last year was 3.2. Add in 37.7% shooting from three-point land, and he’s been better than expected so far.

The Rookie. We know many people thought the Cavs got a steal in second round pick Emoni Bates, but we thought he was very raw. The real story so far is undrafted free agent Craig Porter Jr.

Because of injuries, Porter has played in 10 games, averaging 8.0 points and 2.9 assists per night. He’s fearless driving to the basket and looks like he can be a contributor this season. It will be interesting to see how defenses approach him as he gets more playing time.

Now, the not so good

Turnovers. This isn’t a team wide problem; the wine and gold are 17th in the league in this department. It has been an issue for Darius Garland though. Garland cut down last year going from 3.6 per contest in his third year to 2.9 last season.

This year, he’s up to 4.5 compared to six assists, also down from 8.6 and 7.8 in the previous two seasons. He penetrates and is either stripped by a defender or throws a difficult pass to connect on far too often. A possession without a shot attempt is lost opportunity to score.

Make the basic play, and not the one that gets you on highlight reels.

Criticism of Mobley. We know everyone wants the third-year pro to develop into Kevin Garnett in his prime, but really, Mobley isn’t going to score more unless he gets more shots, and that is a challenge with two scoring guards in Mitchell and Garland.

The big man from USC has increased his shooting percentage (55.4% to 56.7%), rebounding (9.0 to 10.5), assists (2.8 to 3.1), and blocks (1.5 to 1.6) from a year ago.

So, he can’t shoot threes. Big deal, at least he knows he’s not a good three-point shooter hoisting them anyway. He’s only 22 and still getting better. Maybe get him more touches.

Free Agent Disappointments. After the big splashes of signing Strus and Niang, who is slowly hitting his shooting stride, Koby Altman signed two players we thought could help in Ty Jerome and Damian Jones.

The duo has combined to play 54 minutes to date. Jerome has had a severe ankle sprain, which is unfortunate, but on the other hand, the most games he’s appeared in a season is 48. Hopefully, he can contribute soon.

Jones has appeared in just nine games, making all three of his shots and grabbing seven rebounds. Obviously, J. B. Bickerstaff has no confidence in him, because the Cavs could use another serviceable big man in the rotation.

The biggest issue for the Cavaliers has been the injuries. That said, it’s more important to have everyone healthy in April and May.

Don’t Put Much Into The NBA Draft For Cavs.

We have seen a lot of opinions on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ selection of Emoni Bates from Eastern Michigan with the 49th pick in the NBA Draft Thursday night.

If fans think this pick will impact the 2023-24 edition of the wine and gold, we feel they are sorely mistaken. It’s the 49th selection, not the 9th, and the Cavs won 51 games a year ago, they are a solid team, so more than likely whoever they picked in that spot was more of a project.

It’s not like football where a second round pick should be able to be on the field a lot and be a contributor.

For Koby Altman, it’s like a lottery ticket, he hopes the numbers come up in his favor and Bates will wind up being a rotational player down the road.

However, Bates’ selection seems like the antithesis of what the Cavaliers feel about themselves as a roster. J.B. Bickerstaff is always talking about the “grit” and playing tough-minded basketball.

The newest member of the team is seen as a “me-first” player, filled with a lot of hype put upon him as a teenager. By the way, that’s the media’s fault. Talking about any 15 of 16-year-old as the next LeBron James isn’t fair to anyone.

Right now, Bates is 6’9″ and weighs a reported 180 pounds, and by the way, according to scouting reports, isn’t very athletic, not quick or explosive. The report we saw says he’s not a great leaper and doesn’t run the floor well. And obviously at his frame, he needs to hit the weight room.

He can shoot and has good size for a wing player, something the Cavs need badly. He can shoot from distance and also has a solid midrange game, and has the ability to score points in bunches, he had four 30 point games and a career high of 43 against Toledo.

He likely will sign a two-way deal with Cleveland and spend most of the year with the Charge developing both his body and his game, as well as understanding what you have to do both physically and mentally to be an NBA player.

We are concerned about the selfish attitude he is reported to have. Getting drafted in the second round should be a dose of humility.

So, as much as fans wanted the Cavs to get someone who can make a difference for this year’s team in the draft, that likely wasn’t going to happen.

The way Cleveland is going to take the next step as an organization, moving into title contention is through trades and free agency, which will be difficult. We would bet Altman knows that.

And when we say “title contention”, it’s because we don’t want to hear the next step for the Cavs is to win a playoff series. When that’s your goal, that’s likely all you will achieve, something we think happened this past year.

It has been said (including us) that the Cavaliers need shooters, but really, they need some guys who can create their own shots. Right now, they have three of those players, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Caris LeVert. Everyone else needs to be set up.

They need shooters too, but with the offense currently used by Bickerstaff, the burden for creating offense falls pretty much on that trio.

We also believe the Cavs need more basketball players, and what we need by that is guys who can do a little bit of everything, not one dimensional guys.

When the free agent moratorium is set in motion on July 1st, the Cavaliers can start reshaping their roster for 2023-24. Then we will see if Altman was telling the truth about running back last year’s squad.

We Agree Cavs Need Shooting. They Need Taller Shooting Though

In examining where the Cleveland Cavaliers need to go this off-season, we have focused on the need for size. The Cavs are small in the backcourt and at small forward, and we believe they need to get bigger in order to grow as a team.

They also need shooting. Cleveland finished 12th in the NBA during the regular season in three point field goal percentage at 36.7%, but they were 24th in attempts from beyond the arc. Their top three long range shooters, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Caris LeVert took 53% of the team’s threes.

To be fair, Golden State’s top three-point makers, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole took 57% of the Warriors’ shots from beyond the arc, but Curry and Thompson both make over 40% of their threes.

If you look at the number of threes taken per game for Cleveland, Mitchell took 9.3 (probably too many), Garland 6.0, and LeVert 4.4. (Note: Kevin Love took 4.8/game). Cedi Osman is next at 4.1/game. Beyond that, you have Dean Wade, Ricky Rubio, and Isaac Okoro, and none of that trio attempted more than three per contest.

And only Okoro ranked in the top eight in minutes played for the season.

In looking at the NBA’s final four teams remaining and the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the best record in the league, only Miami’s top three long range shooters in attempts (Strus, Herro, and Vincent) took more than 50% of the Heat’s three pointers.

Here are the other teams mentioned–

Denver (Porter Jr., Murray, Caldwell-Pope) 47.1%
Boston (Tatum, Brown, White) 44.8%
Los Angeles (James, Brown Jr., Walker IV) 35.4%
Milwaukee (Holiday, Allen, Lopez) 34.5%

It doesn’t seem like taking a lot of threes leads to success. The top five in attempts per game were Golden State, Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, and Utah. Three playoff teams. However, the top five in percentage made (Philadelphia, Golden State, LA Clippers, Denver, and Brooklyn) all qualified for the post-season.

It’s too easy for opponents, especially when it comes to the playoffs to guard three-point shooters if you only have a few, particularly when one of those three are bringing the ball up the floor. It’s also tougher when two of your primary long distance shooters are smaller players.

Over the weekend, several players were mentioned as possibilities for the Cavs over the offseason. Players like Donte DiVincenzo (6’4″), Max Strus (6’5″), Jordan Clarkson (6’5″) and Seth Curry (6’2″) were discussed. Our problem with this group is it still makes the Cavaliers a very small team outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

We know it won’t be easy, but we believe if the Koby Altman and Mike Gansey are looking to upgrade the wing positions, it should be with someone in the 6’7″ or taller height wise.

Perhaps someone like Jerami Grant (6’8″) who the Cavs probably can’t afford after he averaged 20 points per game with Portland. But you might be able to get Jalen McDaniels (6’9″) who averaged 9.4 points splitting the year between Charlotte and Philadelphia. He shot just 33% from three this year, but shot 38% a year ago.

A dark horse would be Keita Bates-Diop (6’8″), who averaged a career high 9.7 points/game with San Antonio, shooting 39.4% from behind the arc.

Yes, the Cavs need shooting. Moreso, they need taller people who can shoot. It’s the proverbial killing two birds with one stone.