Can Unpredictable Cavs Finish It Friday?

For a team that made the play-in tournament and lost in five games to New York a year ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers certainly don’t act like a team that has been involved in post-season basketball for the third consecutive season.

You would think they would be passed the whole “play well at home, play terrible on the road”, but they gutted out a 104-103 Game 5 win over Orlando Tuesday night to take a 3-2 series lead. It was a gutty performance because Jarrett Allen, who may have been Cleveland’s best player in the series, missed the game with a rib injury.

Many of the players who haven’t played in the series to that point came through big time for the wine and gold. The much-maligned Darius Garland got Cleveland off to a great start with 17 first quarter points, winding up with 23 on 9 of 16 shooting, including 3 of 5 from deep.

Garland remains the Cavs’ most reliable long-range shooter in the series, hitting 44.4% (12 of 27).

Max Strus, who together with Georges Niang combined to make just 4 of 28 threes in the series, missed three more in the first half, then came back to knock down 4 of 7 in the second half, scoring 16 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out five assists, including a huge find to Evan Mobley late in the game resulting in a dunk.

And Marcus Morris, conspicuous by his absence in meaningful minutes in the series, made a huge contribution with 12 points, including two big threes in the fourth quarter.

The weird part about Morris is after not playing other than in blowout situations, he would up playing the most minutes of any reserve on J.B. Bickerstaff’s bench.

But perhaps the biggest hero was Mobley, who scored two big hoops in the closing minutes and then made the defensive play of the series so far with a block on Franz Wagner’s drive in the closing seconds to seal the win.

Playing without Allen, Mobley was really Cleveland’s only big (why? Ask Koby Altman) and had 14 points and 13 boards on 7 of 11 shooting. Tristan Thompson did play eight minutes, most of them in the first half.

The Cavs should be at the point where they should be tough enough to go into Orlando on Friday night and win on the road, but after Games 3 and 4, it would seem to be a tough ask. Hopefully, Allen will be back for Game 6.

Georges Niang didn’t play Tuesday night, and we hope Bickerstaff goes back to him going forward. We would have put him out there in the first half of Game 5 to see if he could knock down a shot or two before taking him out. To just not play him? That seems a bit harsh.

The best thing the Cavs did in the victory was take care of the ball. After turning it over an average of 15 times per game in the series, they only had 10 on Tuesday.

And the shooting still needs to pick up. Garland has shot well from outside, but the Cavs are still making just 29% from three in the series. Donovan Mitchell is just 8 for 35 (22.9%).

The best path to victory on the road might be for Mitchell to have a huge night, getting it going from outside.

At this point, the Cavaliers only need to get one more win to advance to the second round.

Based on the way the series has been played in Florida, they have to improve greatly to end this series before a win or take all Game 7.

Cavs’ Direction May Depend On Tonight’s Result

Regardless of whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers win their first round series against the Orlando Magic, it feels like tonight’s Game 5 is a referendum on what the organization has built since LeBron James departed for Los Angeles after the 2018 NBA Finals.

We have not wavered on this, but although we do not think J.B. Bickerstaff is one of the NBA’s best tacticians, part of the problem for the wine and gold is the makeup of the current roster.

We have bemoaned the lack of height for the past two seasons, but it’s not only the tallness of the players, it’s the builds as well. For example, right now Darius Garland and Evan Mobley don’t have the strength to overcome physical play.

Also, the team isn’t mentally tough. They seem to be frontrunners. When things are going well, great, but as soon as something goes wrong, they don’t seem to know how to get things turned around.

And that falls on Koby Altman.

After last season’s playoff loss to the Knicks, Altman looked at the team and decided they needed more shooting, so they signed Max Strus who has one season shooting over 35% from three, and veteran Georges Niang, a career 40% shooter from beyond the arc.

So far in this series, they have made 4 of 28 from long range.

However, we thought at the time the biggest reason for the 4-1 “gentleman’s sweep” by New York last spring was the inability to match the physicalness the Knicks presented. And that was not addressed in the summer, and the two games in Orlando showed the Cavs are still lacking in that department.

Orlando has outrebounded Cleveland in the series after four games, and if the Cavs get to 100 points tonight, it will be for the first time in the series.

The popular thing in NBA circles is when a team loses, the team’s best player is to blame, a theory we do not subscribe to. That isn’t to say Donovan Mitchell has been great in this series, but it’s not as though the coaching staff has done anything to get Mitchell going.

He had a great first half on Saturday, scoring 18 points taking just one three pointer. In the disastrous third quarter, the Cavaliers were outscored 37-10, Mitchell took four shots, three of them from long distance.

When your opponent is on a run, you have to have a set to get your best player a good look. We are still waiting. And by the way, Cleveland’s second-best player, Jarrett Allen, took just two shots.

Meanwhile, Evan Mobley has taken more shots in the series than Darius Garland, a curious statistic. While Garland gives us headaches when he is trying to set up the offense, too much dribbling and very turnover prone, he has been the Cavs’ best three-point shooter in the series, making 9 of 22 (40.9%).

Even if the Cavs win tonight and go on to advance to the second round, these issues aren’t going away, unless Mobley and Garland spend extensive time in the weight room, which we would guess they already do.

As for tonight, let’s hope Bickerstaff is willing to try something different. We would not run away from Strus and/or Niang, but if they aren’t making shots, you have to try Sam Merrill and Marcus Morris, no?

And perhaps use Tristan Thompson up front to provide some muscle, and more resistance to Mo Wagner near the basket.

Orlando has made adjustments to get back in the series. Each of their two best scorers, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have gone off for 30 points. Now, it’s the Cavaliers’ turn to answer back.

The bigger question is can they?

Cavs’ Second Best Player? It’s Jarrett Allen

Quite frankly, we anticipated a tighter first round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, and perhaps now that the series moves to Florida, we may get it.

The Magic have had problems getting any offense outside of their two forwards, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. That pair is scoring 40.5 points per game, while their next three scorers, Jalen Suggs, Mo Wagner, and Gary Harris are combining for just 29 points per game combined.

Meanwhile, the Cavs’ top four scorers, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Darius Garland have scored 73.5 points per night. Cleveland is getting production from several spots, making them harder to defend.

We made the comment on social media last month that while all the talk regarding the Cavs surrounds the backcourt of Mitchell and Garland, no one has noticed that Allen has become their second best player.

Last year, Allen was much maligned during and after the first round loss to the Knicks, although some of his problems weren’t his fault. New York gathered a ton of offensive rebounds because the big man was helping on penetration by the Knicks’ guards and thus was out of position to grab boards.

Offensively, he was only getting seven shots per game and for the series averaged 9.4 points and just 7.4 rebounds per game, well off the 9.8 he grabbed during the regular season.

This year, Allen added range to his shot, taking more shots in the three to ten foot range and still knocked down 63% of his field goal attempts. He also became more of a playmaker, adding an assist per game to his stats.

His performance this series reinforces our comment that Allen is indeed the second best player wearing the wine and gold. He has been a force in the first two games of the series, scoring 16 points and grabbing 19 caroms in Cleveland, and been a force defensively.

His passing has translated as well, with five assists in the series, tied for third with Max Strus.

The injuries to Mobley and Garland have allowed Allen to blossom as a scorer and passer. He did score 16.1 points a game before Mitchell arrived last season but dropped to 14.3 last year as he was regarded more as a fourth option. Heck, he was fifth in field goal attempts behind 6th man Caris LeVert.

He was still fifth this season, but with Garland missing 25 games, Mobley out for 32 contests, and even Mitchell did not play in 27 games, Allen became more important, especially because he was available, playing 77 games, second to Georges Niang.

No doubt that contributed to Allen’s career high 16.5 scoring average and 819 field goal attempts. We always wondered why the Cavs didn’t get Allen the ball more often because for his career, he has made 63% of his shots.

We understand his range isn’t the same as Mitchell or Garland, but he was still 4th in field goal percentage in the league this year, and was 5th a year ago, and 2nd in 2021-22. When he gets the ball close to the basket, chances are, he will score.

The people who wanted Allen traded a year ago got it wrong. He may not be a three-point threat, but he’s a defensive force who can put the ball in the basket. He’s showing in this series that he’s a winning player too.

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.

Cavs Can Move On, But It Won’t Be Easy

This Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers will open the NBA playoffs against the team they wanted to play apparently, the Orlando Magic. Before we talk about this series, let’s cover what happened in the season finale against Charlotte.

For us, tanking the fourth quarter to manipulate who you play in the first round is the sign of an organization that doesn’t believe in itself. Perhaps you don’t agree, but we will say the players didn’t like the move, although Max Strus was the only one who said so publicly.

And remember where Strus came from. He played for Miami, an organization that is famous for not caring who they play, they feel they can and will win. Yes, the Heat view the regular season differently, but that’s because they have the belief they can overcome any obstacle.

The curious thing about the decision is getting into the Celtics’ side of the bracket. Boston is the best team of the NBA, meaning the Cavs time in the playoffs could be limited to a first round win.

But it will not be easy. Orlando is second in the league in defensive efficiency, and they will have a size advantage, particularly at guard and small forward. Cleveland ranks sixth in defense, but over the last month, that side of the ball seems to have dropped off for the wine and gold.

One problem we see playing a good defensive team is getting into situations where you can get good shots, and that hasn’t been a strength of J. B. Bickerstaff. The coach likes to default to the pick and roll in so many situations, and good defensive teams tend to take that away.

There is a narrative out there that this series will be a referendum on Donovan Mitchell, and can he be the best player on a team that goes deep into the playoffs. We don’t think Mitchell was the reason Cleveland lost a year ago. He averaged 23.2 points and 7.2 assists vs. New York. He didn’t shoot well from long distance, just 29%, but as a team, the Cavs shot a better percentage than New York.

Mitchell’s biggest issue was no one else helped. Both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen averaged less than 10 points per game, and Darius Garland dished out 5 assists per game, but also had 3.6 turnovers.

We would also like to see the coach use Sam Merrill and Marcus Morris in the series. We know he likes to use eight, but he should try to use 10.

Orlando isn’t a good three-point shooting team, ranking second last in attempts (FYI, Denver is last) and 7th worst in percentage made. However, they make 55% of their shots inside the arc, and surprisingly, take the most free throws in the league.

Unlike Cleveland, whose primary scorers are in the backcourt, Orlando’s two best scorers are a pair of 6’10” forwards, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Jalen Suggs, a 6’5″ point guard and Cole Anthony are their next two scorers.

Suggs along with veteran Joe Ingles, a former teammate of Mitchell and Georges Niang in Utah, are the Magic’s best threats from long distance.

It will be interesting to see how Bickerstaff aligns the defense, particularly in key moments. Will he put Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on Banchero and Wagner?

The “x-factor” for the Magic is defensive stalwart Jonathan Isaac, who is one of the best defenders in the NBA. Isaac was sidelined for most of three seasons (2020-21 through 2022-23), playing just 11 games in those years, but played in 58 games this year, and after the all-star break, averaged 7.9 points and 5 rebounds in 17 minutes.

He also made 24 of 48 threes in that span, shooting 56.8% from the floor overall. He can be a handful.

Can the Cavs win the series? Definitely, they have the home court and the playoff experience edge. However, it won’t be easy. The Magic are athletic and long, and no doubt hungry.

Cleveland wanted Orlando. Beating them may not be as easy as they thought it would be when they “arranged” the match up.

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.

Locker Room Issues Rumbling For Cavs?

Recently, reports have surfaced that the Cavaliers contemplated a coaching change earlier this season when the team was struggling, and he is certainly coaching for his job the rest of this season.

The latter is no shock. We have been saying all year long the reality of the 2023-24 NBA season is if the Cavs either didn’t make the playoffs or was bounced again in the first round, J.B. Bickerstaff is going to be looking for employment when it ends.

However, the front office should be call into question if there was a thought of firing Bickerstaff earlier in the season. Why? Because if they weren’t firmly in his corner after the first-round loss to New York in April, they should have cut bait with him then when a couple of solid candidates were available.

Former NBA championship coach Nick Nurse was let go by Toronto after five seasons, four of those being over .500. Ime Udoka, who was let go under odd circumstances in Boston after guiding the Celtics to a 51-31 record and a berth in the NBA Finals, was also available.

And although we aren’t big fans, Mike Budenholzer, who won a title guiding the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020-21, and has a .600 winning percentage in the regular season was also let go by the Bucks following the year.

If the Cavs weren’t “married” to Bickerstaff and were going to think about letting him go in the first half of this year, they should have made the decision after last season. It’s unfair to start the next campaign already second guessing.

But here we are, and the most recent loss on the road for Cleveland just added fuel to the fire of those who have lost confidence in Bickerstaff, and no doubt the front office is included.

The Cavs scored 80 points in the first half and led by 26 with 9:35 left in the third quarter, 89-63. From there until the end of the game, the wine and gold were outscored 57-29.

There were reports the players were unhappy with the lack of any new strategy being deployed while Paul George scored 23 points in the final stanza. By the way, that 23 was more than Cleveland scored in that quarter.

Coaches lose locker rooms when they lose trust. Players know who can play and who can’t play. They also know when an opposing player is on a roll, you have to change up defensive looks.

When a coach doesn’t recognize this, the doubt starts to creep in, and the trust crumbles. Not playing Marcus Morris a game after awarding him in the locker room has to be a head scratcher. Watching Sam Merrill shoot the lights out and then get benched probably has the same effect.

We aren’t around the team, so we don’t know for sure these things caused issues, but players can see what is working and what isn’t. This happens at every level.

So, if the trust is gone between the coach and the players, then the front office either has to change the coach or the players. If the Cavs lose in the first round of the playoffs, we think there will be some of each.

Have Cavs Put Together A Solid Roster?

Certainly, the Cavs’ recent struggles have put a spotlight on J.B. Bickerstaff. And to be honest, the coach doesn’t help himself with some very weird choices.

For example, in a game where the Cavs where getting hammered at Phoenix Wednesday, trailing by almost 30 points in the first half, the coach used basically seven players, and Sam Merrill and Marcus Morris each played just four minutes.

Remember, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade (perhaps joining Ty Jerome on the mysterious injury list), and Craig Porter were not available.

But, enough dogging on Bickerstaff. We go back and forth on what is more of an issue for the Cavs, the coaching or the composition of the roster, which would fall on Koby Altman.

A common theme when we discuss the wine and gold is our belief that the roster is small by NBA standards. Yes, the Cavs start Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, both 6’11”, legitimate big men. However, they are usually at a height disadvantage at each of the other three positions, particularly against the better teams in the NBA.

Look at the other teams battling Cleveland for the 2nd through 5th spots in the Eastern Conference and who they start at point guard, #2 guard, and small forward:

Cleveland: Darius Garland (6’1″), Donovan Mitchell (6’3″), Max Strus (6’5″)
Milwaukee: Damian Lillard (6’2″), Malik Beasley (6’4″), and Khris Middleton (6’7″)
New York: Jalen Brunson (6’2″), Donte DiVincenzo (6’4″), and Josh Hart (6’4″)
Orlando: Jalen Suggs (6’5″), Gary Harris (6’4″), Franz Wagner (6’10”)

Altman’s first top ten pick upon getting the job was taking Collin Sexton, a 6’3″ guard. After LeBron James left for Los Angeles as a free agent, the Cavs needed a guard who could score, so we understood the pick.

However, several mock drafts had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a 6’6″ guard going in the top six and he was still on the board when the Cavs’ picked at #8. Cleveland liked Sexton because of his toughness but traded him after an injury plagued fourth season.

Altman doubled down the following year, selecting Garland with the 5th overall selection. To be honest, we liked Jarrett Culver, a 6’6″ guard out of Texas Tech who is no longer in the NBA. But taking smallish guards in back-to-back years put the Cavaliers on the path to being a smaller team.

Garland is a good player, so it’s a solid choice, it’s just curious because of the Sexton selection the year before.

In 2020, Altman picked Okoro, a 6’5″ defensive specialist with the 5th pick. We said (at the time) picking a defensive player who was not a big man that high was a huge risk. Okoro’s offense is starting to develop, but the predicament Cleveland finds itself in is offering a contract extension at a much larger salary.

We would have taken Obi Toppin, a 6’9″ forward, who we feel can play both forward spots and is averaging 10.1 points per game with the Pacers.

Altman did try to go big when he traded for Lauri Markkanen, a seven-footer who could play small forward, and really was part of the reason Cleveland jumped from a lottery team to a playoff squad. But the former University of Arizona standout was part of the package to get Mitchell.

Getting Jarrett Allen was a coup, but the Cavs basically got him for nothing, and what GM would have turned down that request.

And drafting Evan Mobley was a no brainer.

He did go big for Mitchell, a very bold move. But Bickerstaff is still stuck with having to play Okoro and Strus, both 6’5″ at small forward where they are undersized.

Whether Mitchell decides he wants to stay here or turns down the extension, our guess is things will look very different when the Cavs report to training camp in September.

If Mitchell re-ups, our guess is Garland will be moved. If he doesn’t sign, the Cavaliers will look to move their all-star guard for players and draft picks.

We still believe when it comes to hoops, it is better to err on the side of size. You don’t want to draft untalented big men, but notice the lack of players 6’7″ to 6’9″ on the roster.

Cavs Malaise Continuing.

The Cavs last trip of the season didn’t get off to a good start as they were hammered by the defending champion Denver Nuggets. The rest of the week have them playing Utah, Phoenix, and both Los Angeles teams, and only the first of those opponents will not be playing when the regular season ends.

On February 10th, the wine and gold won their ninth consecutive game, raising their record to 35-16 when they beat Toronto by 20 points.

Since then, they have a 10-14 record, which should be concerning for a team that hopes to advance in the playoffs. True, they have had a bunch of injuries, most notably to the team’s best player, Donovan Mitchell, who missed 15 of those games with a variety of issues: illness, knee problems, and a broken nose.

In the games Mitchell has played, the Cavs are only 5-4, well off their previous pace.

We understand that evaluating a team when they are in a downturn is dangerous. The same is true when a team is on a hot streak, which Cleveland was when the trading deadline arrived.

Koby Altman looked at a red hot team and stood pat, which we said at the time was the wrong move. The Celtics had the best record in the NBA and went out and got Xavier Tillman from Memphis in a deal.

They added another big, Tillman is 6’8″ and he’s played in 13 games for the Celtics, getting 3.3 points and 3.1 boards in almost 15 minutes of playing time nightly.

To be fair, Altman did sign Marcus Morris, a 6’8″ wing for the rest of the season and certainly the Cavs can use a wing with that kind of size.

Right now if the season ended, the Cavs would take on Indiana in the first round of the playoffs. Cleveland would have the experience factor, making the post-season the past two years (if you count the “play-in” round), while the Pacers haven’t made it the 2019-20 season.

Indiana is long and athletic, which has given the Cavs problems.

The other teams which could be first round opponents are Miami, currently 7th and Philadelphia (8th, but probably with Joel Embiid back).

In the 4th and 5th spots are New York, just a half game behind the Cavaliers and Orlando, just 1.5 games behind Cleveland.

Quite frankly, we don’t feel good about either of those matchups right now. New York because of their physicality and Orlando is very similar to the Pacers in terms of size, but also inexperience.

For Bickerstaff’s squad, it’s not just a matter of wins and losses either. They simply aren’t playing well. Darius Garland is supposed to be one of the team’s foundation pieces, but he hasn’t played well since he returned from his broken jaw.

The Cavs have also missed versatile offensive threat Max Strus, who besides averaging in double figures also is four on the team in assists and rebounding. Strus hasn’t shot the three as well as he has in the past, but no doubt the team missed him while he was out.

Mitchell himself said it after Sunday’s loss. It’s April and the Cavs have to get things figured out soon, because the playoffs are about three weeks away.

Another first round loss could mean a lot of things for the Cavaliers.

Time For Cavs To Have Accountability

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ weird season continues. They have struggled since the All-Star break, but still are in third place in the Eastern Conference, and amazingly are just a game and a half behind the second place Milwaukee Bucks.

Of course, they are also just a half game ahead of fourth place New York, while Orlando has slid to two and a half games behind Cleveland.

Still, that doesn’t make Wednesday loss on the road to a terrible Charlotte team any more palatable, and it doesn’t exactly give fans a warm and fuzzy feeling with the playoffs just a couple of weeks away.

J.B. Bickerstaff has always talked about the Cavs being defensive minded, but the lowly Hornets blistered Cleveland, particularly from inside the three-point line, where they made 31 of 43 shots, a 72% clip.

The thing that came up again to fans and media alike is this word, “toughness”. Or the lack of it from the wine and gold.

When the Cavaliers win, they always talk about togetherness, having fun, and sharing. They also like to refer to themselves as a young team. That’s getting old (no pun intended).

Evan Mobley is 22, but he’s been in the NBA for three seasons. Isaac Okoro is 23, but this is his fourth year. Darius Garland is 24, but in his fifth NBA campaign.

And those are the only guys under 25 getting regular playing time.

Jarrett Allen is 25, Dean Wade, Max Strus, Donovan Mitchell, and Sam Merrill are 27 years old. The young team excuse should be off the table and the coaching staff and organization should stop coddling them.

It’s time for Bickerstaff to stop calling timeout every time the opponent scores three baskets in a row. When Phil Jackson coached, he was famous for not calling timeouts, instead giving his players instructions to figure it out themselves. That’s how you build toughness and accountability.

In that game, Garland, who we have criticized for being careless with the ball, turned it over three times in the first five minutes. Why not take him out of the game after that? Hate to sound like a parent, but there are consequences for actions.

And Marcus Morris, who received the Cavs’ chain for his tough play in Monday’s win, didn’t even get off the bench for the loss on Wednesday. That’s how being tough and physical is awarded in the organization?

It’s long since the time to take the “training wheels” off for this group. They are old enough and been around long enough for the organization to be looking for accountability from this squad.

Perhaps there is a different message in the locker room and at practice. Publicly, it’s beginning to sound like rhetoric.

We’ve said it earlier this season, but the regular season isn’t how the Cavaliers are going to be judged, but it is important to get home court advantage for as many rounds as possible. That’s because this group hasn’t had any playoff success.

The Miami Heat should be the model used for being tough, and it’s not weakness to point to another organization as a guide.

How often do you think Erik Spoelstra talks about having fun?