No Trades For Cavs, But Green Is Coming. Anyone Else?

The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to have found an elixir to their January malaise and have reeled off six straight victories, pushing them into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, which would give them home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

It was a bit surprising that Koby Altman and Mike Gansey did not pull off a trade at the deadline, mostly because only four teams in the league did not make a deal.

As we have been saying over the last month, we felt the Cavs needed a big more than a wing heading into the post-season, but the front office didn’t do that either, although it looks as though Cleveland will be signing veteran free agent Danny Green, recently traded from Memphis to Houston, and then bought out by the Rockets.

Green has only played three games this season, recovering from a knee injury, but he brings some length at the wing position and he’s a career 40% shooter from three-point range. Cleveland could use another reliable shooter from outside.

Green’s signing will take place after he passes through waivers, which should happen later today.

It will be interesting to see if Altman grabs another big man that comes available on the buyout market.

Right now, the Cavaliers have Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley starting at center and power forward, respectively, but they really don’t have anyone else with size that they can trust with meaningful minutes.

The team’s third big is probably 6’9″ Dean Wade, who is more of a wing to our way of thinking. He plays more offensively and defensively on the perimeter, and he is a very good defender out there. Kevin Love has fallen out of the rotation and although he still can rebound, he doesn’t match up with many opposing big men who operate in the paint.

Robin Lopez is still on the roster but doesn’t have the lateral quickness needed to defend in today’s NBA. We wondered the other night why Bickerstaff didn’t use him when the Bulls put Andre Drummond in the game. There aren’t many players he could match up against.

We were interested in Dewayne Dedmon, recently let go by Miami, but he decided to sign with the Sixers, just ahead of the wine and gold in the standing. Dedmon is a seven-footer who played in 30 games with the Heat, scoring 5.6 points and grabbing 3.7 boards. And over the past couple of years, he’s developed a little range from behind the arc, hitting 11 of 37 threes this season.

If J.B. Bickerstaff could get five minutes a game out of an added big man, that’s an extra two and a half minutes of rest for Allen and Mobley per game for the rest of the season. And if one of them has to miss a game, there’s a legitimate big man to substitute in.

It’s seems to us that this recent hot stretch has featured Mobley and Allen more on the offensive end, the Cavaliers are making a concerted effort to get them the ball early in games so they can work inside out. The pair and making 55.4% and 65.3% of their shots from the floor respectively.

The Cavs are going to need their two big men in the playoffs and getting them even a little more rest during the remaining schedule should help them in April and May. Especially because both are so active defensively.

Does the front office feel the same way?

LeVert Is A Very Important Piece For Cavs

Basketball is a different sport. It’s the only sport where you have to transition from offense to defense or vice versa on a moment’s notice. It’s also a sport where you can execute a play perfectly, and the shooter misses a shot or you can do everything wrong, and a player puts a ridiculous shot in the hoop.

It’s also a sport where too many people look at numbers and think about how the player with those statistics can fit in with their team.

That was the case when the Cavaliers traded for Kevin Love prior to the 2014-15 season. Many people assumed Love would put up the same 26 points and 12.5 rebounds he did for the Timberwolves, but Love was the primary offensive option on Minnesota, and he would be the third scoring option in Cleveland, after LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Love scored ten points less per game in his first season here and grabbed three less boards. But the Cavs went to the NBA Finals, the first of four consecutive trips.

We believe that is why fans were so critical of Love in his early tenure with the wine and gold. They expected more than the player could have produced considering he was no longer the best player on the team.

For the most part, Love understood and did his job, and was rewarded when the Cavs won a title.

We think the same is true for Caris LeVert, another player we don’t think Cavalier fans appreciate enough. When LeVert came over from Indiana last season, he was scoring 18.9 points per game and was the primary perimeter scorer (the Pacers also had Domantis Sabonis at the time) for the Pacers.

He was hurt shortly after he arrived in town and averaged 13.6 points a game with the wine and gold. Our guess is people expected him to score the same 19 points he did in Indiana, but the Pacers didn’t have a player like Darius Garland.

His role changed again when the Cavs acquired Donovan Mitchell. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff started him a small forward to start the year, but they agreed he would be better coming off the bench.

He’s not a great three-point shooter, which seems to be the fixation of all fans these days, but he still is very important for the Cavs because he is one of the few players, and the only member of the second unit, that can create his own shot. And believe us, that’s very important come playoff time.

Besides LeVert, the only players on the Cleveland roster who can create their own are Mitchell and Garland.

He’s also shooting the three ball at a career best 37.6% and he’s not just a scorer, averaging four rebounds and four assists per game. And he’s the tallest guard (6’6″) on the roster.

In short, even though his numbers aren’t where they were in Indiana (again, circumstances), he provides the Cavs with a unique set of tools. Meaning he is very important to the team.

We’ve been saying since the beginning of the year the Cavaliers have six proven players, and Caris LeVert is one of those six. Be careful about wanting to move him.

The problem all along were the expectations of what LeVert could be vs. the player he is. And he is a very good player.

Instead Of A Deal, Maybe Go With Cedi?

The Cleveland Cavaliers sit fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 32-22 record, but the way they have played recently have uncovered some roster weaknesses.

We have been saying for a few months the Cavs aren’t very deep and outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, they aren’t very big either.

They start two small guards, both listed a 6’1″ and their starting power forward is 6’5″ Isaac Okoro, who at best is inconsistent on the offensive end of the floor.

It recently occurred to us that the J.B. Bickerstaff has a very good option to start at the three on the roster. And that man is veteran Cedi Osman.

Let’s first say, it’s not a perfect solution because thoughout his NBA career, Osman has been the poster person for inconsistency. He started the season with 62 points in the first four games of the season. In his next 11 contests, he scored 58 points. However, in that stretch, he did have two games where he played three and seven minutes in a game, respectively.

He’s had eight games where he’s played less than 10 minutes in a game and two others where he didn’t play at all, so the commonsense feeling would be the player isn’t one of the coach’s favorites. His minutes have dropped since Bickerstaff took over as head coach. Yes, the team is also better, but you have to wonder.

But think about it. Maybe it’s time to put Osman in the starting lineup and see what happens.

First, Osman would give the Cavs a bigger player at the small forward spot, he’s listed at 6’7″. He’s not as good defensively as Okoro, but he’s a solid defender. Remember, Tyronn Lue used to use Osman when he needed a defensive stop at times early in the Turkish player’s career.

He’s a very good passer too. We think the six-year veteran has been miscast by the organization as a three-point shooter, when at Cedi’s core, he’s a slasher/playmaker. That’s the role he plays on the Turkish National Team.

And even though we said his shot was inconsistent, he’s a career 35% shooter from behind the arc, and outside of a 31% season in 2020-21, his percentage from long distance has been between 34.8 and 38.3 percent. Our point is he is a much bigger threat from the perimeter than Okoro or Lamar Stevens.

Hopefully, when Kevin Love returns, his thumb will be better and he can provide offense off the bench, so between him, Caris LeVert and Ricky Rubio, there should be enough fire power on the second unit. And Okoro and Stephens are still there to provide a defensive boost.

Okoro is playing well as a starter, but opposing teams still ignore him when he’s outside. They couldn’t do that with Osman.

Besides, on the offensive end, what does Okoro do better than Cedi?

And moving Osman into the #3 spot might just eliminate a wing as need heading into the trading deadline, and the front office could focus on getting another big to help them.

Perhaps a move like this would shake the wine and gold out of the malaise they’ve been in since the calendar switched to 2023. It’s doubtful it could hurt.

A Week Before Trade Deadline, Will Cavs Shore Up Holes?

The NBA trading deadline is a week from today and no team may be more in need of making a move than the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Of course, Koby Altman pushed most of his chips to the center of the table this summer getting Donovan Mitchell from Utah, and Mitchell has been sensational, averaging 27.6 points per game, and providing leadership for the young Cavs.

As we have said before, over the past couple of months, the wine and gold have been a bit stagnant, they didn’t win back-to-back games in the month of January. There is no question some veteran NBA teams kind of go through the motions prior to Christmas, but they start getting a little more serious when the calendar changes to the new year.

However, the Cavaliers are not a veteran team, they still need to establish themselves as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. We said before the season started that making the “play-in” tournament was not good enough in 2022-23.

If the organizational goal is to finish in the top six in the East, guaranteeing a seven-game series, then Altman needs to make a move. We said before the season started that the top-heavy roster had four real good players (Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley).

They have three solid bench players in Kevin Love, Caris LeVert, and Ricky Rubio. Love has struggled since injuring his thumb and Rubio is just coming off knee surgery. As for the rest of the bench, it is filled with one dimensional players.

Isaac Okoro is a very good defender with limited offensive skills. Lamar Stevens is a good defender and knows his offensive limitations and usually plays accordingly. Dean Wade is a better defender than he gets credit for and isn’t as good of an offensive player for the reputation he has gained around town.

Right now, we think Cedi Osman should be the starting three and give him an extended shot. Osman has the size to play the spot (Okoro and Stephens are undersized), is a very good passer, and although he is streaky, he can drive to the basket.

And he’s willing to shoot, something Wade is reticent to do at times.

And the only one of these players who is truly young is Okoro, who is 22. The others are 25 and older, which would seem to mean they are what they are.

So overall, this roster just isn’t deep enough to be a serious playoff contender. We would guess that Altman and Mike Gansey know this as well. The question is can the Cavs make a move prior to the trade deadline that will bring another solid, dependable player for Bickerstaff to use.

It’s a delicate balance because the Cavs are still a very young team, but they would most definitely benefit from getting in a seven game playoff series, even if they don’t survive it. Getting Mitchell would seem to be the sign the real playoffs are the goal this season.

The Cavs fast start drew notice around the league, and the better teams in the league are preparing better to play them. The front office has a week to adjust back by adding more talent to the roster.

Cavs Treading Water. Size And Shooting Need To Be Better

Former NFL coach Bill Parcells is famous for winning Super Bowls with the New York Giants and for saying “you are what your record says you are”, meaning teams and fans alike shouldn’t sit around talking about games they could’ve won with the right breaks.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 30-21, sitting in the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. However, they started the season 8-1, so in their last 42 games, a little over half the season, they are 22-20, roughly a .500 basketball team.

Now, we cannot erase that early season hot streak, but it did set the expectations high for some in both the local and national media.

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff has established a defensive mind set for the wine and gold, and even in today’s high scoring NBA, Cleveland’s 107.1 points allowed is the best in the league.

GM Koby Altman made a big swing in the off-season, trading for all-star Donovan Mitchell, and the former Louisville standout has been tremendous. He deservingly will start in the All-Star Game next month and should finish in the top ten in the league’s MVP voting.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised with the club’s record over the last 42 games, because this roster is far from complete.

After last season’s big lineup of Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Lauri Markkanen, the Cavs have little size on the roster this season. Markkanen went in the Mitchell trade and flourished, and we understand, he had to be moved to complete the deal, but Altman didn’t replace him.

The only big man the Cavaliers signed in the off-season was veteran Robin Lopez, who can no longer be a regular contributor at 34 years old. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness to get minutes in today’s game.

Kevin Love is really the only solid reserve big man, and despite his shooting slump, probably due to a fractured thumb suffered earlier in the year, still grabs seven a night in 20 minutes of play. Dean Wade is 6’9″, and is a solid defender, but he’s more of a three-point specialist, and gets only 3.7 caroms in more minutes per game as Love.

Cleveland still plays with a very small backcourt, both Mitchell and Darius Garland are listed at 6’1″, although Mitchell plays bigger. The players who play the small forward spot, besides Wade, are all 6’5″ (Isaac Okoro), 6’6″ (Caris LeVert and Lamar Stephens), or 6’7″ (Cedi Osman)

In Friday’s loss at Oklahoma City, yes, Cleveland had Allen and Mobley, the two best bigs on the court, but had little size available after that.

Rumors have the Cavs interested in Portland’s Josh Hart, a good player, but only 6’5″ and not a particularly great three- point shooter.

For Cleveland to head back in the right direction, we believe they need to add some size. For all the talk about “3 and D” guys, the Cavaliers need another big man to provide size when Allen or Mobley aren’t on the floor.

And they still need a wing with some size beside Osman, who has proven by now to be a streaky player. Of all the players Bickerstaff uses at the “3”, only Wade has a good three-point shooting percentage (41.8%), but he’s streaky as well. He’s 14 of 22 in his three best games this season, and 14 of 45 (31.1%) in every other contest.

We aren’t saying we wouldn’t have made the Mitchell deal, when you have a chance to get a top 10 or 15 player in the league, you do it. But it seems like Altman ignored the reason for the team’s success last season, and that is size.

If the Cavaliers can swing a deal at the deadline, that should be their focus. They continue to have a top-heavy roster, four stars and very little else.

Avoiding the play-in tournament may have to be the goal, not getting a first round home series.

Things That Worry Us About The Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Wednesday in a close game against Memphis without Donovan Mitchell and then lost at home to Golden State, who didn’t play their starters, on Friday. Both losses really bothered us, but for different reasons.

The first loss was because of their awful final possession, down by one, with 16 seconds left. J.B. Bickerstaff had a timeout remaining, but eschewed using it, choosing to let the players make a play. Bad decision.

Darius Garland just dribbled, waiting for an opportunity to penetrate, and wound up taking a three-pointer that was blocked. To us, it was the perfect time to run some action to get someone open, perhaps an off the ball screen.

To be fair, many teams in the NBA would’ve made the same choice, but that doesn’t make it the right choice.

And Friday night, the Cavs just didn’t show up, apparently deciding before the game that they would win, and then not putting forth the effort to do so. They are outrebounded by 10 in the game. Bickerstaff was correct to be upset afterwards.

We are a bit concerned because this is when the Cavaliers kind of fell apart a year ago, although injuries were a factor. They beat Indiana on February 11th last season to raise their record to 35-21. They went 9-17 the rest of the year.

This season, Cleveland has gone 6-8 over their last 14 contests, and just this past week played two games vs. teams without multiple starters (New Orleans and Golden State) and didn’t get off to good starts. They had a strong fourth quarter to beat the Pelicans.

And although the Grizzlies game wound up close, Memphis did have a 20-0 run in the second quarter.

The Cavaliers have a good team, they probably aren’t ready to win the NBA title, but they could be good enough to get home court advantage in the first round. They might have one of the best starting lineups in the league, starting three players who have made All-Star teams (Mitchell, Garland, and Jarrett Allen) as well as Evan Mobley, a defensive force (so is Allen) in just his second year.

Their bench is somewhat inconsistent, but they still have Caris LeVert, who is a good player, veteran Kevin Love, who although he has been in a shooting slump, is still a very good rebounder, and Cedi Osman has his moments. Lamar Stevens is a solid defender, and Ricky Rubio has just come back from knee surgery.

But they have become very guard reliant, which is odd because of the presence of Allen and Mobley. The teams’ leaders in shot attempts are Mitchell (20.2), Garland (16.7) and LeVert (11.0), all of whom are primarily guards.

Mobley is next at 10.6 followed by Allen at 8.9. The two starting big men, along with reserves Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, and Lamar Stevens take about as many shots combined as the trio of guards.

So, we very much liked last night when Mobley took 27 shots, making 19 in scoring a career-high 38 points. We’d like to see more of this.

This isn’t to minimize how great Mitchell has been this year, but it might open things up more for the guards, if the Cavs worked the ball inside more often for the bigs. After all, Mobley does shoot 55.7% from the floor, and Allen knocks down 63% of his attempts.

Hopefully, the Cavs get things straightened out sooner than later. Bickerstaff likes to talk about the grit of his squad, but they haven’t shown much of it in the past few weeks. It needs to come back before the same swoon that took place last year occurs again.

The On-Going Okoro Discussion

There is probably no more debated player on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster than Isaac Okoro. The “media influencers” who work for the Cavs are consistently telling us whenever he performs well.

It reminds us of when Danny Ferry was here, and the franchise’s PR department was fully invested in telling everyone they did not make a colossal mistake.

We are not putting Okoro in that class, but the fact remains the organization overdrafted him when he was selected fifth overall in the 2020 draft. He was a defensive player, and not a shot blocker or rim protector, and those players tend not to be picked that high.

Why? Because wings have to be able to produce offensively, and Okoro may get to be that player at some point, but his rookie contract will likely be up before that happens, and the Cavs’ front office will have to make a decision on whether or not to give him an extension, one that would be tough to justify committing big dollars.

The hype surrounding the third-year player now is his three-point shooting, which since the calendar changed to 2023, has been good, as he has made 11 of 20 from distance. However, that’s what is called a small sample size, as it includes just eight games.

Overall, for the season, Okoro is making 31.5% of his threes, which is fourth worst on the roster, ahead of only Lamar Stevens (who has taken 50, compared to 89 for Okoro), and big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

And in this recent stretch, the former Auburn Tiger has made more than one long distance shot in a game just twice, making four of six in the blowout win over the Suns and two of three in Saturday’s loss to Minnesota.

We would all like Okoro to become Cleveland’s version of P.J. Tucker, a very good defender who is lethal with the corner three. Tucker, though, knocks down 38% of his long-distance shots. And for the mathematically challenged, 38% is much better than 30.6%.

Plus, it still seems to us like Okoro is a reluctant shooter, meaning he doesn’t have much confidence in his shot. That’s why defenses still have decided to ignore him when he is standing beyond the arc.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Okoro developed a reliable mid-range game, but from three to ten feet, he’s made just 9 of 27 shots from the floor, and from 16 feet to the three-point line, he’s taken just one shot.

Overall, he’s taken 103 jump shots on the season, making just 32 (31.1%). Let us ask this question…if you were the opposing team, wouldn’t you leave him open?

This is not to say Okoro doesn’t have ability. He is a very good defender, and that is valuable in today’s NBA. But it is tough to put him out there for long stretches because he becomes a burden offensively. What we mean is because opponents don’t need to guard him, they can help on Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and the big guys inside.

The way to combat that is good ball movement because a passed ball moves faster than a dribbled ball. Unfortunately, the Cavs seem to forget that sometimes.

It’s also why the wine and gold could use another shooter at the trade deadline if they can get one. And it would not be a shock if Okoro was included in the deal.

Talking About Mitchell’s Amazing Performance

In the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first season, Walt Wesley scored 50 points in a game against the Cincinnati Royals on February 19, 1971. That record held for 34 years, until LeBron James put up 56 vs. Toronto in March 2005.

The 50 point barrier has only been accomplished 15 times in franchise history and only five players have done it. James did it 10 times, Kyrie Irving did it twice, and the 57 points he put up on March 12, 2015 established the club record, which was tied by James two years later.

Earlier this season, Darius Garland became the fourth player in Cleveland history to hit the 50 mark when he put in 51 against Minnesota.

It doesn’t happen often for a player wearing wine and gold.

And then we have what happened on Monday night.

Donovan Mitchell had a night for the ages, shattering the team record with a 71 point effort, tied with David Robinson for the eighth most in any game by an individual. There are only three players in NBA history to have recorded more points in a single game, and their names are Wilt Chamberlain (of course), Kobe Bryant, and David Thompson.

Yes, the game went into overtime, but Mitchell had 58 at the end of regulation, which would have broken the Cavalier team record anyway.

The Cavs were without two starters, Garland and Evan Mobley, so they needed someone to step up and provide scoring. Garland is after all, a 20 point per game scorer. In the first half, no one stepped up and the wine and gold were down by 18 at halftime, 65-47.

Mitchell started getting in going late in the second quarter. He had five points until he hit a three with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter and scored eight more before the end of the half.

Again, for the entire game, no one outside of Jarrett Allen, who was nine of ten from the floor, and Raul Neto, who took just three shots, hit more than half their attempts for Cleveland.

So, Mitchell took over, which is what stars do. He basically willed the Cavs to a win. And it wasn’t as though he was playing selfishly either. He dished out 11 assists. He also took just 34 shots to get the 71 points, as he went to the foul line 25 times, making 20. That helped.

He scored 24 points in the third quarter to cut the Cavs’ deficit to five heading into the 4th quarter. He added 18 more to force overtime. He needed to score that many points to get a win for Cleveland. That’s what made it even more special.

He took only two more shots in the same game as Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan, who scored 44 points taking 32 shots. And on the same night, Golden State’s Klay Thompson hoisted 39 shots, scoring 54 points and doled out just three helpers.

We were in attendance on March 28, 1990 when Michael Jordan scored 69 points against the Cavs, and he took 37 shots in that one, and he went to the line 23 times. After the game, Lenny Wilkens remarked that since Jordan fired the ball 37 times, he should’ve scored 69.

That game also went overtime.

By the way, in Bryant’s 81 point night in 2006? He shot 46 times in 42 minutes. Mitchell played 50 minutes in his history making night.

What an incredible game. They don’t come about that often. It was almost 17 years since Bryant’s outburst. We are sure everyone will remember it for years to come.

Cavs Need Help For Mitchell & Garland. Maybe It’s On The Roster

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished a six-game homestand at 4-2, and now face a stretch where they play eight of their next 11 away from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. They enter this stretch 6-9 on the road.

They won the first four games at home in this stretch before losing the last two to Toronto and Brooklyn, both of whom shot over 50% from three-point range. That’s hard for a team to do in an empty gym. The Nets lead the NBA in long distance shooting, but the Raptors are second from the bottom.

Once again, the Cavs problem is not enough guys contributing offensively consistently. J.B. Bickerstaff has a core four of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, but he needs more players picking up the slack offensively, especially against better defensive teams.

Cleveland is averaging a little over 84 shots per game, and of those, the combination of Mitchell and Garland are taking 37, slightly less than half. We have seen in the two losses at home, opposing teams are focusing their defense on Mitchell, making it as hard as possible for him to get going.

The coaching staff has to do some things beside the pick-and-roll to get the wine and gold’s leading scorer at 28.5 points per game going. There doesn’t seem to be much action running Mitchell or Garland off screens to get them open looks. We’d like to see some of that.

We would also like to see Mobley and Allen get the ball in the paint more often. Toronto plays a very physical style of defense (they’ve adopted the Pat Riley Knicks and Golden State style of fouling most times down the floor, and the referees can’t call them all), but they don’t really have a true rim protecting big man.

Why not give the two seven-footers on the roster the ball. The Cavs’ starting big men average just under 20 shots per game, and that’s way too low for us. Especially with Mobley shooting almost 56% and Allen converting 62% of his shots.

Plus, if you establish an inside game, it makes it easier for Mitchell and Garland on the perimeter.

What does make it tougher for these four on the offensive end is the total lack of respect defenses have for whomever is playing the #3 spot. Bickerstaff reiterated his “they have to make shots” mantra after Monday’s loss to the Nets, but it goes against the coaching credo of putting people in positions where they can succeed.

Isaac Okoro is hitting 25% of his three-point shots. Lamar Stephens is 13 for 39. Dean Wade is making 41% from behind the line, but is hurt, and when he plays, he has periods where it doesn’t appear he wants to shoot.

As a result, defenders are ignoring them and helping on Mitchell and Garland. Maybe Kevin Love should start there, but still keeping him around 20 minutes per game. We’ve heard people say Cedi Osman should start at small forward, but he’s inconsistent shooting as well.

Maybe the answer is not putting these guys in the corner behind the three-point line where they are rendered ineffective? We understand this is an analytical advancement, but we always ask, what’s better: A made two or a missed three?

Either way, hoping Stevens, Osman, or Okoro become better three-point shooters doesn’t seem like much of a plan. The coaching staff has to come up with an alternative.

Or make a trade…

On Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley

It seems odd to be looking for flaws on a basketball team that has a 21-11 record, but for the Cleveland Cavaliers, when you get to a record that good, you get analyzed based on whether or not the team can make a deep playoff run.

That’s why we have an issue with the lack of depth on the roster. Since Kevin Love injured his thumb, his shot hasn’t been there, so there are many nights when Cleveland gets nothing from their second unit. And when that happens, they struggle to win, no matter the opponent.

Adding Donovan Mitchell has been a revelation, as he has played at an MVP level, even though he isn’t mentioned in that conversation nationally. Right now, he is scoring at a career high mark, averaging 29.3 points per game, and is shooting, both overall and three-point percentage are also at highwater marks.

His career high from the floor was 44.9% in 2019-20, but he is currently at 50.3%, and from long range, he is at a mind-boggling 42.8% compared to his previous best of 38.6% in 2020-21. Barring injury, he most certainly will make his fourth consecutive all-star appearance.

Are these numbers sustainable? It could be that because Mitchell is playing with better offensive players than he ever played with in Utah, he has more room to operate. We shall see as the season goes on.

We have seen a lot of talk about Darius Garland not playing up to the level he did last season, and while some of his numbers are down, it looks to us like most his shot is off.

Remember that Garland missed time after being hit in the eye on opening night, and he might lead the league in getting hit in the face this season. Perhaps that has thrown off his shooting, which is down from 46.2% last season to 43% in 2022-23.

Most of his numbers seem on par with his career norms. He’s hitting 38.2% from three (career mark is 37/8%), he is dishing out 7.8 assists, down a bit from 8.6 last year, but Mitchell is sharing some of this responsibility, and although he’s had some key turnovers in close games, he is averaging less per game than in 2021-22 (3.3 compared to 3.6).

And it most definitely is an adjustment for a player to go from being the best on the team to the second or maybe even the third best when all is said and done. Some players can handle it, others cannot, and based on his body language on the floor and off, Garland seems to be fine.

At some point, he might be passed on the pecking order by Evan Mobley, which will take another adjustment. We have seen J.B. Bickerstaff put the ball in Mobley’s hands at time late in close games, and the big man usually makes the correct decision.

That bodes well for the future of this team.

Having a skilled big man like Mobley, who is also a very good defender, makes it difficult for the opposition. And the fact he can be a triple threat offensively, makes it even better.

Last year, we said this repeatedly when asked who was the Cavs’ best player, Garland or Collin Sexton? It doesn’t matter because in a year or two, it’s going to be Evan Mobley.

And when that happens, if the guards can see it, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be a very special basketball team. That will be all kinds of fun.