Might Sound Crazy, But No Need To Panic About The Cavs…Yet

There is no question the Cleveland Cavaliers are going through a rough time. They just went on a five game west coast trip in which they didn’t win a game. And since they beat the star-studded Brooklyn Nets in consecutive games in late January, they’ve dropped 14 of their last 16 games.

They have said they will not play Andre Drummond for now, as they are trying to work out a trade for the big man, and they are also without one of their best defensive players and one of their best passers in Larry Nance Jr.

And, of course, they haven’t had Kevin Love for all but 1-1/2 games out of the 29 played thus far in the 2020-21 season. No matter what you think of Love, and no doubt he has been much maligned pretty much since the day he arrived in Cleveland, he’s a very good player, and he can provide what the biggest weakness the Cavs have on offense, the lack of three point shooting.

The Cavaliers have fallen to 14th place in the Eastern Conference, ahead of just the Detroit Pistons. It seems all of the defensive concepts coach J.B. Bickerstaff put in place prior to the season have gone out the window. Some of that could be because the availability of players changes on a nightly basis.

To play solid defense, you need to know where your teammates are, and just on this past trip, Bickerstaff used three different power forwards: Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, and Cedi Osman. That’s difficult in creating continuity.

The bad news from the trip was punctuated with a disagreement between Allen and Collin Sexton at halftime of the most recent defeat at Golden State.

To be fair, as the trip went on, we did see more of the Sexton they played in his first year and a half in the NBA, a lot of possessions for the wine and gold where one person and only one person touched the ball, and that guy was Sexton.

We have enough faith in Bickerstaff that he will address this with the third year pro, and hopefully, the player listens.

However, after taking a couple of days after the latest defeat, we took a deep breath and realized most of the losses in these last 16 games have come against some of the best teams in the NBA.

Really, the only bad losses in this stretch were road losses to Minnesota and New York. Otherwise, they lost to Boston, the Lakers, the Clippers twice, Milwaukee twice, this latest trip was composed entirely of pretty good teams. If the season ended today, each of the last five games were against playoff teams from the Western Conference (Phoenix, Denver, Portland, Clippers, and Golden State).

Now, the margin of defeat is concerning.

The Cavs play Denver again on Friday, but the next three games are at home against Oklahoma City (11-17), Atlanta (12-16), and Houston (11-17). If they play poorly and get blown out against that trio at home, then it would be time for concern.

Perhaps we all got overly excited by the wins over the Nets, and overestimated how good the wine and good were. Quite frankly, they ran into a bunch of games against teams better than them.

On the other hand, losing can cause bad habits. It’s up to Bickerstaff to get his squad focused on playing the right way going forward and converting that into some wins to reinforce good play.

Let’s see how the next couple of weeks play out before panicking.

Situation For Drummond Changed Quickly.

Man, things change quick in the NBA, especially when it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On January 27th, the Cavs beat the Pistons, 122-107 to raise their record to 9-9. Andre Drummond had 23 points, 16 rebounds, and five steals and was a huge part in the victory over his former team. The week before, the wine and gold knocked off the star laden Brooklyn Nets in back-to-back games, giving everyone, us included hope for the current season.

Yesterday, not even three weeks later, the Cleveland brass sent Drummond home until they work out a trade for the league’s leading rebounder.

Since, that game, the Cavs have gone 1-9, with the lone win being against Minnesota, a game in which Drummond did not play. So, that win against Detroit was the last win Drummond will experience as a member of the Cavaliers.

After starting the season strong, the big man seemed like a different player after GM Koby Altman traded for Jarrett Allen as part of the mega-swap involving James Harden going to the Nets.

He averaged 17.5 points for Cleveland this season, but since that Pistons game, that figure dropped to 14.4 and his rebounding dropped to just under 10 per game. To be fair, his minutes dropped from 30 to 25 in February, but did his numbers drop because his minutes fell, or vice versa?

There is a downside to free agency sometimes. Drummond was a free agent at the end of the current season, and the Cavs felt like he wasn’t going to sign with the team long term, so when Allen became available, Altman jumped at the chance to get a good, younger big man, who would be a restricted free agent after the year, meaning the Cavaliers could match any offer, thus keeping him here for awhile.

But Drummond seemed to be bothered by the presence of Allen, perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, and he played differently.

When the deal was made, most people, including us, felt Cleveland would be moving Drummond sooner than later, and it seemed to cast a pall on the entire roster. Maybe it didn’t affect the locker room, but it certainly appeared the whole squad was in a funk.

Drummond was held out of Sunday night’s tilt against the Clippers, citing rest. But yesterday’s announcement certainly made more sense. How quickly a move will come is anyone’s guess, but for right now, Allen is the starter at center, with JaVale McGee getting back up minutes.

So, if Drummond’s attitude was an issue, and by the team sending him home, it appears that is the case, the next thing to fix is the defense in the backcourt which is becoming an issue again. Allen is a good defender, but he finds himself covering for players being allowed to go to the basket at will, and no one is helping. Offensive rebounders from opposing teams are getting easy baskets.

And until Kevin Love can take the court again, the move also makes Cleveland very small up front. The starting power forward is Taurean Prince, who is a slight 6’7″. Don’t forget Isaac Okoro, who gets the bulk of the minutes at small forward is only 6’5″, so once again, the wine and gold is very small.

Hopefully, Love and Larry Nance Jr., who have started the majority of the games at power forward will be back sooner than later, and maybe (hoping) another player with size comes back in a possible trade for Drummond.

Drummond’s legacy with the Cavs: 33 games, 17.5 points, 12.9 rebounds. Altman got him for a song, and hopefully gets more than he paid in a deal.

Things can change quick in the NBA for sure.

More Injuries For Cavs? Why Not Experiment?

The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a decent start to the 2020-21 basketball season, but have struggled a bit recently, losing eight of their last ten.

And now, the injury bug has hit again with the news that their glue man, Larry Nance Jr., will miss the next six weeks with a broken finger.

Nance pretty much does everything well, and was just coming back from a sprained wrist, when he broke the finger Saturday night against the Bucks. Nance is a good defender, good passer, and is becoming a good shooter, expanding his range to where he is hitting 38% of his three point attempts this season.

His injury is just another for a team that really hasn’t been healthy all season long. Since he’s barely played this season, it’s easy to forget Kevin Love has played in just two games, a total of 46 minutes.

The only Cavalier who has played in every game this season is Cedi Osman. Collin Sexton, Nance, and Isaac Okoro have all missed five games. Darius Garland has missed eight, and Dylan Windler has not participated in 13 contests.

Even Andre Drummond sat out two games. And this isn’t a “load management” issue either, all of these guys have had physical issues which forced them to sit out games.

The injuries, particularly in the frontcourt, have led to two way player Lamar Stephens appearing in 14 games, a lot of someone who figured to be getting most of his basketball in the G League.

Add to the mix a mid-season trade which brought aboard Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from Brooklyn (in exchange for Dante Exum, who by the way, was also hurt), and it’s no wonder the wine and gold have struggled a bit to find their identity, especially on the offensive end of the court.

When Nance missed time with his wrist, coach J.B. Bickerstaff decided to go with Prince in his spot, but although he can play the four at times, he doesn’t have the bulk to play starters’ minutes at the position.

But what alternative does Bickerstaff have?

We understand it’s thinking a bit out of the box, and you probably couldn’t do it for the majority of the game, but why not start Drummond and Allen in sort of the twin towers set up, with Osman or Prince playing small forward.

The Cavs have kind of played an old school game this year anyway, why not fully embrace it by putting the two big men together on the floor. Besides, Cleveland doesn’t seem to be much of a small ball team, except in the backcourt.

Why not get Allen, who has been impressive since his arrival, more minutes? In his lone start with the wine and gold, he scored 23 points, had 18 rebounds and five blocks in a win over Minnesota.

And Allen seems to be effective playing in the high point, so he doesn’t seem to clog up the area in which Drummond likes to operate, that of starting in the wing and backing down into the low post.

The move would also bring Okoro, who has started all of the 20 games he has played in, off the bench. He has scored in double figures just four times in the last 12 contests, shooting just 28% from three (9 for 32) in that span.

Offense wasn’t what made the Auburn standout the fifth overall pick in the draft, and we are confident he will improve in that area. Right now, though, it might be a good time to take a step back.

The Drummond/Allen pairing would be temporary anyway, because when Love returns, he presumably will take over at power forward.

This season should be for seeing what works and what doesn’t. Why not see what playing Drummond and Allen together looks like?

Suddenly, The Cavs Have Depth At Center

For a long time, the Cleveland Cavaliers played without a true center. Sure, Tristan Thompson was a solid player and did a fine job manning the position in his time in Cleveland, but he’s really a defensive minded power forward.

At 6’9″, he battled against guys taller than him, and basically outworked them, but he wasn’t a “true” center, even in today’s NBA.

Last season, the organizational philosophy changed at the trade deadline when Detroit decided they wanted to unload the contract of Andre Drummond, and GM Koby Altman decided to deal some spare parts.

Since getting Drummond, the Cavs have added veteran Javale McGee via a trade with the Lakers in the off-season, and recently picked up Jarrett Allen from the Nets in the James Harden blockbuster.

When Kevin Love is ready to play, which may be soon, along with Larry Nance Jr., J.B. Bickerstaff will now have cadre of very good big men to put on the court.

Even with Love out, McGee hasn’t been able to get on the court much as Drummond and Allen take all the minutes at the pivot.

Allen will turn 23 in April and is the future for Cleveland. He’s a restricted free agent after the season, and quite frankly we can’t see any scenario in which they do not match any offer given to him, if indeed, they haven’t come together on an extension before that.

He has averaged 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots per game in the eight games he has played with the Cavaliers, and that is in just 25 minutes per night.

Everyone figured it was going to be a long shot for Drummond, who has been outstanding this season, leading the league in rebounds at 15.1 per night, while scoring 18.5 points and adding three steals or blocks per contest, to sign with the Cavs long term, but now Altman can deal from strength because Allen would be an outstanding replacement.

Going forward, the combination of Allen and McGee makes a lot of sense because they seem to be similar players, giving Bickerstaff a seamless transition when he substitutes, especially on offense.

Drummond plays a different game when Cleveland has the ball. He likes to back his way down into the low post with the dribble, which doesn’t put him a good position to pass the ball outside when double teams come. He also plays more with his back to the basket, traditional center play.

It would not be surprising if the 27-year-old free agent to be will be traded soon to either a contender or to an organization looking to use his expiring contract to create cap space for the off-season.

And contrary to rumors nationally, we don’t think there is any way Altman will buy out Drummond and allow him to become an immediate free agent. He’s too valuable as a trade chip.

Despite how well the Cavs have played this season, a credit to their head coach, they still are a ways away from having a roster that can rank in the top half of the Eastern Conference standings, and they are playing well enough that a high lottery pick isn’t likely.

Even though the NBA game has changed and guards are featured more, there still is a place for big men who can protect the rim. It seems like the Cavs’ organization has remembered that, and are now the place to come to for other teams looking for the same thing.

Sexton’s Hard Work Pays Off

When Collin Sexton was drafted eighth overall in 2018, he was just 19 years old. As fans, we probably don’t remember things like that enough.

Think about when you were 19, we, like you, probably did a lot of dumb stuff. Fortunately, most people don’t do those things in front of thousands of people who are paying to watch you, nor do you do them as part of a group where the other members are folks who have been doing it longer than you.

We were critical of Sexton when he first came into the NBA. He seemed to dribble incessantly. Fans used to keep track of the possessions the Cavaliers had where Sexton and only Sexton touched the ball.

His veteran teammates didn’t like playing with him for that reason.

Still, there were things that should have been looked at as positive signs. Sexton is a basketball junkie, working on his game endlessly. There were stories about how Cavs’ management had to order him to leave the practice facility.

He also never had any issues off the court.

Scouts said his outside shooting was his weakness at Alabama, where he played for former NBA player Avery Johnson. But he shot 43% from three point range in his rookie year, averaging 16.7 points, three assists and three rebounds playing in all 82 games.

He was hailed as one of the most inefficient players in the game. The Cavs went 19-63 in the first year after LeBron James departed for Los Angeles. Since he was drafted with the choice obtained in the Kyrie Irving deal, which the front office clung to with all their might, Sexton became the symbol for all that was wrong with the wine and gold.

In his second year, Sexton was paired with the fifth overall pick the following year, another smaller guard in Darius Garland, who played all of four games at Vanderbilt. More losing followed and at the All Star break in his second season, the second year pro averaged 19.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, and his three point shooting dropped to 36.5%.

Something changed for Sexton when play resumed after the break. Not initially, though. In February, Sexton averaged 21.9 points, and his assists started to go up, from under three in every month, to 4.1 in February.

At the end of the month, Garland was injured, and Matthew Dellavedova started getting playing time, getting at least 18 minutes in the last eight games of the shortened season.

How does that figure into Sexton’s blossoming into a very good player? When Delly was on the floor, the ball started to move better, the Australian averaged seven assists per game in these contests.

We believe Sexton saw how the team was better when the ball moved and his assist total increased by a half of one per game.

We noticed a difference watching the game. The ball didn’t stick when he had it. His shot selection improved, he was growing as a player right in front of our eyes.

This season, Sexton has taken it to yet another level. He’s scoring 26.8 points per game on 52% shooting, 46.8% from three. His assists have improved by one, going from 3.0 to 4.2. His turnovers are down as well.

Suddenly, he is the best player on a team with a realistic shot at making the playoffs.

And after GM Koby Altman acquired Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince in the James Harden deal, a transaction which right now borders on robbery, the Cavaliers are young, long, and deep. As long as Andre Drummond is still wearing a Cleveland uniform, J.B. Bickerstaff has three rim protectors in Drummond, Allen, and Larry Nance Jr.

The players have also bought in to Bickerstaff’s defensive system, Cleveland ranks 4th in the league in defensive efficiency, a tremendous improvement from the past several years.

The roster is filled with hard workers, improving their games every off-season. Altman should be given credit for that, and Bickerstaff should get a ton of credit for giving these players direction, seemingly for the first time since James left.

It’s fun to watch the Cavs again, and it’s fun to watch Collin Sexton grow as a player. He’s a reminder that perhaps fans and experts shouldn’t put a label on players just one year out of high school.

However, Sexton should get all kinds of credit for changing his game, growing as a basketball player. He’s proof that sometimes hard work does pay off.

Cavs Get Involved In Mega Deal, And Get Better

The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a pretty good start this season, considering the injury problems that have beset J.B. Bickerstaff’s team.

They are sitting at 5-7, remarkable really, when you realize Kevin Love has played two games, Collin Sexton has missed four, Darius Garland six, and rookie first round draft pick Isaac Okoro five. And it doesn’t take into consideration that one of last season’s bright spots, Kevin Porter Jr., hasn’t even suited up.

However, GM Koby Altman saw a chance to improve the team when the Brooklyn Nets wanted to get disgruntled star James Harden, and got involved. And at first look, he cashed in big time.

He dealt a first round draft pick, don’t panic, not ours, it’s Milwaukee’s in 2022, which wouldn’t seem to be a lottery pick with Giannis Antetokounmpo staying there, a second round pick, and Dante Exum, currently injured to get Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince.

In watching Allen play against the Cavs in his three year career, we loved him as a player. Not yet 23-years-old, the 6’11” center averaged 11.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in the regular season, and then 14.8 rebounds per game in the Nets’ four post-season games.

He shot 65% from the floor last season, and is a career 70% shooter from the free throw line.

He’s a classic big man too. He took just six three pointers a year ago. He’s a rim protector, a rebounder, and a low post presence. And again, at his age, he will get nothing but better.

We believe as he gets more experience, he will more a major force inside for the Cavaliers.

Our first thought when the deal was announced was Andre Drummond’s time here isn’t long. Drummond is a free agent at the end of the year (Allen is restricted, so the Cavs will have to pay him next summer), and no doubt Altman will be looking for a contending team who wants to pony up for a big man who is currently averaging 18 points, 15 boards, and is playing very good defense this season.

The wine and gold also received small forward Taurean Prince in the deal. The 6’7″ Prince’s best season was probably his second year in the league with Atlanta, averaging 14.1 points and 4.7 rebounds a night. He will be 27 in March, fitting in with the Cavs’ youth movement.

Last year with Brooklyn, he scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds, while shooting a career low 37.6% from the floor. He also took the most three point shots of his career, so maybe he’s better off using the mid-range game.

Again, the cost was more than reasonable to pick up two players who should be in Bickerstaff’s rotation immediately, and both are good defenders.

We also love the addition of size. With Love out of the lineup, the Cavs have been forced to use two way player Lamar Stephens and Dean Wade in the rotation. For the time being, Bickerstaff now can use Drummond, JaVale McGee, Allen, and Larry Nance Jr. at the #4 and #5 spots.

And Prince gives the team another small forward to go with Cedi Osman and Okoro, who can also move to the backcourt. It gives them the option to play like a traditional basketball team in terms of skill set, when either Sexton or Garland are on the bench.

Again, you have to believe another move will be coming before the trade deadline with Drummond, who has played very well, and has been much more active defensively this season. It’s just that he’s a free agent, and he is likely to want to move on.

The injuries haven’t allowed Bickerstaff to use his depth, as they are constantly playing shorthanded. This deal gives them even more when everyone is back.

Kudos to the GM for seeing an opportunity to improve the team and doing it. The Cavaliers got better now and in the future.

Cavs Back To Being Short On Big Men

For years, we have wondered about the Cleveland Cavaliers and their aversion to have big men on the roster. And it has raised it’s ugly head once again.

After winning the title in 2016, the franchise has seemed to ignore having traditional big people (read: rim protectors) on the roster.

And when they have signed these guys, such as Chris Andersen and Andrew Bogut, injuries have occurred, so neither player could make a real impact.

Since the middle of last season, that seems to have changed a bit, with GM Koby Altman trading for Andre Drummond, and then trading for Javale McGee before the 2020-21 campaign. That gave J.B. Bickerstaff four solid players at power forward and center. The two we mentioned as well as Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr.

Unfortunately, Love has pretty much been absent this season (he has basically played one game) with a calf injury and once again, Bickerstaff’s rotation has a big gaping hole.

Nance is kind of a swiss army knife, contributing some scoring, rebounding, and passing as well as being able to block shots (8.3 ppg, 7rpg, almost 5 assists), so the starting lineup is probably better defensively, but they lose Love’s outside shooting.

The problem is not having someone with Nance’s versatility off the bench. Dean Wade appears to be over matched and we believe we weigh more than Thon Maker, the coach’s first options to soak up the minutes at the #4 and #5 spots on the court.

So, Bickerstaff and the Cavs are back to having a shortage of big people. We think it is possible to play small for a limited amount of minutes in a game, but generally, you need players who can contest shots around the basket. Right now, the Cavs rank 13th in the league in blocked shots, a dramatic improvement from last year’s ranking of dead last.

And if Love were only going to miss a handful of games, it would simply be something the team would just have to battle through. But he’s going to be out a month, so we think Altman should be hunting for a replacement.

One name that comes to mind is John Henson, who was here a year ago before being dealt to Detroit in the Drummond transaction.

Henson is just 30 years old and can play both PF and C, and averaged 5.5 points and almost three rebounds in 15 minutes per game last season. He would have to be a better option on the court right now than what is on the roster right now.

Another option would be Dewayne Dedmon, now 31-years-old. He put up almost 6 points and 6 boards per night with the Kings and Hawks a year ago.

To be fair, we don’t know what kind of shape either player is in at the present time.

We understand the Cavaliers probably aren’t going to make the playoffs this season, but we know Bickerstaff wants to win as many games as he can, and in terms of big men, he has one arm tied behind his back.

Besides, the back end of the wine and gold roster is filled with developmental players who will get action in the G League when it starts play. It’s not like Altman would have to cut loose someone with all star potential.

If the franchise wants winning to be part of the learning process, then get some players with size who can stay on an NBA court for 8-10 minutes per game.

That would be the right thing to do for Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Isaac Okoro.

Young Cavs Improving And New Philosophy Paying Off.

With everyone in northeast Ohio caught up in the Browns’ playoff chase, something else has slipped under the radar for sports fans here.

No, not the constant crying of having no money by the Indians’ ownership. But our basketball team has gotten off to a 3-0 start, the first time that has happened since they were the defending NBA champions.

We realize the 76ers did not have all star center Joel Embiid, and the Pistons and Hornets are not in the mix to make a deep playoff run, but still after viewing teams that had little or no direction since LeBron James departed via free agency, it is nice to see a plan and some wins.

The wine and gold are third in the NBA in scoring and lead the league in three point percentage and is third in overall shooting percentage. Can that continue? It’s probably doubtful. But they also lead the league in assists thus far, and after watching a lot of dribbling the past few years, watching this group share the basketball is quite refreshing.

There has also been improvement on the defensive end, which J.B. Bickerstaff promised. Cleveland is 7th in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage after three games. Last season, they finished dead last.

It’s also great to see big people in the lineup and those guys are defending the basket. The Cavs are 21st in blocked shots right now, and while that doesn’t seem to be great, it is an improvement over being last, which is where they were in 2019-20.

We have pointed out the lack of size on the roster since James departed, and while we would still like to see more, it is nice to see Andre Drummond, Larry Nance Jr., and Javale McGee out there challenging opponents driving to the basket.

The young players are getting better too. Collin Sexton is averaging 27.0 points per game on just 18 shots. He’s second on the team in getting to the foul line. He’s not taking that many three point shots.

Now, we know he will not continue to shoot 59% from the floor, but he has continued to play like he did after Bickerstaff took over.

We heard Darius Garland was a star in the fall camp, but didn’t play very well in the exhibition season. But he is off to a great start, scored 19 points and dishing out 8 assists per contest. Again, we don’t think he is going to shoot 50% from beyond the arc like he is right now.

Cedi Osman has adapted to his bench role, playing some of the best basketball of his young career. He’s scoring 15.7 points a night in just 22 minutes of play.

Again, back to the big men. Kevin Love missed pretty much two of the three games, but the bigs still have been outstanding.

Drummond is scoring 20.3 points and grabbing 14.7 boards and forcing turnovers defensively. He has 1.7 blocks and 2.7 steals per game. And he leads the team in getting to the line with 18 free throw attempts.

Nance is playing his typical all around game. He almost had a triple-double on Opening Night, and is averaging 8.7 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists a game. He is probably the best pure passer on the team.

The veteran, McGee, is playing just 17 minutes a game, but is making a huge impact, getting 10 points, five boards, and a blocked shot per game.

Look, the Cavs are shooting very, very well, and that’s not likely to continue. However, the improvement in the young players and the philosophy set down by Bickerstaff, especially on the defensive end shouldn’t change.

This team is better than projected, that’s for sure, and no one should complain about that. Unless you are one of the “we have to tank” brigade.

Cavs Season Hinges On Organizational Attitude

It is very difficult to predict the final record of the Cleveland Cavaliers this season because we don’t know what players who will suit up in the team’s opener on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage Field House will end the season with the team.

What we think we know right now is that J.B. Bickerstaff has put more of an emphasis on defense in the regular season for the Cavs than any coach perhaps since early in the tenure of Tyronn Lue. After watching horrible defensive concepts over the past few seasons, this is definitely needed.

If Kevin Love is ready to go in the opener, he and Andre Drummond will make up two the five starting spots in Bickerstaff’s starting lineup. Will either or both be there after the NBA’s trading deadline? Well, that’s anyone’s guess.

Drummond picked up his player option for the 2020-21 season, meaning he can be a free agent after the season, and if he is playing up to the level he established prior to last season, a contending team could be willing to give up a king’s ransom.

Love has been on the trading block pretty much since he arrived in Cleveland before the 2015-16 season, but his contract could be a deterrent to a deal.

It will be interesting to see what Bickerstaff does with the other three starting spots Wednesday night vs. Charlotte.

If he goes by merit, at least from the exhibition games, we would think Collin Sexton should be at the point with rookie Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman at the wings.

Kevin Porter Jr. hasn’t been on the court yet in the four preseason games, and Darius Garland, who was reported to be impressive in post-season camp, hasn’t showed it in the four games the wine and gold played against the Pacers and Knicks.

Once Porter is up to speed, he could replace either Okoro or Osman as a starter, but he figures to be in Bickerstaff’s rotation, along with veterans Larry Nance Jr. and Javale McGee up front. Nance also figures to get some time at small forward. He’s the Swiss Army knife of the team, being able to score, pass, defend, and block shots.

If Bickerstaff is going to use 10 players, does the coach go with second year man Dylan Windler or veteran Damyean Dotson? We would imagine Windler would get the first shot, because Dotson will keep himself ready, and with Windler missing his entire rookie season, we would anticipate the organization wants to see what he can do.

Can this roster make a run at a playoff spot? A better question should be will the organization give them a chance to make that run?

This roster has some talent. Drummond and Love have made all-star teams. Sexton can get to that level, he certainly has the work ethic to do it. Nance, Porter, and Osman are good players, and Okoro should during the pre-season that he might be better offensively that we thought when he was drafted.

However, it comes down to depth. Can Garland be a contributor? Can Windler be the shooter the front office thought he could be when they drafted him? Will Love and/or Drummond be moved at the trade deadline for younger players?

We think the Cavaliers can finish around the 30 win mark, which would be a nice increase from the past two seasons. But the number goes lower if they are going to make moves at the deadline.

In our opinion, this is the year where winning starts being emphasized over “asset accumulation”. We feel J.B. Bickerstaff has that mindset, we don’t know if Koby Altman does.

Giannis’ New Deal Is Good News For NBA.

We love basketball. While we are a fan of the Browns, our favorite sports are baseball and basketball, which makes us a strange sports fan in Cleveland, Ohio.

However, the NBA is getting stale for us, which is painful. It’s a great game played by the best athletes in the world. We were a season ticket holder for the Cavaliers for many years, mostly with mediocre teams, but it was a joy to go to The Coliseum when Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Larry Nance, and Hot Rod Williams led the Cavs to the playoffs.

They just couldn’t get past Michael Jordan.

The staleness comes from the style of play, which most teams are playing. The three point shot has become over emphasized, and the sport has legislated perimeter defense out of the game, meaning the guards are ruling hoops. It’s difficult to stop a skilled point guard.

And while we understand the analytics in sports and embrace some of it, it can have a negative effect. Teams are being built around taking three point shots, which is actually the most difficult shot in the game. This is based on the theory of making four out of ten from behind the line is equal in points to making six of ten inside the line.

Despite all of this, we did hear some news about the league that made us smile this week.

Giannis Antetokounmpo agreed to a five year super max contract to remain in…Milwaukee, one of the league’s “flyover” cities.

We’ve had a theory for years that smaller NBA markets should look for the best non-North American players for sustained success. Why? Those players don’t grow up hearing about the merits of playing in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Miami, the glamour spots of the NBA.

In Cleveland, we’ve experienced this twice with James leaving for Miami and then Los Angeles. It’s his and every other player’s right to go where he wants when free agency hits, but name a top free agent that signed with a new team that wasn’t located in one of these cities in say, the last 20 years?

We had this theory in our mind since Dirk Nowitzki retired with Dallas, spending 20 years with the franchise. Certainly, Dallas has better weather than a northern city like Milwaukee, Detroit, or Cleveland, and a dynamic owner in Mark Cuban, the Mavericks haven’t been a destination city for the star free agents.

It will be interesting to see in Luca Doncic will also play his entire career in Dallas as well.

Player movement will always be a part of sports, especially in the free agent era. However, of the top 15 active players in Win Shares, only Stephen Curry has played his entire career for one team, and only three others, James Harden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Anthony Davis, have played for two organizations.

And if reports are true, that latter list could consist of just two soon as Harden wants out of Houston.

The player movement is great for the off-season headlines and jersey sales, and the younger fans love the opportunity to see star players on the same team, but it’s tough for longer term supporters who buy season tickets.

Hopefully, Giannis fulfills his contract in Milwaukee and leads the Bucks to some titles. It would be nice to see another smaller market team joined San Antonio, led by another superstar who didn’t grow up in the US in Tim Duncan, be a consistent contender.