Playoffs Start, Kyrie Playing Much Better

Over the last few weeks of the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers had problems playing consistently, even within games.

They also seemed to play better without Kyrie Irving in the game.

He monopolized the ball, endlessly dribbling, and hoisting bad shots when he couldn’t find a way to the basket and the shot clock was running down.

The biggest problem though was his shooting. His marksmanship from three point range had dropped 10% from a year ago. He was prone to games where he was shooting more than 20 times per game and barely get over 20 points.

We thought if Irving was on your team in a pickup game, he wouldn’t be much fun to play with.

However, he seemed to change all of that once the playoffs started.

With the Cavs on the brink of a first round sweep of the Detroit Pistons, Irving’s game has returned to where it used to be. In fact, Friday night, he may have played his best of the season.

He was patient, yet aggressive if that is possible.

He looked to score early in the possession, and if something wasn’t there, he didn’t continue to dribble, he moved the ball and got it back.

And he hit the dagger shot with less than a second left on the 24 second shot clock with a corner three.

The former first overall pick is hitting 52% of his shots behind the arc in the series, and is making 46.8% of his two point shots as well. His effective field goal percentage 56.5%.

He still isn’t much of a playmaker, ranking third on the team in assists (behind LeBron James and his backup at the point, Matthew Dellavedova), but he’s only had four turnovers.

And after all of the angst about how the “Big Three” doesn’t fit well, and doesn’t play well together, all three of them are averaging over 20 points per game: Irving at 26.3, James (23.0), and Kevin Love (21.3).

Both Irving and Love have also played much better defense in these games vs. Detroit. Love was put in a couple of one-on-one situations with Piston point guard Reggie Jackson late in game one, and forced a couple of bad shots.

Irving has held Jackson to 45.2% shooting from the floor, and he has taken just three free throws in the series, obviously the forays into the lane are being minimized.

Now, we understand the Pistons are the 8th seed, and obviously will be the weakest opponent the Cavs will play in the playoffs. It only gets tougher as you move on.

But as we have said all year long, the wine and gold’s primary opponent all year has been themselves, and in judging them based on how they have played since the post-season has begun, they have stepped up the quality of basketball.

The Cavs still need to continue to improve defensively, particularly in the first half of games. Tyronn Lue has done a great job of making adjustments at halftime, because the defense has clamped down in the second half.

As the playoffs go on, you cannot have a poor first half defensively because you might go into the locker room down double digits instead of down five, like in game one in Cleveland.

But the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be in playoff mode, and it helps that Kyrie Irving has stepped his game up.

There were many in town concerned about his play over the last two months.

Sizing Up Cavs Vs. Pistons

The Cleveland Cavaliers open the post-season Sunday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena against the Detroit Pistons, and it doesn’t figure to be as easy as last season’s path to the second round.

As you well remember, the Cavs swept the Boston Celtics a year ago, in a series most known for the Celtics’ physicality. We all recall losing Kevin Love for the balance of the playoffs after his arm was pulled out of its socket by Kelly Olynyk.

We say it won’t be as easy because the conference as a whole is better. Boston was a below .500 team (40-42) in the 2014-15 season, and this year, the Pistons are 44-38, which would have given them the 6th seed a year ago.

That said, the two teams do have some similarities. Both are playoff newcomers, it has been since 2009 that Detroit has been in the post-season, while the Celts were very young a year ago.

Both squads are led in scoring by their point guards. Reggie Jackson leads the Pistons with an 18.8 average, and both Kyrie Irving and Mo Williams (when he was starting at the beginning of the year) had problems containing Jackson.

However, he is just a 35% shooter from behind the arc, so logic dictates that Cavs’ defenders make him knock down a few shots from outside and take away the drive initially. That will be something to watch early in the series.

Unlike Boston though, the Pistons have a dominant presence inside in Andre Drummond, who averaged 16.2 points and 14.8 rebounds per game. Detroit ranked second in the NBA in offensive boards throughout the season, so it is incumbent on the Cavs to limit the guys from the Motor City to just one shot.

Drummond’s achilles heel though is his free throw shooting. Making just 35.5% of his tosses, it is very likely we will see a lot of deliberate fouling on Cleveland’s part to force the big man to the line, or perhaps to the bench.

It is hard to see coach Stan Van Gundy keeping Drummond on the floor in a close game because of this problem.

Still, it seems like Drummond could be a factor if Tristan Thompson cannot handle him on the boards. We know Thompson is terrific on the glass as well, but the Piston is better.

And because Thompson isn’t really an offensive threat, it leaves Drummond free to contest shots around the basket, meaning the Cavs better have their perimeter game working.

When Channing Frye is in the game, he should get some open looks because Drummond doesn’t want to play outside.

This makes Lue’s handling of Timofey Mozgov more curious. The big man will be needed in this series and in a potential matchup with Toronto in the conference finals

Mid-season acquisition Tobias Harris has been very good for Detroit since coming over from Orlando, but he pales in comparison to LeBron James, who will be his match up.

As usual, the Cavs biggest opponent in this series will be themselves. If Irving and Kevin Love are scoring, it opens things up for JR Smith, and those four can put up 100 points between the quartet.

They also need to move the basketball and lock themselves in on defense. If they don’t forget that is their recipe for winning, it should be a short series.

But make no mistake, these Pistons have some weapons which have been problems for the Cavaliers. If they don’t pay attention to detail, Detroit could steal a game or two.

Road Back To Finals Will Be Tougher For Cavs

With the NBA playoffs starting this weekend, the common verse being sung by local fans and both the local and national media is the Cleveland Cavaliers should win the Eastern Conference and return to the NBA Finals.

Why? Because they have LeBron James and he will raise his game in the post-season to another level.

And? Because the Cavs have a very talented roster and eventually they will put everything together.

And?? That’s about all they have.

That’s worrisome from our point of view. And an awful lot to put on the shoulders of James, although the way he has played over the last month shows he may still be the best basketball player in the world, despite the Stephen Curry enthusiasts.

Look, this isn’t last season, when the top seeded team was the Atlanta Hawks, a team without a lot of playoff success in the past, and not a physically overwhelming roster.

The East is much better in 2015-16, making the Cavs route back to The Finals, much more treacherous.

In short, the wine and gold need to have their act together starting this weekend, which is tricky because they seem to be playing in a fog over the last month.

Yes, yes, they played well last night against Atlanta. It showed once again how good this team can be when they are clicking on all cylinders, but what happens when some adversity gets in the way, such as the opponents’ defense taking something away.

One of the members of the “Big Three”, Kyrie Irving, is in a huge shooting slump, and when he doesn’t shoot, he is dribbling an excessive amount of time.

Kevin Love has been starting games scoring a lot, but then he seems to disappear, mostly because it seems his teammates forget he is on the floor.

JR Smith has become a consistent three point threat, but “consistency” is not a word usually associated with Smith.

Post scoring? Forget it, unless it is James doing it. Timofey Mozgov’s minutes are dwindling by the week, and Tristan Thompson’s best offensive play is getting a rebound on that end of the court.

Mozgov seems to be marginalized by Lue, which we aren’t sure is a good move, because the Cavs will need him, particularly against Detroit and Toronto.

Iman Shumpert has struggled with his shot all year, although he is out there for his defensive ability. Matthew Dellavedova looks like a guy who needs a few days off before the playoffs start. His shot seems to have taken a siesta as well.

The other question is how will Lue handle himself in the playoffs. We said this a year ago with David Blatt, but the post-season is really the measure of coaching in the NBA because adjustments are needed to fit your opponent.

Can Lue make the tactical moves needed to offset what other teams are doing to Cleveland both offensively and defensively?

This isn’t a knock on Lue, we just don’t know if he can make the correct moves to counteract the other squad.

And he will be going up against some veteran guys with success in the post-season, guys like Stan Van Gundy, Frank Vogel, and perhaps the best bench coach in the league, Boston’s Brad Stevens.

Right now, based on the past several weeks, we have questions as to whether or not the Cavaliers can get back to The Finals, because it seems once again to be all on the shoulders of James.

There is no doubt he can carry the team there, but it doesn’t give the wine and gold much margin for error.

This we do know. It won’t be easy to return.

Kyrie’s Biggest Problem? He’s Lost His Shot

After Sunday’s 112-103 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, LeBron James proclaimed the Cleveland Cavaliers ready for the playoffs.

And with a 3-1/2 game lead over Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings and just five games remaining, the wine and gold’s magic number for home court advantage within the East is just three.

The guess here is the Cavs “big three” could see a lot of rest between now and the regular season.

The biggest concern for Tyronn Lue the balance of the schedule, besides making sure everyone is healthy is getting Kyrie Irving back on track.

Irving’s shot is off, although there is evidence that he is taking the “shoot your way of a slump” approach.

In the first 32 games, the former first overall pick was active this season, he took 20 or more shots just eight times.

In the last 17 games he has played, he has hoisted 20 plus field goal attempts seven times. And in total, he has fired 20 or more shots nine times in the last 23 games, dating back to the first game vs. the Lakers, when Kobe Bryant urged him not to lose his aggressiveness.

Shooting would be fine if Irving’s shot was going down, but he has only knocked down 33 of the 104 shots taken in his last six games (32%).

Not only that, but the former three point shot champion has made just a little over 30% from behind the arc since the beginning of March.

For the year, Irving is making just 31% of his threes. Last year, he made 41.5%.

The Cavs simply need Irving to regain his shooting eye if they want to get back to The Finals, because the road will no doubt be tougher this season with the Raptors challenging, and don’t sleep on the Boston Celtics.

Perhaps he is still regaining the strength in his leg after the dislocated kneecap suffered in last year’s championship round, and that’s the reason for his shot being off, but Cleveland needs the Irving who is a threat from outside.

That could be why Kyrie is forcing his way to the basket so much. His confidence in his shot has waned, so he is dribbling too much trying to get to the hoop.

On the other hand, he often takes a quick outside shot without the Cavs offense having an opportunity to run anything resembling an offensive set.

Irving is not a strong defender and isn’t exactly a willing passer, so if he’s not making shots, Lue has better options on the roster to play so the team performs better.

That seems like a slam on Irving, but it’s really no different than saying if Tristan Thompson wasn’t able to rebound well, he shouldn’t play.

We have joked that Irving not playing means better ball movement and Kevin Love will have a good game.

The point is that LeBron James’ outside shooting percentage declining, and Iman Shumpert not shooting well, the Cavs need consistent shooting from three point land to stretch the floor.

Right now, only JR Smith, Love, and Matthew Dellavedova (as long as he is spotted up) provide bona fide threats from outside.

Channing Frye is a specialist. If he’s not hitting shots, we doesn’t get much time.

That’s why it is so important that whatever is ailing Irving’s shot gets cured before the playoffs begin.

We can live with the weaknesses in his game if he’s not scoring by taking a heavy volume of shots.

Going forward though, to become a truly elite player, Irving needs to be more of a team player and a better defender.

But the shot is the thing that has to get fixed. And as soon as possible for the Cavs.

Can Cavs Put It Together Before Playoffs?

The NBA playoffs are less than a month away, but it feels like the Cleveland Cavaliers are further away than that from competing for an NBA title.

There are many people confident that the Cavs will put it all together before the post-season begins and they will march through the Eastern Conference and get to The Finals for the second consecutive year.

We are not one of those people.

Shortly after Tyronn Lue took over as head coach of the wine and gold, we wrote about how the Cavs had to get mentally tougher as a team in order to win a title.

After more than 30 games with Lue at the helm, the Cavaliers still seem to be shaky in terms of attitude.

There are several reasons for these thoughts:

The Constant Clunkers It seems like this team can’t play more than three good games in a row without following up with a simply horrible outing.

The home loss to Memphis and a terrible performance on Thursday against a bad Brooklyn team are just the two latest examples.

Perhaps they are bored and looking towards the playoffs, but it feels like it happens too often. What’s worse is the coaching staff doesn’t seem to have an answer.

Over-reliance On The Three Ball In the loss to the Nets, the Cavs went 9 of 37 from behind the arc. That’s 24.4%.

When Cleveland loses these days, it is usually because they are not making their threes, so they’ve become a live by the three, die by the three type of team.

The Cavaliers rank 9th in the NBA in three point shooting percentage 35.7%, taking the fourth most in the league.

However, when they aren’t going in, the team doesn’t seem to have or better yet, look for another alternative. They just keep chucking them up from deep.

That would be fine if they didn’t have players who have other options. Both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving can take the ball to the hoop with anyone in the league. And Kevin Love can score in the post and has a solid mid-range game.

JR Smith is also versatile offensively even though he is best known for his long range marksmanship.

When the three ball isn’t falling, the wine and gold have to try another attack.

Defense Or lack of it, we should say. Since Lue took over and wanted the Cavs to play at a faster pace, the defense has suffered. And in the playoffs, you have to be sound at the defensive end.

Too often, Cleveland defenders allow opposing point guards to get into the paint which causes the big men to cover up for them, which in turn, allows their men to get lay ups and dunks.

If that singles out Kyrie Irving, then so be it. He simply has to do a better job keeping his man in front of him.

Which brings us to…

Kyrie Irving Irving has always been a scorer, but he’s becoming a major ball stopper. We don’t have a problem with him scoring, it’s the way it’s being done.

Mostly, he stands around the outside dribbling looking for a lane to drive to the basket. When the defense doesn’t allow that, it creates bad, long range shots to beat the shot clock, and fast break opportunities for the opponents.

Irving needs to move the ball, and then move without it to get open, and then get it back. That would seem to alleviate both problems.

Improvement in these areas would make us feel better about the Cavaliers’ chances.

Do they have the talent to get back to The Finals? Of course. But, the East is better, so without shoring up these areas, it will be difficult to get back.

Analyzing Kyrie

For most of the last two seasons, basketball fans in Cleveland have focused on two players when things have gone bad for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

However, David Blatt is no longer the team’s head coach, and although Kevin Love’s value is still misunderstood by many who claim to know the game, the spotlight has been deflected from him recently.

More and more people are taking a look at Kyrie Irving.

There is no question that Irving, the first player taken in the draft in 2011, is uber talented, and also a highly decorated player.

He was the Rookie of the Year in 2012, the All Star MVP in 2014, USA Basketball’s player of the year, and last year was named to the third team All-NBA squad.

He may have the best ball handling skills in the league, and can seemingly get to the basket anytime he wants to.

But for many of the basketball cognoscenti, there is something missing.

First of all, it’s Irving’s effort and ability on the defensive end of the floor. As Coach John Wooden once said there is no excuse for a good offensive man not to be a good defensive man.

The same quickness that Irving uses to get to the rim on a nightly basis can certainly be used to stop his defensive assignment.

The second problem is his tendency to show off his handle. He loves to dribble.

After Irving scored 33 points in a win over Dallas on Wednesday, he was being praised by some because “someone has to score”, but meanwhile his teammates were said to be upset by his monopolization of the ball.

The guard’s big hoop in the last two minutes came from giving up the ball, and getting it back on a pass from JR Smith as he cut to the basket.

Meanwhile, Dallas came back from a 20 point deficit because Irving dribbled the shot clock down to expiration and then had to take poor percentage shots.

There is no doubt the Cavs need him to score, but it can be done by giving it up and moving without the ball to open spots where his team can find him.

Players are human. They don’t like to go up and down the floor without ever touching the basketball. It is understandable that professional players are frustrated playing with a ball dominant player, especially when the coach and the best player on the team stress that style of play.

The other issue with Irving is that he doesn’t seem to be improving as a player.

His shooting percentage hasn’t gotten appreciably better since entering the NBA ( career high 46.9% as a rookie, now 46.2%), nor has he become a better passer (5.4 assists as a rookie, career best 6.1 in last year without James, now 4.5).

His player efficiency rating (analytics!) was 21.4 as a rookie, peaked at 21.5 last season, and is now at 21.0). Here is how that stacks up against other in their first five seasons–

Stephen Curry: 16.3, 19.4, 21.2, 21. 3, 24.1
Damian Lillard: 16.4, 18.6, 20.7, 23.3 He is now in his fourth year.
Derrick Rose: 16.0, 18.6, 23. 5, 23.0, hobbled by injuries since.

We picked these players for the following reasons. Curry and Lillard are players compared most to the former Duke standout, and Rose was also a one and done player, while the others played more college basketball than did Irving.

While Irving started out better than the other three, he hasn’t taken the step up in his game that the other three have. The Cavs need him to take that next step because he is that talented, and LeBron James is getting older.

Irving is the one who needs to “fit in”, and stop listening to a player like Kobe Bryant, who tells him to be more aggressive.

He needs to remember that in Bryant’s first three championships, he was NOT the best player on those teams, Shaquille O’Neal was.

The Cavs need him to win, but he needs to share the ball, and get it back to score. Oh, and to pick it up on the defensive end too.

He can do all of that. It’s just a matter of actually doing it.

Love Needs Kyrie To Help Him “Fit In”

As the Cleveland Cavaliers season continues to befuddle basketball fans around town, we pause to remind everyone that since the beginning of last season, supporters had two whipping boys when things didn’t go well.

David Blatt was one of them, and he was fired half way through the 2015-16 schedule, with a record of 30-11 on the season.

So, now to falls on Kevin Love to be the problem whenever anything on the Cavs doesn’t go well.

Our belief is that Love is a very good NBA player, one that the coaching staff and his teammates still haven’t figured out how to use to the best of his abilities.

We will concede that the former UCLA standout misses too many wide open looks from beyond the three point line, but he is not as bad of a defender as is purported, that is as long as he isn’t asked to guard centers.

Our comment when fans tell us Love needs to go, or the Cavs should trade him after the season is over is too say that the power forward isn’t being used right.

After Tyronn Lue took over as coach, he made the comment that he wanted Love to get touches at the elbow, where he had been successful at Minnesota, but there hasn’t been much evidence of that.

Sure, it has been used from time to time, but not on a consistent basis.

It appears from watching games and listening to post game press conferences that LeBron James understands that Love can contribute and is important to the team, however, the third member of the “Big Three” doesn’t seem to feel the same way.

Think about it, how many times do we ever see Kyrie Irving find Love, or really James for that matter, on the court?

Many writers have written about a “disconnect” between James and Irving, but the latter seems to be playing his own game a lot.

Look, Irving is supremely talented, and we are not suggesting that the Cavaliers should trade him. He is simply too good of an offensive force, although we can all agree he needs to work harder on the defensive end of the floor.

However, if anyone needs to make adjustments on the court, it is Irving not Kevin Love, and it is Irving that needs to start getting Love involved, and not just standing on the perimeter waiting for open threes.

We have before that when Lue said upon getting hired that he wanted to play Love with the second unit to make him the focal point, that the role should go to Irving, who wants to play that way anyhow, and is very effective at doing it.

After all, James and Love appear to be able to play together, and it doesn’t seem that LeBron and Kyrie have high chemistry on the court together.

We see Matthew Dellavedova finding James on cuts to the hoop all the time, do you ever see the same with Irving?

If the Cavaliers are going to get back to The Finals, they need an improved Kyrie Irving and a more efficient Kevin Love.

That can happen if the two can learn to play off each other on the offensive end, and Irving stops playing the one on five style he is becoming more and more enamored with.

The only problem with Kevin Love is that the Cavaliers are putting him in the best position so he can help them the best.

Maybe he can’t fit in because of the talents of James and Irving, but wouldn’t it be nice if the latter at least attempted to make it work better?

Lue Said Sacrifice, Are The Cavs Doing It?

To put it mildly, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have a good week.

After an impressive victory a week ago Sunday against a title contending Oklahoma City team on the road, the Cavs looked lethargic in losing three out of their next four.

They lost at home to Detroit, lost a game they had a nine point fourth quarter lead at Toronto, and then lost a game without LeBron James at Washington, in a contest that was a blowout until garbage time.

Yes, James is one of the two best players in the sport (we still think the best), but there is no way a team that still has two of the best 15-20 players in the NBA in Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, should be getting smoked by the Wizards.

And as we have pointed out before, since the wine and gold tried to speed up their tempo, their defense has suffered greatly especially on the perimeter.

That puts the spotlight squarely on Irving, who has never been a great defensive player, but seems to have regressed this season.

Opposing point guards have been skewering Cleveland, getting dribble penetration and forcing big men to help, and no one is picking up their men in return.

The result is a bunch of layups and dunks, and it appears the interior defense is terrible too.

Irving simply must do a better job if this team is to get where they want to go, which is hoisting an NBA Championship trophy.

There is no reason why Irving can’t be better on that end of the floor, the same quickness that allows him to get to the basket at will allows him to be better on defense, the problem is he seems to be more interested when the ball is in his hands.

When Tyronn Lue took over as head coach, he spoke about the need to sacrifice, and we believe almost everyone can agree that no one has done that more than Kevin Love, who is scoring about eight points less per game a night, and doesn’t get the touches he should based on his ability to score.

Irving seems to be in the same mode as always, showing off his handle, and driving to the basket with a mindset of scoring first, and setting up a teammate second.

That’s a good attitude on a squad devoid of talent, but not on these Cavs.

It seems lately that at least once or twice a game, Matthew Dellavedova finds a cutting James for a layup. When was the last time you saw Irving make the same pass?

Even James could afford to give up something for the greater good. He could stop forcing three point shots, because right now, his long range shot is a liability.

He could also give maximum effort on defense in less minutes, and show the rest of his teammates, including Irving, that he is walking the walk, and they need to follow suit.

By the way, that’s being a leader. Sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

We can’t use the excuse that it’s still early, there are only 23 games left on the schedule. Improvement defensively needs to be seen by the middle of this month.

That the path to a title for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have to be strong on the defensive end, and that starts with improvement from Kyrie Irving.

Enjoy The Cavs. Ignore the Warriors

You would think for as much sports angst as we see in Cleveland, we would be enjoying the outstanding season the Cleveland Cavaliers are having.

They currently sit at 41-15 on the season, and seem well on their way to a 60 win regular season, and either the first or second seed in the Eastern Conference standings.

We watched the wine and gold dismantle one of the league’s top teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon, in Oklahoma, and we felt good for a day.

The next day, the Cavs lost at home to Detroit, and immediately people were down in the dumps, seemingly questioning everything the franchise is doing.

People were even freaking out because the team’s newest addition, Channing Frye, did not pass his physical instantly, so the fear was we traded Anderson Varejao for nothing.

Of course, shortly before the game on Monday night, Frye was cleared and added to the roster.

We have a cure for this situation. Ignore the Golden State Warriors.

In most NBA seasons, the Cavaliers would have either the best record in the league at this point of the season, or they would be very close. They are a very, very good basketball team.

However, it seems that no matter what Tyronn Lue and his team do these days, they are compared to the defending champions. The champs should be a measuring stick, because they have what the Cavs want, but people should understand that normally, the best team in the NBA wins between 60-65 games.

Over the last five complete NBA seasons (ignoring the lockout shortened season), here are the league’s best record and in parenthesis the number of teams that won 60+ games

2014-15: Golden State 67-15 (2)
2013-14: San Antonio 62-20 (1)
2012-13: Miami 66-16 (2)
2010-11: Chicago 62-20 (2)
2009-10: Cleveland 61-21 (1)

So, over the last five seasons, just eight teams have won more than 60 games, and only two have won more than 65 in a single season.

And you can also see that this year is a huge outlier, with perhaps four teams getting to the 60 win mark (Golden State, San Antonio, Cleveland, and Oklahoma City).

Part of that is the huge imbalance in the league this season, as it appears there are four or five (Toronto/Los Angeles Clippers) elite teams, and a lot of mediocrity.

Again, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a very good basketball team, and fans need to relax and watch the balance of the season.

We wrote a few weeks ago that there are very few games of meaning on the schedule for Lue’s crew, and two of them were the first two games out of the All Star break against the Bulls and Thunder, which they won both, and tomorrow night’s tilt in Toronto.

If the Cavs keep winning those types of games, that has more meaning than a loss to Detroit.

In the meantime, here is our advice. Ignore the Warriors until the Cavaliers have to play them again.

That may be in June in the NBA Finals, or it may be the 2016-17 season. They are setting an incredible pace, but as LeBron James has pointed out, it doesn’t really mean anything once the playoffs start.

Don’t freak out until this team loses four in a row, or has a major injury. All in all, they are doing quite well right now.

Should Cavs Tinker or Stand Pat?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are sitting at 38-14 on the season, the best record in the Eastern Conference and the fourth best record in the entire NBA, yet it appears GM David Griffin is trying to improve his team.

Many fans and members of the media are wondering why a team with this kind of record would be willing to tinker with the roster, but really, a good GM should always be looking to improve his team. That’s his biggest responsibility.

At this point in the year, Griffin has to be worried about a possible date in The Finals against Golden State, but also has to be prepared for a scenario where the Spurs or the Thunder come out of the Western Conference.

And all of this while making sure the Cavs superiority in the East isn’t threatened either.

It’s a delicate balance for Griffin.

Tyronn Lue’s team could use another reliable threat from three point range, and could also use some help on the defensive end, particularly on the perimeter.

And the drop off of Timofey Mozgov’s game has necessitated not only the exploration of moving the free agent to be, but also replacing the big man if a deal involving Mozgov is made.

Because, you know, if Cleveland gets to the championship round, they may just play San Antonio.

What Griffin can’t be sure of is the transition going as smoothly as last season’s when the general manager made deals for Mozgov, Iman Shumpert, and JR Smith within a one week span.

It only took a few games for the Cavs to gel and make a run to a Central Division title and an Eastern Conference championship.

As we said at the end of the regular season last year, most transitions have an adjustment period attached, and there is no guarantee it will occur again.

So, what should Griffin do?

An easy response would be to stand pat. After all, your team is 24 games over .500 and if not for what the Warriors are doing, no one would be panicking. The Cavaliers are still regarded as one of four teams with a solid chance at hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

We wouldn’t have an issue if no changes were made, either. But, then it would be up to the coaching staff to fix some of the issues the Cavs have that need fixing. And please don’t take that as a possible slight to Lue and his staff.

However, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if Griffin tinkered with players outside of the top seven or eight in Lue’s rotation.

For example, moving Mo Williams, who is barely getting on the court right now, for a bigger wing defender would be a solid move and wouldn’t upset rotations and chemistry.

The same would be true with Richard Jefferson. We don’t believe anyone would be upset if you could swap him for a more reliable three point threat.

Making a deal would also send a message within the locker room that the front office hasn’t lost faith in the core players and they believe this team can win the franchise’s first title.

The talk about major changes should be just that. And if the wine and gold don’t get to The Finals, or get blown out once there, perhaps a major change will be made this summer.

But for right now, making a minor addition would be just fine.