Biggest Consistency For Cavs? Inconsistency

In the 2018-19 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers won 19 games. For the entire 82 game season. Last year, due to the coronavirus, the league’s schedule was shortened to 65 games, at least for the wine and gold, and they repeated their win total from the year before.

This season, the Cavs accomplished the 19 wins in 51 contests, showing that progress has been made by the organization whether or not anyone wants to admit it.

Part of it is the maturation of talent. Collin Sexton is now in his third season, and Darius Garland is now in his sophomore year in the league, and they have taken natural progression to their games.

And since the deal for Andre Drummond last year at the trade deadline, the organization has once again made size a priority. They traded for JaVale McGee in the off-season, and also picked up soon to be 23-year-old big man Jarrett Allen earlier this year.

When they moved McGee at this year’s deadline, they replaced him with another young big man in Isaiah Hartenstein, who since his arrival, and benefitting from Allen being out, has scored 10 points, grabbed 9.6 rebounds, and dished out 3.4 assists per contest.

The team needs to add one more thing however, before it can be considered a playoff contender, and it might be the toughest thing for a young team to get…consistency.

Since Kevin Love started being able to play more after a calf injury which has plagued his year, and Matthew Dellavedova came back from issues due to a concussion and appendicitis, the Cavaliers have started to pick up the pace even more with resounding wins on the road against San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

They followed up those two impressive wins with an embarrassing home loss to Toronto, who were playing without their three best players: Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet.

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff came into the season talking about playing with grit and intensity, but the young Cavs forget that too often, and the result is allowing 87 first half points to a team that came into the game a half game better than Cleveland in the standings.

If you want to be a playoff team, you can’t lose games like that, particularly at home. And this is where we feel organizational culture comes in. If you brand yourself as a gritty defensive minded team, it is difficult to forget to play that way on a given night.

Every team has a clunker, but the wine and gold have lost 13 games by 20 points or more this season, by our count. Some of those have come against the elite teams in the NBA, but they’ve been blown out by these teams as well: Orlando, the Knicks, Boston, and tonight’s opponent, New Orleans.

Those are games where you have to take the mindset of “we should win tonight”. And perhaps they do, leading to thinking maximum effort isn’t needed.

The good teams in the league can do that, young teams trying to develop an identity cannot.

And to be fair, Cleveland has had their share of injuries too, which affects consistency. Allen and Larry Nance both have missed the last several games.

We are sure the “draft lottery maniacs” out there, love to see the Cavs lose games like last night, but that is a loser’s lament. Bickerstaff and the organization should be stressing wins, because winning can be a habit, and it’s the kind of habit you want to have.

Kevin Love, Matthew Dellavedova and Nance have developed that habit, the younger guys like Sexton and Garland have not.

Last night’s pathetic performance will serve as a wake up call that the young Cavs cannot afford to take anyone lightly. This is the NBA after all.

It will be interesting to see what kind of attitude the Cavs come out with tonight

The Sexton Dilemma

When discussion regarding the Cleveland Cavaliers’ future comes up, a talk about Collin Sexton is sure to follow. He is a polarizing figure to be sure.

Sexton was the 8th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, taken with the choice secured from Boston, originally that of the Brooklyn Nets, in the Kyrie Irving. There is a lot to like about the former Alabama standout, who just turned 22 years old earlier this season.

He is a gym rat to be sure. He is a tireless worker. There are stories during his rookie season that he had to be thrown out of the Cavs’ practice facility because he was consumed by basketball.

He can score the ball too. He is averaging a career high 24.0 points per game this season, a step up from 20.8 a year ago.

But the question for many, including ourselves, is this: Can he be the best player on a contending team?

Our answer is no, but could he be a contributor on a good team? We think so.

Watching him play, he doesn’t seem to have good basketball instincts. And what we mean by that is he doesn’t have a good feel in getting the ball to his teammates where they can succeed. However, again, he can flat out put the ball in the basket.

When the Cavs are struggling offensively, he can keep them in a game. We think about the recent contest against the Lakers where Cleveland led at the half because Darius Garland and Larry Nance Jr. were playing great. Sexton was out with an injury.

In the second half, the Lakers’ defense determined someone other than Garland and Nance were going to have to score. No one else could. That’s exactly the kind of game where Sexton could have been a huge factor. That’s when you need to have the “scorer’s mentality”.

The other thing is can a backcourt of Garland and Sexton be successful defensively. Perhaps, but that’s where Jarrett Allen and another big (Isaiah Hartenstein?) are needed.

Toronto won a title with small guards, but they had Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, elite defenders behind them. And Utah has the best record in the league this season, and have shot blocker extraordinaire Rudy Gobert protecting the rim.

Can Sexton be a part of Cleveland’s success going forward? Yes, he can, but to do so, it might have to involved taking a step back. Getting his teammates involved more, and then scoring when needed or just let Garland run the offense and be the finisher.

And take the open shots when they are there. We have seen Sexton have a good look, and dribble his way into the defense, thus causing a more difficult shot.

Maybe more direction is needed from the bench too. Being a young team, sometimes you have to tell the players where they want the shot to come from and who they would they want shooting.

Perhaps some of that comes from having veterans Kevin Love and Matthew Dellavedova back on the floor.

Many NBA players, including Michael Jordan, have had to learn to do this. So, Sexton can definitely learn this skill. Our question is anyone in the organization telling him this? For the Cavs to start playing consistent winning basketball, we think that’s what is needed.

Evaluating The Cavs Rebuild.

Our thoughts on the Cleveland Cavaliers seem to vary on a weekly basis. That’s probably because they are so inconsistent.

They are a very young team, the third youngest team in the NBA, behind only Minnesota and Oklahoma City, so the ups and downs are understandable. And the biggest thing the team needs is probably stability, so the organization has to grow together, the front office, coaching staff, and the players.

Recently, it has come to light that owner Dan Gilbert’s son, Grant, is taking more of a role in the organization. Grant Gilbert is just 23 years old, and hopefully, he will realize what the smartest people can do, realize what he doesn’t know.

If the younger Gilbert takes over the operations of the team, what does that mean for Altman? And if the latter is let go, does the new man in charge hire someone with a long history in the NBA.

Again, the rumor mill has Brock Aller, the vice president of basketball operations and strategy with the New York Knicks, and former Cavalier front office employee (in general terms, he was the “capologist”) returning to head up basketball operations in Cleveland.

Aller is well respected within the league, but he’s an analytics guy. And that might work as long as it comes along with someone who knows the game, who understands how players work together and fit with each other.

The game isn’t all about statistics.

If we were asked who the best player currently on the Cavs is, the answer would probably surprise you. We are sure most fans would say it’s Collin Sexton, averaging 24 points and a little over four assists per game.

We would certainly say Sexton is the best scorer, but the best basketball player, in our opinion, is Larry Nance Jr., averaging just 10 points per night, but adding in seven rebounds and three assists during a usual night’s work.

Certainly, by the amount of supposed interest in Nance at the trade deadline, a lot of NBA teams also see the value in the skill set of the one time Revere High School standout.

This isn’t to denigrate Sexton. If you watched the Cavs’ loss to the Lakers Friday night, you could see they needed someone who can put the ball in the basket, which Sexton can do. Our question has always been, can the two small backcourt players (Sexton and Darius Garland) work long term in the NBA, even today’s version of it.

As for Altman, he should certainly get big kudos for the trade which netted Jarrett Allen, who at 22 years of age, has all kinds of upside. He should be a huge building block for the franchise going forward. We don’t mark him down for the Andre Drummond situation. The Cavaliers gave up nothing to get the big man, and it just didn’t work out.

But what is his second best move? Drafting Sexton? You can make an argument, an analytical argument, that Sexton is the third worst player (using VORP–value over replacement player) in the draft.

And Garland is the worst player using that category in the 2019 draft.

By the way, our eyes don’t agree with those ratings.

And in the most recent draft, Altman drafted a defensive player with a limited offensive game in Isaac Okoro with the fifth overall choice. He’s been a mainstay in the lineup all year, but at 6’5″, he’s too small to play small forward, which is where he spends most of his minutes.

To us, the biggest problem is this is year three in the second post-LeBron James era, and we still really don’t know what the direction of the franchise is. Is it too soon to think that should be the case?

However, if Grant Gilbert takes over the team, he may start asking what is going on with the franchise. And if he doesn’t like the answers, there could be another change at the top for the Cavaliers.

Cavs Should Consider All Avenues To Improve.

One of the worst things an organization can do to tie an excessive amount of promotion into a player who is either just coming into professional sports or hasn’t made their bones at the professional level.

The Browns kind of did this with Baker Mayfield, especially after his rookie season, when the team went from 0-16 to 7-8-1. It was all Baker, all the time in northeast Ohio, and Mayfield admitted he didn’t work as hard in the off-season after his rookie season. The result following was a 6-10 disappointment.

Mayfield learned and led the Browns to an 11-5 mark and the playoffs last season.

It appears the Cavaliers have painted themselves into the same corner with Collin Sexton. Sexton’s work ethic is not in question, the man is a tireless gym rat.

However, even before the third year pro out of Alabama was drafted, the pick he was taken with was held up as the ultimate prize in the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Boston. It was Brooklyn’s choice, but they spoiled it by playing tough minded ball, and instead of being projected as the NBA’s worst team, they won 28 games.

So, Cleveland wound up with the 8th pick overall, and selected Sexton, who has put up numbers in his two and a half season with the Cavs, a career 19.6 scorer, shooting 45.6% from the floor, and 39% from three point range.

He became the symbol of the new Cavs, the post-LeBron Cavs, although the team went 19-63 his rookie year, and then 19-46 in his second season, shortened by the coronavirus.

There have been many reports with the NBA trade deadline coming up, that GM Koby Altman has told teams several players are untouchable, Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, and Sexton among them.

To be fair, the drafting of Sexton was followed by picking another ball dominant small backcourt player in Garland, under the guise of taking the best player available. While that is generally a solid concept in drafting, it is usually done with the expectation of trading from strength at some point to improve a position of need.

But the organization has said they are going to keep both smaller backcourt players. So, that theory goes out the window.

Sexton puts up numbers. He’s improved to 23.9 points and 4.2 assists per game, but his shooting percentage has leveled off from last year. He’s scoring more because he’s shooting more. His second year partner at guard, Garland, is scoring at 16.5 points and 5.9 assists per night, taking on the facilitator role.

Watching games, it is noticeable how much better the offense flows when Garland is on the floor.

Sexton doesn’t seem to have point guard instincts right now, and when Garland isn’t in the game, the offense should run through him, but it doesn’t. Too many times, he reverts to trying to do everything himself.

Cavs’ analyst Campy Russell said after Friday night’s loss to San Antonio, that the teams’ young guards have to learn to get everyone involved.

In our opinion, Altman should consider any move to improve the 2021-22 edition of the Cavaliers. However, there are players we wouldn’t trade either. It would be difficult to find a big man more skilled than Allen, so he stays. And the team needs (we might say desperately) someone with the feel for the game Larry Nance Jr. has. So, we wouldn’t move him either.

And we think Garland shows all the signs of being able to be a solid player in this league, but can a backcourt of Garland and Sexton co-exist and be successful in the NBA? Even the three point happy NBA?

Keep in mind, Sexton is coming off his rookie deal and the Cavs have to start paying him.

Put promotion aside. Yes, the organization held up Sexton as the first piece of the rebuild following the departure of James, but they need to listen on the young guy if they think it can help the wine and gold get back to the playoffs sooner.

We aren’t saying Sexton has to be moved, but we would not be opposed to listening. We are aware we go back and forth on the young player, at times, he looks like he has this game figured out. But then he reverts back.

It’s not easy to build a competitive basketball team.

Cavs: Exciting At Times, Frustrating At Others

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit the stage in their development where they are a very frustrating team to watch at times.

After a stretch against a brutal schedule that saw them lose 10 games in a row, the last being an embarrassing defeat at the hands of equally mediocre Oklahoma City, coach J.B. Bickerstaff made a lineup change to bring Dean Wade, a shooter (stretch four) in the starting lineup and the team reeled off four straight wins.

In the last game before the All Star break, Cleveland was going for its fifth consecutive win and had a 19 point lead in the third quarter, blowing it after Darius Garland went down with a groin strain. Garland missed Friday night’s contest too, a 34 point blow out at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans (16-22), another team on par record wise with the Cavs.

Yes, Garland was out, and Larry Nance and Kevin Love, both of whom has been out for awhile played, so some adjustments were needed. However, the wine and gold were trailing by just six in the second quarter before the roof caved in.

Bickerstaff and his staff have some guy who can play in this league, this isn’t a roster devoid of talent, so losing by 34 on the road to a team that really isn’t much better than the Cavs is very frustrating.

It has to be maddening for the coaching staff too, because it seems like he has to constantly challenge them to compete. Too often they revert to bad habits, ones which go away from team play. And when the Cavaliers are playing well, they very much play together, moving the ball, etc.

Cleveland had 13 assists in Friday’s game. Some of that has to do with the team shooting 34% from the floor, and 22% from three point range. Newcomer Quinn Cook hit three of four from behind the line, meaning the rest of the team went a dreadful 4 for 28 (14%).

Moving the ball has been stressed since day one of training camp by Bickerstaff and the coaches, but without Garland out there, they come up with just 13 helpers. And that has to fall on to the player who has his hands on the ball most, Collin Sexton.

We go back and forth on the third year player out of Alabama. There is plenty of good in his game. He can score, there is no question about that. He shoots 48% from the floor and 39% from behind the arc. He dishes out 4.3 assists per game, second most on the team.

But when things aren’t going well, instead of trusting the other players on the floor, he tries to do everything himself. And that’s a difficult thing for a player to learn. Michael Jordan had to learn it as well, and we are not comparing Sexton to Jordan.

When Garland is not playing, the Cavs need Sexton to be a playmaker. If he can’t do that, then the organization has to ask a difficult question, can an NBA team win with a 6’2″ #2 guard? We know Toronto won with a small backcourt, but they had one of the five best players in the league in Kawhi Leonard.

Right now, the Cavaliers don’t have a player like that on the roster.

At this point, the basketball IQ on this team isn’t very high. And that’s not just on Sexton. For example, Cedi Osman (or someone else is telling him) think he’s a three point shooter. He’s not. He takes the most threes on the roster, and he’s hitting just 32%.

At this point, Sexton is much like the team he plays for. It is alternately enjoying and frustrated watching he and the Cavaliers play.

Yes, they are a young team, but they do have some veterans to guide the way like Nance, JaVale McGee, and Love, and Taurean Prince has been around as well.

This squad can make a playoff push in the mediocre Eastern Conference. But they can’t have many more games like their first one after the break. It’s time for the young players to play much smarter and tougher.

Left On His Own, Altman’s Been Fine

With the Cleveland Cavaliers were going through their recent 10 game losing streak, the natives started getting restless. Should the franchise replace GM Koby Altman, who has been at the helm since June 2017, taking over for David Griffin.

Since Griffin was the architect of the only championship team the city has seen in the last 56 years, he is revered here so Altman faced an uphill trek because of that. And it didn’t help that he is the GM of record on the Kyrie Irving trade to Boston, which many feel had owner Dan Gilbert’s fingerprints all over it.

He did pull off the megatrade at the trade deadline of the 2018 season, bringing George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr. to the Cavs, a deal that if isn’t made, the wine and gold probably do not make their fourth consecutive Finals appearance. Add to that, Nance has become one of the current team’s best players.

We feel in evaluating Altman, we should be talking about the man guiding the rebuilding of the franchise. It is difficult because early on in his tenure, it is difficult to judge what moves were made by Gilbert and which were made by Altman.

For example, we feel the signing of Kevin Love and the hiring of John Beilein as coach were moves made by ownership. Both were mistakes. Love’s contract seems to be an untradeable albatross, although we remember former GM Jim Paxson was able to move Shawn Kemp’s deal. And Beilein was an ill fit for the pro game, and left after half a season.

Several of Altman’s early moves were jettisoning veterans from the championship team for younger players. Kyle Korver brought Alec Burks, Hill brought John Henson and Matthew Dellavedova. Burks and Rodney Hood brought some spare parts and draft picks.

Altman has bad luck in the draft lottery too. The prize pick in the Irving deal, that of the Brooklyn Nets, was sabotaged a bit by Nets’ coach Kenny Atkinson, who made the team somewhat competitive, so it turned out to be the 8th overall choice. Would Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who went 11th, been a better choice? Perhaps, but over the last year or so, Sexton has shown he can be a solid NBA player.

Cleveland had the third worst record in the NBA in the 2018-19 season, but they fell to fifth in the draft and selected Darius Garland. The GM could be criticized for picking small point guards in consecutive drafts, but in this second year, Garland has shown signs he can be a player. And he added Dylan Windler late in the first round, and traded three second round picks for Kevin Porter Jr.

Porter looked like a solid pick, but the issues that caused a talented guy to drop to the last pick in the first round rose up again, and Altman was forced to deal hi to Houston.

The Andre Drummond situation seems to be a negative for Altman right now, but why not take a shot at getting a talented big man for virtually nothing. And when Drummond didn’t sign an extension, Altman got involved in the James Harden deal and picked up 22-year-old Jarrett Allen, who appears to be an all star in the making.

We know you cannot cancel parts of the schedule, but the Cavaliers just went through a brutal stretch of a schedule in which they played six games against top four seeds in each conference, and four more against likely playoff teams. Predictably, they lost 14 of 16.

Altman hasn’t been perfect, but no, repeat no GM is. He deserves to go through another trading deadline and draft to say what progress the Cavs can make in 2021-22. Besides, if he were to be replaced, it would likely mean a new GM would want to hire a new head coach.

Just think, since Altman got the gig, he inherited Tyronn Lue, and he was replaced by Larry Drew, John Beilein, and now Bickerstaff. J.B. will be the first coach to have an entire season since Lue guided the franchise to their fourth straight Eastern Conference crown.

There are more plusses than minuses right now for Altman, especially since the owner seems to not be involved. He deserves to see how it will play out.

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?

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.

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.