Altman Moves Quick, Gets Veteran Point Guard.

The mindset of the Cleveland Cavaliers sure has changed since the beginning of this season. When the campaign started, it figured to be a year to develop the young players the team has accumulated over the past few years.

However, the wine and gold got off to a very good start to the season, and suddenly the playoffs were in the view of both the players and coaching staff, but apparently also GM Koby Altman.

So, when Ricky Rubio went down with a season ending knee injury earlier this week, Altman decided quickly the Cavaliers couldn’t have Kevin Pangos as the primary backup for Darius Garland, who is currently out due to the league’s health and safety protocols.

Altman wanted another veteran presence in the backcourt, so he traded Denzel Valentine, who wasn’t getting off the bench much anyway, to the Lakers, for veteran Rajon Rondo, who Cavs’ fans can remember as a key player on the Celtics teams that battled the LeBron James’ led wine and gold bunch in the late 2000’s.

Rondo won’t provide the court spacing offensively that Rubio did, mostly because he’s not an effective shooter. He’s a career 32% shooter from beyond the three point line.

However, he can pass the ball. He’s led the NBA in assists three times in his career, and he will be able to handle the point guard duties, so Garland can play off the ball and look for shots on the perimeter.

He’s been in only 18 games for the Lakers this season, averaging just 16 minutes in those appearances, scoring 3.1 points, but getting 3.7 assists per game. He’s taken just 32 shots and two free throw all year.

The moves signals that the Cavs are no longer in rebuilding mode and have decided to make a run at the playoffs. It doesn’t mean Altman will throw caution to the wind and start moving younger players to try to win a title, but the front office knows getting into the post-season and gaining that valuable experience for Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen is very important.

As stated before, the cost for Altman was minimal, Valentine played in just 22 games in Cleveland, getting just 9 minutes per night, and when the Cavs were fully healthy, he was firmly anchored to the bench.

He was the 14th overall pick in 2016 after an excellent college career, but it hasn’t translated. With Cleveland, we saw a player who took ill-advised shots, tried to force passes, and kind of played like he was a star, instead of a role player trying to fit into a team.

We would also guess Altman still will be looking to strengthen the roster, as he still has a trade exemption (from the Javale McGee trade last season).

The Cavs signed Brandon Goodwin to a 10-day contract, and frankly, he looked better than Pangos in his debut. Bickerstaff was basically playing eight men, with Rubio being one of them. And we doubt Rondo can handle the minutes Rubio was getting this season (28.5) right away.

And Cleveland still needs another productive wing player, even when Cedi Osman is back from the COVID list. Dylan Windler hasn’t done anything consistently on an NBA floor, and Dean Wade seems to regress when he is presented with a larger role.

Another brutal west coast swing comes in January, and we will have a clearer picture of whether or not the Cavaliers can be team that can have home court advantage in a first round playoff series or they are more like a contender for the play in tournament.

It will depend on what kind of play they get from their backcourt. And that’s in a better spot than it was when Rubio went down.

Rubio’s Injury Hurts, Can Altman Fill The Void?

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ worst fears came true yesterday as it was announced Ricky Rubio tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season.

When Koby Altman acquired the veteran right before the draft, we loved the move because Rubio “knows how to play” basketball, and a young team like the Cavs need more guys who can show them the correct way to handle things.

Although we felt it was a great move by Altman, we think we still underestimated how important the 5th overall pick in the 2009 draft would be to Cleveland.

Rubio has not only helped Darius Garland in his development, which was probably the main reason for the trade, but due to the injury to Collin Sexton, he has wound up playing along side Garland, freeing him up to do more scoring.

Meanwhile, the veteran has ramped up his scoring too. When the trade was finalized, coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Rubio he wanted the Spanish National Team version of the guard, and currently, his 13.1 points per game would tie his career high, set in 2017-18 with Utah.

He’s taking a career best 12 shots per contest (his previous high is 10.7 in his first two seasons with the Jazz), and he’s attempting five three pointers per night, way over his previous high of 3.7, also with Utah.

Right now, he’s the leader of the wine and gold’s bench, which has done a tremendous job all season. All three of the principles in this group, which includes another veteran in Kevin Love along with Cedi Osman, are averaging in double figures.

The Cavs have used a very balanced scoring attack this season, with seven players averaging more than 10 points (not including Sexton) and Isaac Okoro falling just short of that mark at 9.2 points per game.

Rubio’s loss would be a huge blow to the resurgent Cavaliers because he fills so many roles on the team.

As a backup point guard, he allows Garland to play just 34 minutes per night. Without someone of Rubio’s talent, his minutes will have to increase when he returns from the COVID protocols, and that might take a toll on him as the season wears on.

And because he can play with Garland, Cleveland’s leading scorer will not be able to play off the ball as often, which allows him to be a spot up shooter from deep. Rubio’s replacement would have to be someone who commands respect from opposing defenses, and that would be a tough find.

There is also the veteran’s approach the Cavs will miss. Again, when he came to Cleveland, the phrase we used is “he knows how to play”. While, some of that has rubbed off already on his young teammates, we are sure Rubio hasn’t showed all of his tricks at this point.

Can Altman fill this spot with one player? That’s doubtful, so he may have to make a couple of moves to fill the void left by Rubio. Most of the good ball handling guards who can score and provide veteran leadership aren’t probably available.

But right now, the Cavaliers should have playoff aspirations and they’ve earned that right. To keep their winning ways, they need to replace the veteran and as quickly as possible.

Yes, Garland shouldn’t be gone too long, but they need someone who can play with him and be a back-up to the third-year player.

There is a huge challenge ahead for both Altman and Bickerstaff.

Who knew Rubio would make this much of an impact on the Cavs?

Cavs Won’t Be Sellers, Should They Be Buyers At Trade Deadline?

We are sure when the NBA season began, the plan was for Kevin Love to play well enough that contending teams would be interested in adding his hefty contract to help push them toward a lengthy run in the playoffs.

Sometimes, plans go awry and it is for a good reason.

Currently, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a playoff contender, and Love is helping them win basketball games.

Does this mean Love won’t be traded? No, he could still be moved, after all, anything is possible, but it would seem doubtful that GM Koby Altman is going to get an offer that both makes this year’s edition of the wine and gold better, and frees up salary cap space by taking the veteran’s contract.

Cleveland should now be in the “buyer” category now. They sit with the third best record in the Eastern Conference at 19-12, and are one of the better defensive teams in the league. And defense plays once the post-season begins.

One thing the Cavs have going for them is chemistry, they play together and enjoy playing with each other. Even with Collin Sexton sidelined, Cleveland has eight players averaging at least 9.3 points per night, ranging from Darius Garland’s 19.1 to Isaac Okoro at the lower figure listed.

So, Altman should be looking for a player who fits with the current roster and can shoot from outside. And J.B. Bickerstaff likes to play big men, and if you can find another useful big, then why not get one of those too.

The problem is what could Altman give up to make such a move without disrupting the current formula for success?

The easy answer would be Sexton, who is out for the season, and did not sign a contract extension before the campaign started, so he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Our guess is that the front office has reached out to Sexton and his representatives to see if he is interested in staying with the Cavaliers long term at a smaller than the max deal number. Many basketball people have speculated he would be perfect in a sixth man role, providing instant offense off the bench for a contending team.

The question is would he accept that role?

Other than Sexton, and if you move him it would basically be for less than his value, but on the other hand, you get something that helps you this season.

And although the Cavaliers have a very young core, there is no guarantee about any other season except this one. It would seem the future is very bright, but in the NBA you never know about injuries, contract issues, etc., and how is affects a team.

Still, unless another team is interested in a player like Dylan Windler, Lamar Stevens, Dean Wade, and/or Denzel Valentine, the best course of action for Altman would seem to stand pat and see how far this group can go.

That’s not a bad plan either. You would see how these Cavaliers do in a playoff situation, and that would give the front office a good idea of what needs to be done going forward.

What will Altman do? All we can do is wait and see. There will be wings available at the trade deadline, but do the Cavs want to disrupt what is currently working? Normally, we would say yes, but that might not be the wise thing with this group wearing the wine and gold.

Love Is Back And Helping Cavs Win.

When LeBron James decided to leave the Cavaliers and sign with the Los Angeles Lakers following the 2018-19 season, Kevin Love became remaining member of the franchise’s “Big Three”.

We know Kyrie Irving, the other player in the trio that led the Cavs to their only NBA title was dealt prior to that season, but the wine and gold made it back to The Finals for a 4th consecutive year anyway.

After the departure of both James and Irving, Dan Gilbert offered Love a boatload of money on a contract extension, and our guess would be the promise of continuing to compete here in Cleveland. After all, Tyronn Lue was still at the helm, and the franchise still had Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, etc.

Our comment about continuing to compete is speculation, because he don’t know for sure, and we have never met Kevin Love.

We are sure the organization thought rookie Collin Sexton, the 8th overall pick in the NBA Draft would be able to help the veterans as well.

But Love injured his big toe and missed most of the season, playing in just 21 games, scoring 17 points and grabbing almost 11 rebounds per night.

By the time training camp started in 2019-20, the Cavaliers had a new coach, longtime college headman John Beilein, and added another smaller young guard in Darius Garland, and the rebuilding phase of the team was in full bloom.

For an all star player who played six years in various rebuilding programs in Minnesota before being traded to Cleveland, coinciding with James returning to the franchise, we are sure it was a bitter pill.

It wasn’t what he signed (or re-signed in his case) up for.

We aren’t saying Love handled the frustration well. He had temper tantrums. He called out his coach, who had never coached at the NBA level before, and he was frustrated with his teammates, particularly the younger guys.

He still averaged 17.6 points and almost 10 rebounds per night, and many times was playing center, a position he was no longer big enough to play on a night in, night out basis.

We also believe Love was frustrated by the lack of accountability the younger players were held to. It was as if they were allowed to not pay attention to detail without consequences.

Last year was another injury riddled year, as the veteran missed all but 25 games with a calf issue, and only averaged 24 minutes a night when he did take the floor.

The drop in availability, temperament, and production made his contract an albatross on the franchise. No team wanted to make a move for Kevin Love.

This season, the Cavs are winning for the first time since James departed and Love is rejuvenated. Embracing a bench role, averaging just 20 minutes per contest, Love is scoring 12 points and grabbing 7 boards per game.

He can still rebound with the best and he’s back to looking for that long outlet pass that was his trademark. He’s more of a sniper offensively, looking for the three point shot, and knocking down 40% in the young season.

And his defensive effort is better with the reduced playing time. J.B. Bickerstaff has made playing the right way a mandate and Love no longer has to compete with bigger centers because of the presence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

The man can still play. We aren’t condoning the attitude issues he showed the past few seasons, just saying we understand. Once you experience winning, it’s tough to not have it.

It’s funny how things look better to everyone when winning is in the equation.

Getting Another Shooter Would Be Huge For Tall Cavs

Last Sunday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost a very entertaining game to the Utah Jazz at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse by one point.

While we were watching the game, it struck us that the wine and gold were kind of playing an older, more experienced version of what they are. Both teams are from small markets, and neither is a destination location for free agents.

The young Cavaliers are taller than the Jazz, but Utah is the second highest scoring team in the NBA, and lead the Association in three point shots made per game, making even more than the poster boys for long range shooting, the Golden State Warriors.

The Jazz are also 4th in the league in percentage from beyond the arc.

Cleveland scores 10 points per night less than the Jazz, making 3.6 less threes than the league leaders (they rank 18th), and are 15th in the league in percentage.

Utah has four players making more than 40% of their long distance shots, and another making 39%.

By contrast, the Cavs have two over 40%, and one of them, Dylan Windler, doesn’t play much mainly because, in our opinion, he is hesitant to shoot the ball. The other is Cedi Osman.

Darius Garland is also making 39% of his threes.

Kevin Love is hitting 36% and Ricky Rubio is at 35%. The player who leads the team in attempts from three point land is Lauri Markkanen, making 33%, although he has made 38.2% of these shots since returning to the lineup from COVID protocols.

The latter’s outside is very important for the starting lineup, although he can do more than be a spot up shooter.

Watching the game, we had the realization that Cleveland needs more guys who can knock down open jumpers from deep, especially with the presence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley inside.

One problem right now for J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad is lack of “pure” shooters. Collin Sexton made three pointers, but he was really more of a scorer than a shooter. And the man replacing him in the starting lineup, Isaac Okoro, is currently being left alone because teams don’t think he can make a shot from outside.

The second year player, the fifth overall pick a year ago, is making just 22% of his three point attempts, and our guess is until he can make them, he will get plenty more opportunities.

In Monday night’s loss to Milwaukee, Okoro played just 18 minutes, in part because he couldn’t make a shot, missing six shots, including three from distance.

He is a solid defender, make no mistake about that. But much like a good glove man in baseball, unless you can hit at an acceptable level, you don’t get on the field. In hoops, if you are an offensive liability, you can’t be on the floor that long.

Thank goodness for Osman’s development as a long range shooter, because the Cavs would have no one beyond Garland, Love, and Markkanen.

Windler was drafted for this purpose, but he and another reserve, Dean Wade, seem hesitant at times to pull the trigger when they are open.

And neither give you enough in other areas to be on the floor unless they are making shots.

The organization sent Windler to the G-League for a couple of games to see if getting some game time would unlock something. He would seem to be the guy to get more time, but he has to take and make shots when he is in there.

The Cavaliers have made a vast improvement this season and it is mostly on the defensive end. The next step is to get some shooters. Perhaps that will be something GM Koby Altman targets in the trade market if the current success continues.

Otherwise, teams will continue to leave Okoro and the others open and that will provide less room for Garland, Allen, and Mobley to operate inside.

Not Just Mobley, Other Cavs Are Stepping Up

So, Evan Mobley returns to the lineup last Saturday, and the Cleveland Cavaliers end their five game losing streak with a win and then go to Dallas Monday night, and blow out the Mavericks.

Seems simplistic to say the rookie is pretty important to the fortunes of the wine and gold, no?

While J.B. Bickerstaff’s team is 12-6 with Mobley in the lineup, it should be pointed out that during the those five contests without a win, the Cavs were at various points, missing Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen as well.

Cleveland is 12-7 when Allen plays, and 7-6 when Markkanen is on the court. And to be fair, they are 7-4 when Collin Sexton plays.

Through the first 25% of the season, it is clear, when healthy, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a solid basketball team.

And they haven’t exactly played an easy schedule. They already have made one west coast trip and they’ve only played three teams (Toronto, Detroit, and Orlando) with losing records.

(That’s a little misleading because only 9 teams in the NBA right now have losing records. Out of 30 teams, that’s kind of weird).

Obviously, the contributions of Rookie of the Year candidate (dare we say favorite?) Mobley are a big factor in the success of the team. The third overall pick in last summer’s draft is scoring 14.5 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing out 2.6 assists, and blocking 2 shots per night.

And the big lineup favored by Bickerstaff, using Mobley with Markkanen and Allen together and having Kevin Love as a backup, has been a big success so far.

We have said it for awhile, despite the emphasis on three point shooting and point guards, quality big people are still very important in professional basketball.

There are other factors for the early success as well. Darius Garland continues to improve in all areas. His points per game and assists per game, as well as his overall shooting percentage are all increased from a year ago.

Getting Ricky Rubio has been big too. Although his scoring and shooting have tapered off from the hot streak he had in early November, having a veteran that understands how to play in significant. That he moves the ball, averaging 6.3 dimes per night, helps as well.

And Cedi Osman has turned into a viable three point threat. In the past, we always felt Osman was misused as a shooter, when his real strength was as a slasher and creator. This was because he made just 30.6% of his long range shots a year ago, and more than half his shot came from behind the arc.

This year, Osman has made 43% from three point land, and with the loss of Sexton to injury, it has been needed. He has become what the organization thought Dylan Windler would be, someone who could stretch the defense.

Is the 43% figure sustainable? Maybe it isn’t, but it’s much, much better than 30%.

It’s not all rosy. The injuries were a problem because beyond the top eight players Bickerstaff uses, there isn’t much. Dean Wade is getting minutes and really doesn’t produce much, but he does gobble up minutes. He did have one real good outing against Golden State, but that’s really about it.

Windler has had injuries, but came to the league purported as someone who could do more than shoot, but he hasn’t been good in that department.

Lamar Stevens gives good effort and can defend, but that’s about it, and Denzel Valentine got some minutes when the injuries hit, and showed he needs to develop a better basketball IQ, taking ill-advised shots and some forced passes.

Perhaps if the Cavs stay in the thick of the playoff hunt, GM Koby Altman can make a move to bolster the end of the bench.

It’s fun to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers again. Of course, winning is part of having fun.

Sexton’s Injury And Its Effect On Okoro

It was curious that the news came out about Cavaliers’ guard Collin Sexton being ruled out for the rest of the 2021-22 season late Friday night.

It seems there is some tension in the relationship between the former first round draft pick and the team since a contract extension was not reached prior to the start of the season.

We agree with the organization’s stance since we don’t know what the market is for the 6’2″, soon to be 23-year-old shooting guard. Why not allow him to see what other teams are willing to pay him and allow the Cavs to match it.

Regardless, we are about to see how important Sexton is to this basketball team. Yes, J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad has lost three in a row, but that probably has more to do with the absence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

Little used Ed Davis was forced into action in the last two losses to Brooklyn and Golden State.

Before the season started, most thought Sexton was the team’s best player. He led the team in scoring last season at 24.3 per game, ranking 18th in the NBA. But where would he rank on the team’s pecking order right now?

You could make an argument that he would be fifth, behind Darius Garland, Mobley, Allen, and Ricky Rubio. That’s not an indictment of Sexton’s ability, but more about the development of Garland and Allen, and adding Mobley and Rubio to the roster.

Right now, Sexton has been replaced in the starting lineup by Isaac Okoro, but that presents a bit of a problem. Although Okoro is a much better defender, he’s a liability on offense, shooting 37% from the floor and is just 6 for 34 from behind the three point line.

So, if he is standing outside, there is no reason for opponents to guard him, and that in turn, causes driving lines to close and create a lack of room inside for Allen.

You have to wonder how much longer Bickerstaff can go with Okoro in the starting lineup. His defensive ability is valuable to the team, but if he doesn’t need to be guarded, that’s a problem.

We think the coaching staff likes Cedi Osman and Rubio coming off the bench, but one of them may have to start to give the floor better spacing.

Going back to Sexton, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for him because the contract extension wasn’t reached. If the team continues to do as well as they were before Allen and Mobley went out, he has lost a lot of leverage, and you have to wonder if GM Koby Altman would go in a different direction.

It has been pointed out by some that the Cavs have scored 100 points in a game only once (last night) since Sexton was injured, but we would remind those folks that the wine and gold haven’t had their full complement of players since then either.

Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen have been out, and now so have Allen and Mobley.

As for Okoro, we said when he was drafted that taking a defense first player with the fifth overall pick wasn’t a good move. That said, there is still time for him to improve his shot to make it passable and punish teams that leave him wide open.

If he doesn’t, he will become a nomad in the league, moving from team to team as a defensive specialist.

Cavs Continue To Amaze Early On.

We cannot say enough how surprised we are by the start for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While it is still very early, the Cavs are currently in 4th place in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5 record, and have done it battling with players out with COVID (Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen) and others missing time with injuries, including last year’s leading scorer in Collin Sexton and second year player Isaac Okoro.

The wine and gold have a very tough stretch coming up with a road game vs. Brooklyn on Wednesday, followed by home tilts with Golden State, Brooklyn, and Phoenix heading into Thanksgiving. Hopefully by then, Love and Markkanen will be back on the court.

We have said for a few years now that this organization wouldn’t go anywhere until they emphasized defense, and we will pat ourselves on the back a bit for that one. Cleveland is second in the NBA in least points allowed and 8th in overall defensive rating.

Both figures are the best they’ve ranked in many years.

The Cavaliers have a pretty solid top of the roster right now, but beyond the top eight players, they need to get more help.

While before the season, most would have said Sexton is the best player (not us), now he might rank no higher than fourth. Through these 14 games, rookie Evan Mobley would rank at the top, averaging 14.6 points, 8 boards, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks per contest.

And he was shooting over 50% from the floor before last night’s game, and perhaps more impressive, is a 77% free throw shooter.

Add in third year player Darius Garland and you have a very good (and very young) guard/big man combination for opponents to worry about.

Garland currently leads the team in scoring at 16.8 per night, but has also dished out 6.7 assists and is knocking down three point shots at 40%. The playmaking of Garland and veteran Ricky Rubio have Cleveland ranking 7th in the league in assists, compared to 21st last season, and 24th in 2019-20.

We haven’t talked yet about Jarrett Allen, who we felt was the Cavaliers’ best player when last season ended, and this year has combined with Mobley to create a formidable barrier to scoring that the team has lacked, since who knows when?

Still just 23 years old, Allen is scoring 14.2 points and is grabbing 10.9 caroms a game, and is shooting (or perhaps dunking) 69.4% from the floor.

What is special is both Allen and Mobley are able to guard smaller men out on the floor, and we know from watching Tristan Thompson on the teams that went to the NBA Finals what a valuable ability that is.

Another player who has really helped out is a man many were ready to write off, and that’s Cedi Osman. He’s making 40.6% of his three point attempts, and if that is sustainable, he can be a help off the bench. He’s a solid defender and we still think his strength offensively is as a slasher.

When Love and Markkanen return to action, J.B. Bickerstaff will have nine players who can give him solid minutes. He will then have to figure out who else deserves minutes so he can play ten players.

It could be Dylan Windler, who has hit 9 of 21 from behind the arc, something he has struggled with in his injury plagued career. The wine and gold badly need players who can make shots from outside because it opens things up for Allen and Mobley inside.

The next four games will be measuring stick for how good this team is. However, even if they lose the majority of these contests, this team is fun to watch and the future bodes well.

After the past few seasons, that’s a large step in the right direction.

Sexton Has A Different Role For These Cavs.

Basketball has been declared at times as the jazz of sports. It is spontaneous. While certainly there is a coaches’ blueprint to a free break, many times the players make it up as they head to the basket.

We always favored getting the ball to the middle of the floor, with two other players filling the wings, with spacing being important so one defender cannot cover two players. But really, once the player with the ball heads up the floor, there is room for creativity, as long as the ball gets in the basket.

It’s a joy to watch teams playing the game by moving the basketball around by passing. Some of our favorite teams were that way. Before the Cavaliers existed, we loved watching the Knicks of the late 60’s, with Red Holzman preaching “hit the open man”, led by Walt Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, and Willis Reed.

Even though the Cavs went to the playoffs the first time in 1975-76, the team that won the NBA title the following year, fellow expansion team Portland led by Bill Walton, operating the offense from the high post, and Maurice Lucas providing muscle and toughness, passed the ball incredibly.

Walton’s nagging injuries probably kept them from a long run at the top.

The 1985-86 Celtics, with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, and Walton as a sixth man, were another team who won playing a beautiful style of hoops.

We think about this because even though this year’s edition of the Cavs has been an early surprise, starting out 3-3 despite just two home games, some fans don’t like how they are winning.

Keep in mind, those three wins came against playoff teams from a year ago: Atlanta, Denver, and the Clippers.

The problem is the lesser role being taken offensively by Collin Sexton, and right now, it is working for the wine and gold.

Sexton’s shots are down from 18.4 per contest to 13.6 this year. And so far, it’s been good for the wine and gold.

Last year, only five players averaged 10 or more shots per game, and two of them were Andre Drummond, who played just 25 games with Cleveland, and the other was Yogi Farrell, who played only four.

This year, five players who are entrenched in the J.B. Bickerstaff’s rotation all average at least 10 shots. Besides Sexton, Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio, Lauri Markkanen, and rookie Evan Mobley all get that many looks.

That’s what happens when you add more talent to the roster.

Also, it doesn’t appear Sexton is buying in to the offense being played by Garland and Rubio. Garland’s assist numbers are up from 6.1 to 8.2 thus far, and Rubio’s 6.6 helpers per game are two more than Matthew Dellavedova provided in his limited time last season. He was second on the team in assists.

Sexton’s numbers have dropped from 4.1 in 2020-21 to just 1.9 this season. Big men Mobley and Kevin Love are averaging more.

The four year guard from Alabama’s role is changing. He’s on a team with more talent, and has to adjust.

What we don’t understand are the fans who seem disappointed by this changing role. They seem to want the guy who scored 24 points per night on a team that frequently were non-competitive.

Basketball can be individualistic in terms of moves and dunks, but it’s still a professional sport, and winning is the ultimate goal. If the Cavaliers are better with Collin Sexton taking less shots, that’s fine.

And for sure, there will be games the team needs Sexton to score 35 points to win. And he needs to be ready to do that.

By the way, the year Kobe Bryant took the most shots in his career (27), the Lakers went 47-35. The seasons in which the Lakers won their last two titles with Bryant? He averaged about 21 shots per game. Reason? The team was better.

This Cavalier team seems to more good players. Mobley is pretty good for a rookie. Rubio is a solid veteran. Garland continues to improve.

Fans (and Sexton himself) need to be more concerned with the number in the win column increasing, even if the number in the scoring column is dropping.

Have Cavs Found A Winning Style?

Three games is hardly enough time to make any judgments on the any team and the Cleveland Cavaliers are no exception. A lot could change during the next eight games for the wine and gold, especially because seven of those games are on the road.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are the reason for the games away from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, by the way.

It might surprise you based on the team’s first two games, but the Cavs have moved up to 20th in the league in defensive rating after the victories over Atlanta and Denver.

Much was made about the five words on the wall in the Cavs’ practice facility being the coaching staff’s mantra, but we felt until one of those words becomes “defense”, we fear this team in going to struggle.

Perhaps J.B. Bickerstaff hit on something by switching to a zone, with rookie Evan Mobley at the top of it to start the second half in Saturday night’s victory over the Hawks. The rookie can be a monster in this defense with his length and quickness, and he covers up for most of the lack of ability defensively by his teammates.

It will be interesting to see how often Bickerstaff goes to this defense on this trip.

Also interesting is the rotation employed by the coach, who right now seems to only trust nine players, and with Darius Garland nursing a sore ankle, he played only eight guys in a game he probably figured he needed badly with the long trip coming up.

The only bench players getting time are the veterans, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, and Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman.

He tried to use Kevin Pangos and Dean Wade in the home opener against Charlotte, but neither gave much in the way of performance.

We did not understand Bickerstaff’s insistence on pushing the ball up the court. The last two games, Cleveland has slowed the tempo and taken care of the basketball.

We fear the young players do not make good enough decisions trying to beat teams up the floor and that leads to turnovers. Rubio can handle this. Perhaps later in the year, after watching the veteran, Garland and Sexton can handle this as well. But for now, we love the decision to slow it down a bit.

And as with last season, three point shooting continues to be an issue. The Cavs are still one of the worst teams in terms of shooting the long range shot, and that’s with Rubio knocking down 9 of 23.

The next two players in terms of attempts, Lauri Markkanen and Sexton, have made a combined 14 of 46 shots from beyond the arc (30.4%). Although Osman has hit 5 of 14 shots from distance, 14 of his 24 shots have been threes and we don’t understand why.

In our way of thinking, he’s a slasher and a decent passer once he drives to the hoop, and we feel he would be more effective playing that type of game.

Despite starting three players seven feet tall, the Cavaliers are getting hammered on the board, outrebounded by an average of nine per night. We think this is due to the big men trying to stop the parade of guards going to the basket, and then being out of position.

Once again, that would be corrected with a better defensive concept in the half-court.

It’s going to be a tough trip to start the year, for sure. But starting with a win last night, it certainly was an encouraging start.