Like To See Improvements In These Areas For Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers start the regular season next Wednesday when they travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets before coming home for the home opener a week from tomorrow against Oklahoma City.

So finally, we can start evaluating players against true competition. We know fans want to get excited about players, especially young ones, in exhibition play, but they are probably getting time against guys who will be in the G League much of the 2023-24 campaign.

Still, there are some things we are anxious to see from the wine and gold when the season starts in earnest next week.

First, we would like to see Darius Garland be stronger with the basketball. Garland is a very good player, no question, with one All Star berth in his young career. His three point shooting reached a career high last season at 41%.

However, we would like him to cut down on turnovers, especially when he drives to the basket. Too often, Garland gets into the paint and loses control of the basketball. It was particularly noticeable in the playoffs last season.

If he can be stronger and maintain possession inside, imagine how many more free throws he would get. And he knocks down 86.3% of his shots at the line.

Because today’s game is obsessed with three-point shooting, everyone wants Evan Mobley to be able to make shots from beyond the arc. We want him to be a threat in the mid-range game. It would open up his game greatly.

Last season, Mobley made just 35.2% of his shots from 10 to 16 feet, and only 40.1% from three to ten feet. By comparison, his frontcourt partner, Jarrett Allen, knocked down 47% from 10 to 16 feet and 51% from three to ten feet.

If Mobley can knock down those types of shots on a regular basis, he will increase his scoring and also open up driving lanes not only for himself, but for his teammates. He doesn’t need to make threes, but he needs to be more effective away from the basket.

We would also like to see J.B. Bickerstaff develop a legitimate third big man, and we mean rim protector for when Mobley and/or Allen are on the bench or if they have to miss any time during the regular season.

Koby Altman signed 6’11” Damian Jones who played in 41 games with the Lakers and Jazz a year ago, averaging 3.5 points and 2 rebounds per game. He had 21 blocked shots in his limited opportunities.

The last two seasons, if the starting big men couldn’t play, Bickerstaff didn’t have a real alternative. Two years, it was 32-year-old Ed Davis, who was really brought in for leadership more than anything else. And when Jarrett Allen got hurt late in the season, they signed 7’2″ Moses Brown, but didn’t hold on to him.

Last year, it was Robin Lopez, who lacked the mobility to guard anyone away from the basket.

So, let’s see what Jones can do. Hopefully, he can be a suitable backup for Mobley and Allen. Yes, we know Tristan Thompson was signed as well, but we put him in the Davis and Lopez category.

We know Dean Wade is solid defensively and he is 6’9″, but we don’t think he is a deterrent around the basket for other teams.

The Cavaliers are a good team for sure, but improvements in these areas could make them a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. We will start finding out next week.

Don’t Put Much Into The NBA Draft For Cavs.

We have seen a lot of opinions on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ selection of Emoni Bates from Eastern Michigan with the 49th pick in the NBA Draft Thursday night.

If fans think this pick will impact the 2023-24 edition of the wine and gold, we feel they are sorely mistaken. It’s the 49th selection, not the 9th, and the Cavs won 51 games a year ago, they are a solid team, so more than likely whoever they picked in that spot was more of a project.

It’s not like football where a second round pick should be able to be on the field a lot and be a contributor.

For Koby Altman, it’s like a lottery ticket, he hopes the numbers come up in his favor and Bates will wind up being a rotational player down the road.

However, Bates’ selection seems like the antithesis of what the Cavaliers feel about themselves as a roster. J.B. Bickerstaff is always talking about the “grit” and playing tough-minded basketball.

The newest member of the team is seen as a “me-first” player, filled with a lot of hype put upon him as a teenager. By the way, that’s the media’s fault. Talking about any 15 of 16-year-old as the next LeBron James isn’t fair to anyone.

Right now, Bates is 6’9″ and weighs a reported 180 pounds, and by the way, according to scouting reports, isn’t very athletic, not quick or explosive. The report we saw says he’s not a great leaper and doesn’t run the floor well. And obviously at his frame, he needs to hit the weight room.

He can shoot and has good size for a wing player, something the Cavs need badly. He can shoot from distance and also has a solid midrange game, and has the ability to score points in bunches, he had four 30 point games and a career high of 43 against Toledo.

He likely will sign a two-way deal with Cleveland and spend most of the year with the Charge developing both his body and his game, as well as understanding what you have to do both physically and mentally to be an NBA player.

We are concerned about the selfish attitude he is reported to have. Getting drafted in the second round should be a dose of humility.

So, as much as fans wanted the Cavs to get someone who can make a difference for this year’s team in the draft, that likely wasn’t going to happen.

The way Cleveland is going to take the next step as an organization, moving into title contention is through trades and free agency, which will be difficult. We would bet Altman knows that.

And when we say “title contention”, it’s because we don’t want to hear the next step for the Cavs is to win a playoff series. When that’s your goal, that’s likely all you will achieve, something we think happened this past year.

It has been said (including us) that the Cavaliers need shooters, but really, they need some guys who can create their own shots. Right now, they have three of those players, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Caris LeVert. Everyone else needs to be set up.

They need shooters too, but with the offense currently used by Bickerstaff, the burden for creating offense falls pretty much on that trio.

We also believe the Cavs need more basketball players, and what we need by that is guys who can do a little bit of everything, not one dimensional guys.

When the free agent moratorium is set in motion on July 1st, the Cavaliers can start reshaping their roster for 2023-24. Then we will see if Altman was telling the truth about running back last year’s squad.

We Agree Cavs Need Shooting. They Need Taller Shooting Though

In examining where the Cleveland Cavaliers need to go this off-season, we have focused on the need for size. The Cavs are small in the backcourt and at small forward, and we believe they need to get bigger in order to grow as a team.

They also need shooting. Cleveland finished 12th in the NBA during the regular season in three point field goal percentage at 36.7%, but they were 24th in attempts from beyond the arc. Their top three long range shooters, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Caris LeVert took 53% of the team’s threes.

To be fair, Golden State’s top three-point makers, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Jordan Poole took 57% of the Warriors’ shots from beyond the arc, but Curry and Thompson both make over 40% of their threes.

If you look at the number of threes taken per game for Cleveland, Mitchell took 9.3 (probably too many), Garland 6.0, and LeVert 4.4. (Note: Kevin Love took 4.8/game). Cedi Osman is next at 4.1/game. Beyond that, you have Dean Wade, Ricky Rubio, and Isaac Okoro, and none of that trio attempted more than three per contest.

And only Okoro ranked in the top eight in minutes played for the season.

In looking at the NBA’s final four teams remaining and the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the best record in the league, only Miami’s top three long range shooters in attempts (Strus, Herro, and Vincent) took more than 50% of the Heat’s three pointers.

Here are the other teams mentioned–

Denver (Porter Jr., Murray, Caldwell-Pope) 47.1%
Boston (Tatum, Brown, White) 44.8%
Los Angeles (James, Brown Jr., Walker IV) 35.4%
Milwaukee (Holiday, Allen, Lopez) 34.5%

It doesn’t seem like taking a lot of threes leads to success. The top five in attempts per game were Golden State, Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, and Utah. Three playoff teams. However, the top five in percentage made (Philadelphia, Golden State, LA Clippers, Denver, and Brooklyn) all qualified for the post-season.

It’s too easy for opponents, especially when it comes to the playoffs to guard three-point shooters if you only have a few, particularly when one of those three are bringing the ball up the floor. It’s also tougher when two of your primary long distance shooters are smaller players.

Over the weekend, several players were mentioned as possibilities for the Cavs over the offseason. Players like Donte DiVincenzo (6’4″), Max Strus (6’5″), Jordan Clarkson (6’5″) and Seth Curry (6’2″) were discussed. Our problem with this group is it still makes the Cavaliers a very small team outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

We know it won’t be easy, but we believe if the Koby Altman and Mike Gansey are looking to upgrade the wing positions, it should be with someone in the 6’7″ or taller height wise.

Perhaps someone like Jerami Grant (6’8″) who the Cavs probably can’t afford after he averaged 20 points per game with Portland. But you might be able to get Jalen McDaniels (6’9″) who averaged 9.4 points splitting the year between Charlotte and Philadelphia. He shot just 33% from three this year, but shot 38% a year ago.

A dark horse would be Keita Bates-Diop (6’8″), who averaged a career high 9.7 points/game with San Antonio, shooting 39.4% from behind the arc.

Yes, the Cavs need shooting. Moreso, they need taller people who can shoot. It’s the proverbial killing two birds with one stone.

Cavs Need Size, Can They Add It?

We understand basketball has morphed into a kind of positionless sports over the last ten years. No longer do a lot of team use a traditional center, power forward, small forward, shooting guard and point guard.

For example, the traditional point guard, think of a guy like Andre Miller or Mark Jackson, who is a distributor, scoring only when he has to. The point guard position today is for guys like Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, and even Darius Garland, guys who can stretch the floor with long range shooting and pass as well.

Despite the change in the sport, it is still a game where size matters. The three finalists for league MVP were Joel Embiid (7’0″), Giannis Antetokounmpo (7’0″) and Nikola Jokic (6’11”).

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Cavaliers have not following that trend.

Sure in 2021-22, J.B. Bickerstaff famously starting a front line of 6’11” Jarrett Allen and a pair of seven footers in Evan Mobley and Lauri Markkanen, but the only other players who received significant minutes that were over 6’8″ were Kevin Love and Dean Wade.

But Markkanen was moved to get Donovan Mitchell and was replaced in the starting lineup by 6’5″ Isaac Okoro. So, while the Cavs still have Mobley and Allen, they are undersized at the other three spots on the floor with both Mitchell and Garland being listed at 6’1″.

By contrast, let’s look at the highest remaining seed in the East, the Boston Celtics. They start a pair of guards both taller than the Cavs’ starters in Derrick White (6’4″) and Marcus Smart (6’3″). They aren’t as tall up front overall, but Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum kind of alternate on the wing and they are 6’6″ and 6’8″.

Al Horford is only 6’9″ at center, but there two most prominent reserves are Malcolm Brogdon (6’5″) and Robert Williams (6’10”).

And it is not just about height either. The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson is listed at 6’1″, but he’s thick, burly if you will. And he just overpowered both of the Cavs’ starters who are listed at the same height.

Same among the big men. Mobley and New York’s Mitchell Robinson are both listed at seven feet, but Robinson is a bigger player. And to be fair, Mobley is only 21 years old and we have no doubt he will get stronger as he gets older.

Against New York, Bickerstaff’s tallest reserves were 6’6″ Caris LeVert and 6’7″ Cedi Osman. The Knicks used former Cavalier Isaiah Hartenstein (7′) and also Obi Toppin (6’9″).

When you think about it, the only position where the Cavaliers are bigger than the norm is at power forward with Mobley.

The biggest challenge for Koby Altman this summer is to get bigger. First of all, the coach has gone on record saying he prefers bigger players. He needs to get a useful big man off the bench, one who can play and be effective when Allen and Mobley are resting.

We find it funny when folks want to trade Allen this off-season. If you do that, then you are short two big men.

And if you are going to continue to use a smaller backcourt, the wine and gold need to get bigger reserves. Having LeVert is good because they can play him with either Mitchell or Garland and have some size, particularly because the former plays bigger than 6’1″.

But you also need a small forward taller than Okoro or LeVert. It’s tougher to shoot over players taller than you than it is to do against smaller players.

Size still matters in the game of basketball even in today’s era. One step for the Cavs to be better next year is to get bigger.

That’s step one.

Comments About Altman’s Comments

Friday morning, Cavs’ basketball head honcho Koby Altman had his post-season press conference and essentially said there wouldn’t be a lot of changes in the off-season. Let’s hope this is just front office speak.

Yes, the Cavaliers won 51 games this past season, the most won in the post-LeBron James era for the franchise. However, a closer look at the team shows there are a lot of areas where the wine and gold need to improve if they want to make a deeper run in next season’s playoffs.

Altman went out and got a star last off-season, trading most of the Cavaliers’ assets for Donovan Mitchell, thus giving the team four all-star caliber players along with Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley.

It was a great move. Mitchell will likely be first or second team all-NBA. But now Altman and GM Mike Gansey need to focus on spots #4 through #10 on the roster.

We would guess there will be a priority to bring Caris LeVert back. LeVert is the only player besides Mitchell and Garland to be able to create his own shot, and he showed he can be a solid defender and good passer.

The Cavaliers need more “basketball players” on the second unit. What we mean by that is players who can do a little bit of everything, like LeVert.

Right now, after the five players already mentioned, it feels like the balance of the squad is made up of one-dimensional players.

Isaac Okoro and Lamar Stevens are defenders, providing little on the offense end. Ricky Rubio is a playmaker. Dean Wade? He’s supposed to be able to provide outside shooting, but frankly, we’ve said all year he’s probably better defensively than people think, and not as good of a shooter as purported.

Cedi Osman is the closest to having an all-around game, but it seems like the coaching staff has very little confidence in him.

And without a doubt, Cleveland needs some shooters. The playoff series vs. the Knicks begged for someone, anyone to be able to make an outside shot consistently. Danny Green was signed on the buyout market and contributed one made three-point shot.

They also need size, and need size that can play in April. The last two years, the front office offered Ed Davis and Robin Lopez as reserve big men. Neither contributed much on the court. Altman and Gansey must get at least one big who can spell Allen and Mobley, and we would get two.

Basketball is still a sport where size matters, and J.B. Bickerstaff, who loves size, shouldn’t have to play Osman or Green at power forward in a playoff game.

From a coaching standpoint, Bickerstaff needs to do something differently offensively. Mitchell came into criticism for the post-season performance and to his credit, he owned up to it, but what did the coaching staff do to get him open looks? Opposing teams don’t guard Okoro, but the Cavs keep putting him in the corner to shoot threes.

That’s exactly why they don’t guard him.

They also don’t really have a plan for Mobley and Allen on the offensive end.

The defensive mindset is great, no question about it, but the Cavs only scored 100 points once in the series, the game they won. And the trio of Mitchell, Garland, and LeVert took 63% of the shots Cleveland attempted.

FYI, the Knicks top three in shots taken (Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and R.J. Barrett) took 58% of their shots.

There is very little movement off the ball for Cleveland. It’s pick and roll or bust. And we know that’s what the league has become, but there has to be some alternatives.

If Altman went before the media and promised big changes, the speculation would be running rampant already. He has to know the Cavaliers have to get better in 2023-24, and that will be difficult with no changes on the roster.

Once Again, The Cavs Have To Dig Deep.

The Cleveland Cavaliers seem to relish a challenge, especially in their first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks.

They blew the home court advantage they gained with their 51 regular season wins by losing game one at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, and after a win to even the series, they put the pressure firmly on themselves this afternoon by getting smoked at Madison Square Garden Friday night, losing 99-79.

It was the lowest point total of the year for any NBA team.

Both teams struggled in the first quarter which ended tied at 17. Jarrett Allen was outstanding, making all three of his shots, grabbing three rebounds, and blocking a shot. On the negative, Darius Garland was awful, missing eight shots, including four three-pointers.

That was followed by a 15 point second quarter. Cleveland was 2 for 19 from beyond the arc at the half, and to us, the crazy stat was that those 19 attempts were almost one-half of their field goal attempts (43).

The Knicks started knocking down closer shots and led by 13 at the half. The wine and gold actually outrebounded New York before intermission26-24.

In the second half, only Caris LeVert (7 of 11, 3 of 7 from three) and Donovan Mitchell, who was 5 of 11 in the first half, and made half of his eight shots in the second, were able to put the ball in the basket.

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff did change the starting lineup, moving LeVert in, replacing Isaac Okoro, but that left the bench with no weapons. The non-starters, excluding garbage time, took just seven shots, making two.

We said (before the game) we would have started Danny Green if he was going to make a change, but frankly, we would have just stayed with Okoro. And although we are usually critical of Okoro, we thought Bickerstaff didn’t play him enough. He was making an impact when he came in during the first half, but only played seven minutes until the game was decided.

Before the series started, we noted Cleveland needed at least one reserve to play well. In game two, LeVert did. With him starting, they need all five starters to produce. They didn’t.

We mentioned earlier that Allen took three shots in the first quarter, making all of them. Unfortunately, those were the only three he took all night, as the Cavs decided to ignore going inside.

Why is that a problem? If you aren’t going to look inside, Evan Mobley only had 10 shot attempts as well, it allows the Knicks’ big men, mostly Mitchell Robinson to have no real defensive responsibility. Robinson was able to block a Mitchell jumper in the first half.

After the game, Bickerstaff said the Cavs had open looks, they just didn’t make them. To us, that’s a rather simplistic view of the game of basketball. True, the wine and gold shot just 38.8% from the floor. But if a team takes a lot of poor shots, they will probably shoot a poor percentage.

Bickerstaff keeps talking about his team’s inexperience, and they haven’t grasped that in the playoffs, every possession is important. You cannot have 20 turnovers, and bad shots are pretty much the same as a turnover.

Here’s what we mean by a bad shot. At the end of the first half, the Cavs were down 40-32 with :40 remaining. They had a chance to keep it close going into the half.

Instead, Mitchell took a three with plenty of time on the shot clock, missed it, and New York came down and hit a three. Then another turnover and a Knick hoop and the Cavaliers were down 13 at the half.

In our mind, Mitchell’s shot is only good if he makes it.Today’s game is the turning point. If Cleveland wins, they regain homecourt advantage and come home with two of the remaining three in downtown Cleveland.

Can the Cavs adjust? Can they get someone out of their bench? Can Garland rebound from a terrible game? The answer to those questions has to be yes.

JB Makes Changes, Cavs Win Game Two

The Cleveland Cavaliers needed a win badly Tuesday night and they got it, evening the series with the New York Knicks at one game apiece with a 107-90 victory at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

The wine and gold showed toughness, especially on the glass, outrebounding New York a few days after the Knicks dominated on the glass.

And J.B. Bickerstaff totally changed his rotation, benching Ricky Rubio and Dean Wade, both of whom contributed little in game one, and pretty much went with seven players in the win. We don’t know how sustainable that will be going forward, but it worked in Game 2.

Darius Garland was phenomenal shooting the ball, making six of ten from three-point range, scoring 32 points, 26 of them in the first half. In the early moments of the game, Garland was very careless with the ball, seeming to want to make the spectacular pass rather than the right one.

He corrected that issue by just making a bunch of shots.

Donovan Mitchell became the playmaker, dishing out 13 assists to go with 17 points. There is no doubt the Cavs will need Mitchell’s scoring ability before this series is over, but with the Knicks trying to double him when they could, he simply made the right basketball play over and over again.

Caris LeVert was skewered by many fans after the first game, but he has been so solid over the second half of the season, we figured he would bounce back, and he did, scoring 24 points, grabbing four boards, and dishing out three dimes, as well as hounding Jalen Brunson all night.

He played a team high 40 minutes.

Cedi Osman didn’t shoot the ball well, but played solid defense and grabbed six rebounds, behind only the Cleveland big men, Jarrett Allen (10) and Evan Mobley (13).

We are critical of Bickerstaff at times, mainly how he judges the talent of his players, but it took guts to not play Rubio and make the decision after Dean Wade’s poor first half in game one, not to give him any time during game two.

But the shocking move was with Isaac Okoro. Okoro started and picked up two fouls in the first three minutes on the floor, was removed from the game and never returned. Was his knee acting up again? After all, he did miss the last two weeks with an injury. Still, we were stunned he never went back in.

Instead, Bickerstaff went with veteran Danny Green at the #4 spot. Green only took two shots, making one, but the defense has to guard him, and they don’t do that with Okoro.

We expect the Knicks will try to exploit Green defensively as the series goes on. Quite frankly, having Green guard Julius Randle is not a good match for the Cavs, but the element of surprise worked for Cleveland.

So, the series goes back to Madison Square Garden for games on Friday and Sunday and the Cavs need to win one game in New York at some point if they want to win the series.

As mentioned earlier, the Cavaliers are going to need quality minutes from players not named Mitchell, Garland, Allen, Mobley, and LeVert if they are going to prevail. So, there will be opportunities for guys like Okoro, Rubio, and Wade to help.

They have to come through because you can’t keep playing seven players.

It worked in game two, and it had to. Going down 0-2 at home would have spelled a quick end to the Cavaliers’ season.

Cavs’ Warts Show In Disappointing Game One.

Sometimes, it stinks to be right. That’s how we felt last night watching all our fears about the series between the Cavaliers and Knicks come true.

We were concerned about the Cleveland bench, and led by Josh Hart, the New York reserves outscored the Cavs’ by a 37-14 count. Hart not only scored more (17 points) than the wine and gold’s bench, he also outrebounded them, grabbing 10 boards.

The Cleveland bench had just five.

We were also worried about the rebounding of the Knicks. Cleveland spent the last two months of the regular season losing the battle of the boards, and indeed, the same thing happened in game one, as New York grabbed 51 caroms to the Cavs’ 38.

We have been complaining about the lack of size for the Cavs since the trade deadline, when the organization decided to let Kevin Love go. Love can’t guard on the perimeter anymore, and his shooting dropped off when he injured his thumb.

We felt they would add another big man to the roster to replace Love on the buyout market. Instead, they picked up Danny Green and Sam Merrill, two wings, neither of whom saw action in game one.

And by the way, former Cleveland big man, Isaiah Hartenstein had eight points and five rebounds.

Our other concern was J.B. Bickerstaff. The coach had a week of practices to decide who would get action in the playoffs, and the only member of the bench who made an impact in the game was the last player he used, Cedi Osman.

Osman had nine points and two rebounds and drew the defensive assignment against Jalen Brunson in the fourth quarter, and we thought he acquitted himself quite well.

The first big man sub used by Bickerstaff was Dean Wade, who somehow was put on Julius Randle, and was abused by the Knicks’ star in seven minutes, and Cleveland was outscored by 14 minutes while he was on the floor.

Cleveland out-shot the Knicks from the floor (43.4% to 42%) and from three (32.3% to 27.6%). The young Cavs inexperience showed, missing six free throws (NY missed just three), including a pair each by guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.

Mitchell tried to will the Cavs to victory, scoring 38 points and dishing out eight assists, but he got very little help. Garland had 17, but also five turnovers. Evan Mobley seemed a bit tentative around the basket, hitting just 4 of 13 shots.

We saw some criticism of Jarrett Allen, but he had 14 points and 14 boards and dished out 4 assists, the second highest total on the team.

New York predictably left Isaac Okoro open on the perimeter and he missed all four of his attempts from long range and went one of six overall. The Cavs need Okoro’s defense on the floor, but he can’t be a liability on the offensive end.

And Caris LeVert, who finished the regular season strong, had an off night, making just one shot in seven tries, and had just one assist and one rebound.

The good news is the Cavs know now what kind of performance is needed in the playoffs. And we have always said until the ultimate game in the series, the even numbered games are most important. The Cavs can even things up on Tuesday night, and if they lose that one, it could be a very short visit to the playoffs for the wine and gold.

Simply, Garland, Mobley, and LeVert must be better in Game 2. We wonder if we will see Osman earlier in the next game. And why not use Lamar Stevens, who may be the “grittiest” Cavalier?

But it will be a big issue if the Cavaliers cannot hold their own with New York on the glass. The defensive job isn’t over until you get possession of the ball.

Gonna Be A Tough Series For Cavs Against The Knicks

The NBA playoffs start this Saturday and the Cleveland Cavaliers will be hosting the New York Knicks Saturday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Many fans are using the Cavs’ 51 regular season victories and the home court advantage in the series to proclaim a win in the best-of-seven series and an advancement to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

We have our doubts.

This doesn’t mean we think the wine and gold will lose to the Knicks, but it will be a very difficult series for J.B. Bickerstaff and his squad.

In the regular season, teams play the way they play. The league schedule is such that there is very little practice time, so coaches set a style of play and a plan and the players execute. In the playoffs, coaches take advantage of things their opponents do not do well, and they exploit weaknesses.

This isn’t to say the Knicks have no areas where Cleveland can attack them, nor are we proclaiming Tom Thibodeau a genius. Yes, Thibodeau has more playoff experience than Bickerstaff, coaching in 61 post-season games.

His record is just 25-36. The last time he won a series was in 2015-16 when his Bulls were eliminated by the Cavaliers. His last two times in the playoffs have resulted in first round losses in five games.

Our worry is the lack of depth for the Cavaliers will hurt them against the Knicks, who are much deeper. Earlier in the season, we felt if the Cavs got production from one or two of the non-core players on the roster, they had a very good chance to win.

And we include Caris LeVert in the core player category.

This means Bickerstaff needs solid games from one of these guys on the nightly basis: Isaac Okoro, Cedi Osman, Ricky Rubio, or Lamar Stevens.

Okoro has missed the past few weeks with a knee issue and no doubt his defense will be needed, particularly against Knicks’ guard Jalen Brunson. Okoro missed the last regular season game vs. New York, and Brunson went off for 48 points.

We are also concerned about the decline in rebounding for Cleveland over the last two months. The Cavs outrebounded their opponent for four of the first five months of the season (January was the exception), but March and April (18 games) have been a different story.

Opponents are grabbing five more caroms per game since the beginning of March. You can be a very good defensive team, but your job isn’t done until you corral the missed shot. Lately, this has been an issue for Cleveland. It’s one of the reasons we have advocated getting another player with size who can play.

And we do remember Jarrett Allen did miss some time during this period, which didn’t help. By the way, the Knicks are third in the league in offensive rebounds this season.

No doubt, the Knicks are going to try to devote attention to Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, the Cavs’ primary scorers. Hopefully, Cleveland uses Evan Mobley to ease the pressure. The second-year player increased his scoring from 15.7 points per game before the All-Star Game to 17.5 after. His rebounds and assists increased too.

We will learn a lot about not only the players, but the coaching staff in this series. That’s one of the reasons we wanted the Cavs to get in a seven game series last year. We would already know.

This series will go at least six or seven, the people who think it will be a five gamer and likely viewing with rose colored lenses.

Playoff basketball is back in Cleveland. That’s the best news of all.

Cavs Still Have Work To Do In Last Week Of Season

We have reached the last week of the NBA regular season and the Cleveland Cavaliers have just four games remaining.

Their “magic number” to clinch home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs is two, and the four games they have left are against the teams currently in 12th, 13th, and 14th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks are in the fifth position and they play a pair against Indiana (the Cavs’ opponent tonight), the Wizards (11th place), but they have a tough one at New Orleans, who is fighting for their playoff position in the west.

We aren’t putting too much stock Friday night’s loss to New York at home, as we are hoping J.B. Bickerstaff wasn’t about to show Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks’ coach, how he was going to defend G Jalen Brunson.

That’s the only explanation we can come up with because Brunson lit up Cleveland for 48 points.

Bickerstaff went with Donovan Mitchell on Brunson and really didn’t waver from that, but again, in a seven game situation we are sure the Cavs would blitz the Knicks’ point guard and force the ball out of his hands.

Of course, two of the Cavs’ better defenders, Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro, did not play but both will be ready when the playoffs start in two weeks. Still, because the Cavs are a team that hangs its hat on the defensive end of the floor, it was a bit startling to see Brunson get 48 points, even though he did take 32 shots.

New York didn’t have Julius Randle, out at least two weeks with an ankle sprain, and we bring this up because we would love to see the Cavs clinch the fourth spot sooner than later because then Bickerstaff can start giving some of his regulars some time off.

We have been saying this for some time, but the Cavaliers are not a particularly deep team and we can see by having Allen and Okoro out forces Bickerstaff to use players he probably wouldn’t want to use in a post-season situation.

And the less playing time the top players for Cleveland get going forward, it would seem to minimize an injury risk.

Our guess is the coaching staff will lean heavily on his four core players (Mitchell, Darius Garland, Allen, and Evan Mobley) a lot in the playoffs, playing each of them 35-40 minutes per night.

Behind this quartet, we would expect Caris LeVert to get the next most court time, likely between 30-35 minutes.

If he goes with the higher amount, that would be 195 minutes out of a possible 240, leaving 45 minutes remaining. Okoro likely gets the majority of the time, around 25-30, probably depending what he is doing on the offensive end.

We would expect Ricky Rubio and Cedi Osman to get what is remaining. Meaning he the Cavs will play eight, which is what most figured all along.

But there still is work to do. The Cavaliers need to win two more games, or less if the Knicks stumble. And they need to get everyone healthy and have them stay that way.