Cavs’ Needed To Make The Playoffs This Year. They Did!

Before the NBA season started, we felt the goal of the Cleveland Cavaliers should be to avoid the “play-in tournament” nonsense that the NBA put in place and get to a seven-game series.

Sunday night’s win over the hapless Houston Rockets clinched that for JB Bickerstaff’s squad. The wine and gold have won 48 games so far, and should hit the 50 win plateau in 2022-23.

How many times in franchise history have they reached that mark without LeBron James on the roster? Well remember, the Cavs did have a pretty good team in the late 80’s and early 90’s, getting 57 wins in 1988-89 and ’91-’92, and had 54 victories in ’92-’93.

It hasn’t happened often.

When Koby Altman pulled the trigger for Donovan Mitchell last summer, we were skeptical. The Cavs’ identity was the big front line last season, and trading Lauri Markkanen took away the unique style Cleveland was playing.

Also, the trade did not address the Cavaliers’ lack of size in the backcourt. They were still starting two small guards.

Watching Mitchell play night in and night out changed our mind. He will make either the second or third team All-NBA this year, and there were games this season where he willed Cleveland to victory.

He’s averaging 4.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game in addition to his 27.4 points. And he and Darius Garland have meshed very well. The latter is scored the same as a year ago (21.7 last year, 21.6 this season) and his assists aren’t too far off, down from 8.6 to 7.8.

Mitchell was reportedly a defensive issue in Utah, but he has bought in to Bickerstaff’s defensive mantra and gives effort each and every night.

If anyone questions the deal because of what was given up, we would say if you can get a top 15 player in the league, it would seem to be worth the price.

It will help this young group of Cavaliers, only Mitchell (26), Caris LeVert (28), and Cedi Osman (27) are over 25 among the top eight players in terms of minutes played, to get in a seven-game series to see the intensity of the games, and to make adjustments on a nightly basis.

And that goes for Bickerstaff as well.

Mitchell has played in 39 playoff games in his career, more than Jarrett Allen, LeVert (each with 9), Garland (0), Evan Mobley (0), and Osman (14) combined. No doubt, he will be leaned on heavily to guide the inexperienced guys through the grind.

It could mean a lot for the careers of Garland and Mobley in particular to be exposed to basketball’s post-season.

If the standing hold and the first-round opponent are the New York Knicks, we anticipate it will be a very tough series, and that’s a good thing. There shouldn’t be any more games against the Rockets, Hornets, or Pistons when you get to this point.

The Cavs’ style of play, defense first, controlling the pace should play well in the playoffs. However, teams will focus on Mitchell, so others are going to have to take advantage. And we would love to see Mitchell not settle for the long jump shots and attack the basket more.

He seems unstoppable at times doing that.

It’s been a long time (1997-98) since a Cavaliers’ team without James made the playoffs, so that is not anything to dismiss. They should celebrate the accomplishment. That they didn’t is a good sign for this group.

Cavs Have Come A Long Way, But It’s OK To Want More

It was just two years ago that the Cleveland Cavaliers finished the shortened 2020-21 season at 22-50, and those 22 victories were the most by the franchise since LeBron James departed for the Los Angeles Lakers after four consecutive Finals appearances.

They’ve come a long way since then, winning 44 games last season and this year stand poised to make their first playoff appearance without James on the roster since 1997-98 when Mike Fratello’s squad went 47-35 and lost in the first round.

This will likely be the best non-LeBron season since 1992-93 when Cleveland went 54-28 and lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Bulls, led by a guy named Michael Jordan.

So big picture, the Cavaliers have made tremendous progress over the last two seasons, going from one of the worst teams in the league to one that right now would have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

How can anyone complain about that?

It’s a fair question to ask, especially to us, since we have been a little concerned about the play of the Cavs, particularly their bench, which obviously is still a work in progress.

When Koby Altman started the rebuild, it began around lottery pick Collin Sexton, but really made a leap when Altman was able to get Jarrett Allen from Brooklyn in the James Harden move from Houston to Brooklyn.

Since the center arrived, he has averaged 14.6 points and 10 rebounds a game, while providing excellent defense. His presence and the drafting of Darius Garland the same season gave the wine and gold three solid pieces, although Garland had some struggles in his rookie year.

The past two seasons saw the drafting of Evan Mobley and the dealing of Sexton for the more polished Donovan Mitchell, an established three time all-star, adding two more building blocks, giving the Cavs a “core four” as a foundation for success.

That success has arrived, as Cleveland will likely win 50 games this season.

There is an angst that comes with success though. There are no guarantees the Cavaliers will finish in top four of the East next season, so although we don’t want the front office to do anything that will jeopardize success down the road, because Mitchell is the oldest of the core at 26-years-old, but you have to think Altman and GM Mike Gansey could have strengthened the current roster for the stretch run.

We understand the brass wanting to see how the current members on the roster play in important games and post-season ones too, but we also think it’s fair to not expect those guys getting better with higher stakes on the line.

We’ve also been very concerned about the lack of size on the roster besides Allen and Mobley, and Allen’s eye injury brought a spotlight on that. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem he will be out long, but we don’t see Robin Lopez being effective for a long period if he was needed.

And time will tell if J.B. Bickerstaff’s plan to ramp up minutes right now to prepare the players for a heavier workload come the post-season will do just that or will the four most important Cavaliers just be worn down after the regular season.

At some point, we believe the coach will rest Mitchell, Garland, Allen, and Mobley for the playoffs, perhaps in a couple of weeks.

The Cavs have turned it around over the last two seasons and a best-of-seven series will come their way next month. But it’s alright to want more, with the expectation that the best will come in the next couple of seasons.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

LeVert Is A Very Important Piece For Cavs

Basketball is a different sport. It’s the only sport where you have to transition from offense to defense or vice versa on a moment’s notice. It’s also a sport where you can execute a play perfectly, and the shooter misses a shot or you can do everything wrong, and a player puts a ridiculous shot in the hoop.

It’s also a sport where too many people look at numbers and think about how the player with those statistics can fit in with their team.

That was the case when the Cavaliers traded for Kevin Love prior to the 2014-15 season. Many people assumed Love would put up the same 26 points and 12.5 rebounds he did for the Timberwolves, but Love was the primary offensive option on Minnesota, and he would be the third scoring option in Cleveland, after LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

Love scored ten points less per game in his first season here and grabbed three less boards. But the Cavs went to the NBA Finals, the first of four consecutive trips.

We believe that is why fans were so critical of Love in his early tenure with the wine and gold. They expected more than the player could have produced considering he was no longer the best player on the team.

For the most part, Love understood and did his job, and was rewarded when the Cavs won a title.

We think the same is true for Caris LeVert, another player we don’t think Cavalier fans appreciate enough. When LeVert came over from Indiana last season, he was scoring 18.9 points per game and was the primary perimeter scorer (the Pacers also had Domantis Sabonis at the time) for the Pacers.

He was hurt shortly after he arrived in town and averaged 13.6 points a game with the wine and gold. Our guess is people expected him to score the same 19 points he did in Indiana, but the Pacers didn’t have a player like Darius Garland.

His role changed again when the Cavs acquired Donovan Mitchell. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff started him a small forward to start the year, but they agreed he would be better coming off the bench.

He’s not a great three-point shooter, which seems to be the fixation of all fans these days, but he still is very important for the Cavs because he is one of the few players, and the only member of the second unit, that can create his own shot. And believe us, that’s very important come playoff time.

Besides LeVert, the only players on the Cleveland roster who can create their own are Mitchell and Garland.

He’s also shooting the three ball at a career best 37.6% and he’s not just a scorer, averaging four rebounds and four assists per game. And he’s the tallest guard (6’6″) on the roster.

In short, even though his numbers aren’t where they were in Indiana (again, circumstances), he provides the Cavs with a unique set of tools. Meaning he is very important to the team.

We’ve been saying since the beginning of the year the Cavaliers have six proven players, and Caris LeVert is one of those six. Be careful about wanting to move him.

The problem all along were the expectations of what LeVert could be vs. the player he is. And he is a very good player.

A Week Before Trade Deadline, Will Cavs Shore Up Holes?

The NBA trading deadline is a week from today and no team may be more in need of making a move than the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Of course, Koby Altman pushed most of his chips to the center of the table this summer getting Donovan Mitchell from Utah, and Mitchell has been sensational, averaging 27.6 points per game, and providing leadership for the young Cavs.

As we have said before, over the past couple of months, the wine and gold have been a bit stagnant, they didn’t win back-to-back games in the month of January. There is no question some veteran NBA teams kind of go through the motions prior to Christmas, but they start getting a little more serious when the calendar changes to the new year.

However, the Cavaliers are not a veteran team, they still need to establish themselves as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. We said before the season started that making the “play-in” tournament was not good enough in 2022-23.

If the organizational goal is to finish in the top six in the East, guaranteeing a seven-game series, then Altman needs to make a move. We said before the season started that the top-heavy roster had four real good players (Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley).

They have three solid bench players in Kevin Love, Caris LeVert, and Ricky Rubio. Love has struggled since injuring his thumb and Rubio is just coming off knee surgery. As for the rest of the bench, it is filled with one dimensional players.

Isaac Okoro is a very good defender with limited offensive skills. Lamar Stevens is a good defender and knows his offensive limitations and usually plays accordingly. Dean Wade is a better defender than he gets credit for and isn’t as good of an offensive player for the reputation he has gained around town.

Right now, we think Cedi Osman should be the starting three and give him an extended shot. Osman has the size to play the spot (Okoro and Stephens are undersized), is a very good passer, and although he is streaky, he can drive to the basket.

And he’s willing to shoot, something Wade is reticent to do at times.

And the only one of these players who is truly young is Okoro, who is 22. The others are 25 and older, which would seem to mean they are what they are.

So overall, this roster just isn’t deep enough to be a serious playoff contender. We would guess that Altman and Mike Gansey know this as well. The question is can the Cavs make a move prior to the trade deadline that will bring another solid, dependable player for Bickerstaff to use.

It’s a delicate balance because the Cavs are still a very young team, but they would most definitely benefit from getting in a seven game playoff series, even if they don’t survive it. Getting Mitchell would seem to be the sign the real playoffs are the goal this season.

The Cavs fast start drew notice around the league, and the better teams in the league are preparing better to play them. The front office has a week to adjust back by adding more talent to the roster.

Things That Worry Us About The Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Wednesday in a close game against Memphis without Donovan Mitchell and then lost at home to Golden State, who didn’t play their starters, on Friday. Both losses really bothered us, but for different reasons.

The first loss was because of their awful final possession, down by one, with 16 seconds left. J.B. Bickerstaff had a timeout remaining, but eschewed using it, choosing to let the players make a play. Bad decision.

Darius Garland just dribbled, waiting for an opportunity to penetrate, and wound up taking a three-pointer that was blocked. To us, it was the perfect time to run some action to get someone open, perhaps an off the ball screen.

To be fair, many teams in the NBA would’ve made the same choice, but that doesn’t make it the right choice.

And Friday night, the Cavs just didn’t show up, apparently deciding before the game that they would win, and then not putting forth the effort to do so. They are outrebounded by 10 in the game. Bickerstaff was correct to be upset afterwards.

We are a bit concerned because this is when the Cavaliers kind of fell apart a year ago, although injuries were a factor. They beat Indiana on February 11th last season to raise their record to 35-21. They went 9-17 the rest of the year.

This season, Cleveland has gone 6-8 over their last 14 contests, and just this past week played two games vs. teams without multiple starters (New Orleans and Golden State) and didn’t get off to good starts. They had a strong fourth quarter to beat the Pelicans.

And although the Grizzlies game wound up close, Memphis did have a 20-0 run in the second quarter.

The Cavaliers have a good team, they probably aren’t ready to win the NBA title, but they could be good enough to get home court advantage in the first round. They might have one of the best starting lineups in the league, starting three players who have made All-Star teams (Mitchell, Garland, and Jarrett Allen) as well as Evan Mobley, a defensive force (so is Allen) in just his second year.

Their bench is somewhat inconsistent, but they still have Caris LeVert, who is a good player, veteran Kevin Love, who although he has been in a shooting slump, is still a very good rebounder, and Cedi Osman has his moments. Lamar Stevens is a solid defender, and Ricky Rubio has just come back from knee surgery.

But they have become very guard reliant, which is odd because of the presence of Allen and Mobley. The teams’ leaders in shot attempts are Mitchell (20.2), Garland (16.7) and LeVert (11.0), all of whom are primarily guards.

Mobley is next at 10.6 followed by Allen at 8.9. The two starting big men, along with reserves Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, and Lamar Stevens take about as many shots combined as the trio of guards.

So, we very much liked last night when Mobley took 27 shots, making 19 in scoring a career-high 38 points. We’d like to see more of this.

This isn’t to minimize how great Mitchell has been this year, but it might open things up more for the guards, if the Cavs worked the ball inside more often for the bigs. After all, Mobley does shoot 55.7% from the floor, and Allen knocks down 63% of his attempts.

Hopefully, the Cavs get things straightened out sooner than later. Bickerstaff likes to talk about the grit of his squad, but they haven’t shown much of it in the past few weeks. It needs to come back before the same swoon that took place last year occurs again.

The On-Going Okoro Discussion

There is probably no more debated player on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster than Isaac Okoro. The “media influencers” who work for the Cavs are consistently telling us whenever he performs well.

It reminds us of when Danny Ferry was here, and the franchise’s PR department was fully invested in telling everyone they did not make a colossal mistake.

We are not putting Okoro in that class, but the fact remains the organization overdrafted him when he was selected fifth overall in the 2020 draft. He was a defensive player, and not a shot blocker or rim protector, and those players tend not to be picked that high.

Why? Because wings have to be able to produce offensively, and Okoro may get to be that player at some point, but his rookie contract will likely be up before that happens, and the Cavs’ front office will have to make a decision on whether or not to give him an extension, one that would be tough to justify committing big dollars.

The hype surrounding the third-year player now is his three-point shooting, which since the calendar changed to 2023, has been good, as he has made 11 of 20 from distance. However, that’s what is called a small sample size, as it includes just eight games.

Overall, for the season, Okoro is making 31.5% of his threes, which is fourth worst on the roster, ahead of only Lamar Stevens (who has taken 50, compared to 89 for Okoro), and big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

And in this recent stretch, the former Auburn Tiger has made more than one long distance shot in a game just twice, making four of six in the blowout win over the Suns and two of three in Saturday’s loss to Minnesota.

We would all like Okoro to become Cleveland’s version of P.J. Tucker, a very good defender who is lethal with the corner three. Tucker, though, knocks down 38% of his long-distance shots. And for the mathematically challenged, 38% is much better than 30.6%.

Plus, it still seems to us like Okoro is a reluctant shooter, meaning he doesn’t have much confidence in his shot. That’s why defenses still have decided to ignore him when he is standing beyond the arc.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Okoro developed a reliable mid-range game, but from three to ten feet, he’s made just 9 of 27 shots from the floor, and from 16 feet to the three-point line, he’s taken just one shot.

Overall, he’s taken 103 jump shots on the season, making just 32 (31.1%). Let us ask this question…if you were the opposing team, wouldn’t you leave him open?

This is not to say Okoro doesn’t have ability. He is a very good defender, and that is valuable in today’s NBA. But it is tough to put him out there for long stretches because he becomes a burden offensively. What we mean is because opponents don’t need to guard him, they can help on Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and the big guys inside.

The way to combat that is good ball movement because a passed ball moves faster than a dribbled ball. Unfortunately, the Cavs seem to forget that sometimes.

It’s also why the wine and gold could use another shooter at the trade deadline if they can get one. And it would not be a shock if Okoro was included in the deal.

Bickerstaff Has Set The Culture, Is That Enough?

J.B. Bickerstaff took over the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2020 and coached the last 11 games of that shortened season. He took over for John Beilein, the longtime college coach who came to the NBA and didn’t enjoy the experience.

The Cavs went 5-6 for Bickerstaff after going 14-40 under the former Michigan coach, so there was a definite improvement under J.B., who had previous head coach stints in Houston and Memphis, both of which he had taken over after the season started.

Cleveland went 22-50 in Bickerstaff’s first full season which was also shortened due to the pandemic. During that season, James Harden was traded from Houston to Brooklyn. What did that have to do with the Cavs? GM Koby Altman helped facilitate the moves with draft picks and got Jarrett Allen for his trouble.

Allen back the wine and gold a rim protector, and a quality big man to go with guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, both high first round picks after LeBron James departed via free agency.

The following season marked a quantum leap in the Cavs’ performance. They drafted Evan Mobley and Bickerstaff went with a big lineup featuring Allen, Mobley, and Lauri Markkanen, something unusual for the NBA, playing three seven footers across the frontline.

Even though Sexton was hurt eight games into the season, Cleveland went 44-38, but lost both games in the “play-in” tournament, thus not qualifying for a best-of-seven series. The Cavaliers were the surprise of the league heading into the All-Star Game in Cleveland, but injuries to Allen and Ricky Rubio, in particular, took its toll on the record.

Bickerstaff brings a defensive mindset, he loves talking about the “bringing the grit”, making sure his team set a style of play that can impose on opponents. Making them play the way the Cavs want to play, which is at a slower pace. Because two of their four best players are big men (Allen and Mobley), they want to make sure those guys are involved in the action.

The Cavaliers are off to a 23-14 record thus far in the 2022-23 campaign, ranking 4th in Eastern Conference, behind Boston, Milwaukee, and Brooklyn. That spot would get them a homecourt playoff series if the season ended today, which it does not.

The coach has shown the ability to adapt. Cleveland traded Markkanen and Sexton to get Donovan Mitchell, one of the best scorers in the NBA, so the offense has shifted from the three big men up front to one where the guards (Garland and Mitchell) take about 40% of the shots.

Bickerstaff has been great at setting a defensive culture, but he could use some improvement as well. His offensive sets seem to be the same as a lot of NBA teams, reliant solely on isolation plays and/or pick-and-rolls, which isn’t totally bad because the new thing in the NBA is to simply switch, so you can get favorable matchups doing it.

Down the stretch of close games though, that can be problematic. The intensity picks up and opposing defenses, particularly on good teams gets better, so being dependent on good players beating their men off the dribble doesn’t work as well.

Mitchell’s good start means teams are going to put a lot of focus on him, so the coaching staff has to design ways for him to shake defenders. This is also the type of action that is needed late in close games. The Cavs almost lost last night’s game in Chicago because the offense late in the game was simply to clear out for Mitchell.

It didn’t work.

Hopefully, Bickerstaff understands where he needs to get better as well. That willingness to adapt, and he has demonstrated the last two seasons he can change to fit his talent, might be the most important thing the Cavs need to finish high in the Eastern Conference standings.

Cavs Need Help For Mitchell & Garland. Maybe It’s On The Roster

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished a six-game homestand at 4-2, and now face a stretch where they play eight of their next 11 away from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. They enter this stretch 6-9 on the road.

They won the first four games at home in this stretch before losing the last two to Toronto and Brooklyn, both of whom shot over 50% from three-point range. That’s hard for a team to do in an empty gym. The Nets lead the NBA in long distance shooting, but the Raptors are second from the bottom.

Once again, the Cavs problem is not enough guys contributing offensively consistently. J.B. Bickerstaff has a core four of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, but he needs more players picking up the slack offensively, especially against better defensive teams.

Cleveland is averaging a little over 84 shots per game, and of those, the combination of Mitchell and Garland are taking 37, slightly less than half. We have seen in the two losses at home, opposing teams are focusing their defense on Mitchell, making it as hard as possible for him to get going.

The coaching staff has to do some things beside the pick-and-roll to get the wine and gold’s leading scorer at 28.5 points per game going. There doesn’t seem to be much action running Mitchell or Garland off screens to get them open looks. We’d like to see some of that.

We would also like to see Mobley and Allen get the ball in the paint more often. Toronto plays a very physical style of defense (they’ve adopted the Pat Riley Knicks and Golden State style of fouling most times down the floor, and the referees can’t call them all), but they don’t really have a true rim protecting big man.

Why not give the two seven-footers on the roster the ball. The Cavs’ starting big men average just under 20 shots per game, and that’s way too low for us. Especially with Mobley shooting almost 56% and Allen converting 62% of his shots.

Plus, if you establish an inside game, it makes it easier for Mitchell and Garland on the perimeter.

What does make it tougher for these four on the offensive end is the total lack of respect defenses have for whomever is playing the #3 spot. Bickerstaff reiterated his “they have to make shots” mantra after Monday’s loss to the Nets, but it goes against the coaching credo of putting people in positions where they can succeed.

Isaac Okoro is hitting 25% of his three-point shots. Lamar Stephens is 13 for 39. Dean Wade is making 41% from behind the line, but is hurt, and when he plays, he has periods where it doesn’t appear he wants to shoot.

As a result, defenders are ignoring them and helping on Mitchell and Garland. Maybe Kevin Love should start there, but still keeping him around 20 minutes per game. We’ve heard people say Cedi Osman should start at small forward, but he’s inconsistent shooting as well.

Maybe the answer is not putting these guys in the corner behind the three-point line where they are rendered ineffective? We understand this is an analytical advancement, but we always ask, what’s better: A made two or a missed three?

Either way, hoping Stevens, Osman, or Okoro become better three-point shooters doesn’t seem like much of a plan. The coaching staff has to come up with an alternative.

Or make a trade…

On Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley

It seems odd to be looking for flaws on a basketball team that has a 21-11 record, but for the Cleveland Cavaliers, when you get to a record that good, you get analyzed based on whether or not the team can make a deep playoff run.

That’s why we have an issue with the lack of depth on the roster. Since Kevin Love injured his thumb, his shot hasn’t been there, so there are many nights when Cleveland gets nothing from their second unit. And when that happens, they struggle to win, no matter the opponent.

Adding Donovan Mitchell has been a revelation, as he has played at an MVP level, even though he isn’t mentioned in that conversation nationally. Right now, he is scoring at a career high mark, averaging 29.3 points per game, and is shooting, both overall and three-point percentage are also at highwater marks.

His career high from the floor was 44.9% in 2019-20, but he is currently at 50.3%, and from long range, he is at a mind-boggling 42.8% compared to his previous best of 38.6% in 2020-21. Barring injury, he most certainly will make his fourth consecutive all-star appearance.

Are these numbers sustainable? It could be that because Mitchell is playing with better offensive players than he ever played with in Utah, he has more room to operate. We shall see as the season goes on.

We have seen a lot of talk about Darius Garland not playing up to the level he did last season, and while some of his numbers are down, it looks to us like most his shot is off.

Remember that Garland missed time after being hit in the eye on opening night, and he might lead the league in getting hit in the face this season. Perhaps that has thrown off his shooting, which is down from 46.2% last season to 43% in 2022-23.

Most of his numbers seem on par with his career norms. He’s hitting 38.2% from three (career mark is 37/8%), he is dishing out 7.8 assists, down a bit from 8.6 last year, but Mitchell is sharing some of this responsibility, and although he’s had some key turnovers in close games, he is averaging less per game than in 2021-22 (3.3 compared to 3.6).

And it most definitely is an adjustment for a player to go from being the best on the team to the second or maybe even the third best when all is said and done. Some players can handle it, others cannot, and based on his body language on the floor and off, Garland seems to be fine.

At some point, he might be passed on the pecking order by Evan Mobley, which will take another adjustment. We have seen J.B. Bickerstaff put the ball in Mobley’s hands at time late in close games, and the big man usually makes the correct decision.

That bodes well for the future of this team.

Having a skilled big man like Mobley, who is also a very good defender, makes it difficult for the opposition. And the fact he can be a triple threat offensively, makes it even better.

Last year, we said this repeatedly when asked who was the Cavs’ best player, Garland or Collin Sexton? It doesn’t matter because in a year or two, it’s going to be Evan Mobley.

And when that happens, if the guards can see it, the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to be a very special basketball team. That will be all kinds of fun.

Cavs’ Start Resulted In High Expectations.

The Cleveland Cavaliers got everyone’s expectations raised when after losing their opener against Toronto, they reeled off eight straight wins, including the first two games on a west coast trip.

Perhaps they’d have been better off going say 6-3 or 5-4 instead of 8-1.

We jest, of course, teams should get wins whenever they can, but we feel a lot of fans and media people alike put J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad into the championship contender category when really, they are a young team that still needs more parts to reach title contention.

Since that start, the Cavs have gone 9-9, including 1-7 on the road, the lone win an ugly game against the lowly Detroit Pistons. They have stayed in the upper tier of the Eastern Conference by dominating at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, where they have an 12-2 mark.

Injuries and the resulting lack of depth have shown us that while this is still a team that should finish in the top six of the East and thus avoid the play-in tournament, the Cavaliers still aren’t a finished product.

Although Darius Garland missed much of the 8-1 skein after being hit in the eye, since that start, a number of other injuries have cropped up. Jarrett Allen missed some games, so did Caris LeVert, and now, Donovan Mitchell has missed two straight.

The season is a little over a third over, and only Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, and Cedi Osman have played in every game to date.

We felt the bench was a question mark coming into the year, but with Kevin Love’s fractured thumb and back issues, the second unit lost its primary scoring option. LeVert moved to the bench to help provide some points, but Mitchell’s injury put him back in the starting role.

There were some who thought Okoro and Dean Wade would be huge factors for the Cavs, and although Okoro is still a solid defender, offensively he is ignored by opponents, shooting just 40.2% from the floor in total, and making 10 of 43 three point shots.

Wade played in just 51 games a year ago and has already missed nine this season. And he’s not consistent when he does play either.

Cleveland still could use a legitimate shooter off the bench, which again points to what a huge disappointment Dylan Windler has been. The 26th overall pick three years ago with a pedigree as a shooter, the Belmont product has appeared in just 81 games total, and hit only 41.2 % of his shots, and has made just 32% of his three-pointers.

To be fair, his problem is he simply cannot stay healthy. He hasn’t played at all this season, either.

The point is the Cavs simply need more to be a legitimate contender. They have an excellent starting five, and they currently have an MVP candidate in Mitchell. But they lack depth.

Besides a shooter, they could also use another reserve big man, one who is a better quicker than Robin Lopez.

Ricky Rubio will be back in several weeks, and if he is close to the form he played at last season, the guard position will be in good hands.

The Cavaliers has probably somewhere between the team that started 8-1 and the team that has treaded around the .500 mark since. Watch the box scores, when they get production from two reserves, they usually win. When only one contributes, like Friday night’s loss, they lose.

They are still a work in progress. The red-hot start got people too excited.