Next Two Weeks Key For The Wine And Gold

After playing 47 games, you would think a coach would know what his team is all about. We are guessing Kenny Atkinson doesn’t know what to think about this year’s Cleveland Cavaliers.

No doubt injuries have played a large role in the inconsistency. The Cavs have just five players who have played in 40 games (meaning have missed less than seven) thus far, and only two, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, would be considered regular starters.

We talk about the lack of real size on the team, and one of the two reliable big men, Jarrett Allen, who played in all 82 games last season, has missed a dozen games already.

The Cavs have had a schedule advantage as well, playing 26 games at home so far, meaning they will have just 15 contests at the Rocket Arena for the balance of the regular season.

That’s why the next two weeks seem very important.

First, Darius Garland could be back by the end of next week. Garland has already missed 22 games this season after recovering from off-season surgery and injuring the big toe (guess we call it the “great toe” these days) on his other foot, the one that didn’t need a procedure in the off-season.

The first west coast trip happens this week too. After home games against Orlando and the Lakers on Monday and Wednesday, the home and road game disparity will even up with a five-game trip which will include games against Phoenix, Portland, the Clippers, Sacramento, and Denver.

The second trip west occurs at the end of the season, when the Cavaliers finish with five of their last eight on the road.

The trade deadline also looms, coming on February 5th while the team in on their trek west. Because of their position in the second apron on the salary cap, it will be difficult for Koby Altman to make a move, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a ton of speculation.

We will still insist the Cavs need more size, both height and bulk. De’Andre Hunter has been a disappointment this season, particularly his shooting, but we also wonder if a part of that is him having to play the “4” a lot, a position he isn’t very effective at.

The addition of Nae’Qwan Tomlin has helped a bit. So has Larry Nance Jr. getting healthy, but both of those players are lean and although they can block some shots, a physical rebounding opponent is still going to give the Cavs a problem.

Remember the Utah game where the Jazz bullied Cleveland on the boards.

It would be nice to also have less players who are one-dimensional. That’s why Jaylon Tyson has been a revelation. He’s a solid defender and can also play on the offensive end.

Atkinson has been playing Dean Wade down the stretch recently, and other teams don’t feel the need to defend him because he refuses to shoot, especially in the 4th quarter.

Tendencies like that will only be highlighted more when the playoffs come.

For all of the fussing and questioning of this team, they are still just two games out of the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. So, if they can start playing consistently, with better effort on the defensive end especially, the Cavaliers will be fine.

But can they do it?

It feels like the next two weeks can be a litmus test for Atkinson and his squad. Will they survive the long trip?

A Year Makes A Huge Difference For Cavs

It is amazing what a difference a year makes for the Cleveland Cavaliers. A year ago at the halfway mark of the season, the wine and gold were sitting at 36-6 and visions of a playoff run into the NBA Finals dancing in their heads.

Today, they are sitting at 23-19 and if the season ended today, they would be in the Play In Tournament. At the beginning of the year, we said it was pretty much a certainty that the Cavs would end up in the playoffs. We still would be shocked if they didn’t make it, but it is no longer the certainty it was.

Yes, injuries are a factor. But Kenny Atkinson’s squad was healthy on Monday night against Utah, and they Cavs laid a gigantic egg at home, losing to the 14-25 Jazz by 11 points, falling behind 23-4 in the first quarter.

There clearly is something missing.

The obvious problem is the defense. Last year, Cleveland ranked 8th in the NBA in defensive rating and this year they have dropped to 14th. Since they held Golden State to 99 points in a loss on December 6th, they have allowed more than 120 points eight times in the last 17 contests.

And in three of those other games, they’ve given up 119, 118, and 117.

In their most impressive win in that span, a victory over San Antonio on the road, they allowed the Spurs just 101 points. Let’s just say it’s a lot easier to win when you don’t need to put up 125 points to do it.

And last night, another impressive win, and again, they held the Sixers to 107.

They have forgotten to defend the three-point shot. Last season, they ranked 13th, allowing opponents to hit 35.9% of the long-range shot. Currently, they rank last, giving them up at a 38.6% rate.

Overall, they aren’t too bad, ranking 13th in defensive field goal percentage as a whole, but even that is a drop from last year’s #3 ranking. Isaac Okoro doesn’t make that much of a difference, folks.

Speaking of Okoro, the player he was dealt for, Lonzo Ball, seems to be out of Atkinson’s rotation. We liked the deal at the time because he added size and playmaking to the backcourt, but his shooting has fallen off a cliff.

He was a career 40% shooter overall and 36% from three, but with the Cavs is making just 31.2% from the floor and an abysmal 27.6% from beyond the arc.

And reports are that last year’s addition at the trade deadline, De’Andre Hunter, wants out. Hunter is still solid in the midrange and also provides the only real size Cleveland has on the wings, so hopefully that situation can be worked out.

However, a career 36.6% shooter from three, and last season, hit 42.6% for the Cavs, Hunter can’t find his long-range stroke, hitting just 31% this season.

And as a second apron team, team president Koby Altman’s options are limited. He will have to be very creative to make a significant move.

We will say it again; this team needs to add size. Long athletic teams give the Cavs trouble.

What Altman needs to do is add size, but if he works a trade involving Hunter, he is trading his tallest wing. So, that doesn’t do anything.

Sure, the Cavs could put it together and reel off six or seven wins in a row. But more and more it feels like this team is broken and the title window which appeared to be wide open last season, is only open very slightly.

Lack Of Size For Cavs Is Still An Issue

Over the past couple of years, we have written about the lack of size on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ roster. Outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, they have a plethora of smaller players for their positions.

We know about the backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, but Max Strus and Isaac Okoro were getting a lot of time at small forward, and both are 6’5″, undersized for that spot.

In the off-season, Koby Altman addressed this a bit, trading for 6’6″ guard Lonzo Ball, signing Larry Nance Jr. as a free agent and moving De’Andre Hunter (6’8″) into the starting lineup at small forward.

They also brought in Thomas Bryant to back up at center and he’s 6’9″, but he’s really taking the roster spot used on Tristan Thompson a year ago.

So they still really haven’t addressed adding size up front. The forerunner for the new style of play in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors teams from 2015-2018 were based around the outside shooting of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and the versatility of Draymond Green.

They still had serviceable big men on the roster.

In 2015, their first title, they had Andrew Bogut, Marreese Speights, Festus Ezeli, and David Lee, all of whom are 6’9″ and taller, and all were in the top 12 in terms of minutes. On their second title squad, they had added Kevin Durant (conservatively 6’11”), replaced Bogut with Zaza Pachulia (6’11”) and had Javale McGee (7’0″) with David West (6’9″).

Look at last year’s champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have the combination of Chet Holmgren (7’1″) and Isaiah Hartenstein (7’0″ and don’t get us started) and have two other 6’9″ players who got minutes in Jaylin Williams and Ousmane Dieng.

Since Allen and Mobley have missed a lot of time with injuries this season, the lack of size has reared its ugly head for Kenny Atkinson once again. In the loss to Charlotte on Sunday, the coach was using Dean Wade at center with the next two tallest players being Ball and Jaylin Tyson, both a 6’6″.

Wade is listed at 6’9″ but is used primarily for his ability to defend on the perimeter, not as a deterrent to opposing players driving to the basket.

In short (no pun intended) that’s a very small group on the floor, especially with the Hornets going with no one under 6’5″ for most of the quarter.

So, once again, the roster construction should be questioned. A few years ago, the emphasis seemed to be on smaller, quicker players who can shoot. But in the past couple of seasons, those players are getting bigger and just as quick.

It’s a constant evolution.

Basketball is a sport by its nature where size is important and having bigger players who can play a spot where they have a size advantage with the same skill set is always desirable.

Can the Cavaliers make any moves to get bigger as this season progresses? The salary cap and apron will make it very difficult, but there’s usually some way to get it done.

Even when everyone is healthy, this Cavs’ roster needs to get bigger.

Looking At Cavs, Looking For Toughness

Tomorrow night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have hit the 20 game mark of the NBA schedule, about a quarter of the way through. Hard to believe right?

The team has had to deal with a lot of injuries. No Cavalier player has appeared in all 19 games to date. Evan Mobley has played in 18, Donovan Mitchell in 17, and next up is De’Andre Hunter with 15.

Max Strus has been out all season, while Darius Garland has seen action five times.

Pretty amazing considering they’ve only played 19 contests.

This has led to a lot of experimenting from Kenny Atkinson, so we really don’t have a true reading on what this team can be in 2025-26.

On the plus side, some players who probably wouldn’t have seen the court this season have emerged as possible rotation players for this team as the season progresses.

Most notably, we are talking about Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who Atkinson said the other night is a guy he has a hard time taking him off the floor. The 25-year-old is averaging 7.1 points and 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 on the offensive end and at 6’8″, has played at guard and both forward spots.

When everyone gets healthy, we would like to see Tomlin replace Dean Wade in the rotation to see if the rookie can continue to produce like this once word gets around the league. If he doesn’t, we think you can always go back to Wade and he will be, well Dean Wade.

Craig Porter Jr. has done well too, and although we would like to see a better handle from Porter, the one thing he can do is create his own short, which is in short supply with the Cavs.

Porter is scoring at 5.8 per game, getting 2.9 boards and 2.5 assists per contest with 44.8% shooting from the three-point line. He should also keep getting time when the roster is whole.

And second year player Jaylon Tyson has earned his spot, mostly by being a defensive force, and unlike Isaac Okoro, has to be respected by the opposition when it comes to his shot. He’s scoring 11.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and is in the top ten in the league in shooting from three.

Conversely, Atkinson and the staff have to figure out why Mobley seems to be in a funk. Right now, he seems very passive when on the court. It could be because of using him differently offensively. He seems to be on the perimeter more often this year, rather than be at the elbow where he can attack the basket easier and also be a distributor.

However, we have concerns about Mobley’s aggressive nature. One comparison for him when he came into the league was Kevin Garnett, but their personalities seem so different, and frankly the Cavs could use Mobley to have more of Garnett’s mindset.

But can someone develop having that? Mobley looks to be a pretty quiet guy, can he adopt an alpha mindset? It’s one thing to have size, something we have advocated for, and certainly the team is bigger.

It still seems to lack toughness, particularly from the bigger players. We have no qualms about Mitchell’s will to win, but it would be great if one of the bigs adopted a “take no crap” philosophy.

That’s a real concern, particularly as the playoffs get nearer. That’s still the biggest question from our perspective.

Cavs Winning While Testing Things Out.

Do you want to know how you can tell the Cleveland Cavaliers are a real good basketball team? It’s because they haven’t played very well to date and yet they have a 10-6 record after the first five weeks of the NBA season.

There have been a lot of injuries for sure. Max Strus hasn’t played yet and like won’t until the middle of December at the earliest. Darius Garland has played in only three games. Sam Merrill has missed time. De’Andre Hunter has missed three contests. Jaylon Tyson has been out the last four games in concussion protocol.

So, there hasn’t been very much continuity for Kenny Atkinson, yet this team is so good, they still have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Frankly, we are fine with this. We have been saying since training camp started, we would be happy if the wine and gold got off to a slower start and approached the playoffs playing their best basketball.

Last year, Cleveland relied on the three point shot quite a bit and it worked. They took 45.7% of their field goals from behind the arc and converted on 38.3% of those long range tries.

This season, they are taking even more threes (49.1%) but making less at 34.9%. In watching the games, we don’t see enough of what analyst Brad Daugherty talks about, which is playing inside out, meaning getting the ball in the paint or in a post-up situation and then kicking out to a wide-open shooter.

One of the things about last season’s squad was the guys who took the most 3s also shot at a very good percentage. The leaders in three-points attempts last year were: Donovan Mitchell (36.8%), Darius Garland (40.1%), Sam Merrill (37.2%), Strus (38.6%) and Ty Jerome (43.9%).

The league average was 36% and all five of the players taking the most long distance shots for Cleveland a year ago were above league average.

This year, the league wide percentage is about the same (35.8%).

And two of the top five shot takers from beyond the arc, Hunter (31%) and Lonzo Ball (31.3%) are well below the league average. Both are historically better than that. Hunter has made 36.9% for his career, while Ball has knocked them down at a 36.1% clip.

So perhaps those two should take the ball to the hoop a little more until they regain their touch from long range.

Much has been made about the lack of minutes for Jarrett Allen in the fourth quarter of games, but at this point in the season, we chalk that up to experimentation by the coaching staff. Allen is still a solid defender and good rebounder, and that’s greatly needed if you have a lead down the stretch.

If you haven’t noticed, the NBA is getting longer and having more size, particularly on the wings will be even more important. We have talked about the Cavs not having enough size for a few years now. That’s why we are happy to see Nae’Qwan Tomlin have some success.

He’s 6’10” and very active on the glass, particularly on the offensive end. And having Tyson and Ball, both at 6’6″ adds some size to the backcourt when needed. Think about it, without the injuries, does Tomlin get any playing time?

But having Garland’s shooting is also important for offensive spacing. Perhaps in the playoffs it will be like baseball. Get the lead and then bring in the defenders.

We haven’t moved off of our belief that this is the time for the Cavs to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s a good thing they are able to do that and still win more often than not.

This Is A Different Season For Cavs. Don’t Jump To Conclusions Yet

The Cleveland Cavaliers open the home part of their schedule tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks, their only game at Rocket Arena out of their first five contests.

Already, there are complaints about the first two games for the wine and gold, and we base that on the football mentality that permeates throughout the area.

Folks, there are 80 more games to play.

Last year, the Cavs got off to a 15-0 start, one of the best starts in NBA history. Note the end of that last sentence. Teams don’t do that on a regular basis, and the Cavaliers weren’t going to do it again this season.

And frankly, we have said previously that we wanted Kenny Atkinson to do some experimenting with rotations in October and November, particularly getting good looks at some young players.

He has had to make some changes because Darius Garland, Max Strus will both miss significant time to open the year, and then De’Andre Hunter suffered a bruised knee in the last exhibition game. That’s three prominent players.

As a result, Sam Merrill has moved into the starting lineup along with second year player Jaylon Tyson, and guys like Craig Porter Jr. and perhaps Dean Wade are getting more playing time than normal.

Heck, even second-round pick Tyrese Proctor has played in both games, something we didn’t foresee happening before training camp starting.

Perhaps the biggest complaint has been about the usage of Donovan Mitchell, who have taken 40 shots in the first two games. Evan Mobley has taken the next most at 30.

We don’t Atkinson wants his team to rely on Mitchell so much and would like the shot numbers between his two best players to be much closer. By the way, Merrill has taken the third most shots, followed by Jarrett Allen and Larry Nance Jr.

Bet no one had Merrill and Nance in that group.

Mitchell’s usage would have been less had the Cavs not had questionable shot selection in the fourth quarter vs. Brooklyn. Cleveland had a 108-86 lead heading into the fourth quarter Friday night.

Then, they feel into the NBA trap. They made 9 of 11 threes in a 45 point third stanza. Early in the fourth, the long-range shot stopped falling, but the Cavs kept hoisting them, and perhaps had they taken the ball to the hoop when that happened, Mitchell and Mobley could’ve taken the last quarter off.

Merrill made 6 of 10 threes for the game but missed three of them in the fourth. Wade missed three more, as the wine and gold went 1 of 11 in the quarter as a team.

Again, it’s a different season, a different team, and it is way too soon to have any concern.

For this team to get where they want to go, the principal players have to be Mitchell and Mobley, and almost in a #1A and #1B role. Our only question is can Mobley demand the ball at times during the game. For example, last night, would he tell his teammates they need baskets and get me the ball in the paint.

But again, it’s just two games. We would guess Hunter will be back in the lineup tonight, and if so, it probably means less minutes for Wade, and either Porter or Proctor because Tyson can be used at guard.

Much like last season, when they were 15-0, this season is all about how the Cavs are playing in April and May.

Take a deep breath and keep that in mind.

Cavs Still Need To Get Longer

The NBA season does not start next week, so there is still time for the Cleveland Cavaliers to add to their roster. However, in the first frenzied week of NBA moves, Koby Altman and Mike Gansey really didn’t get involved.

We’ve already talked about the trade for Lonzo Ball, and getting a taller (6’6″) ball handler who can shoot a bit and defend was a solid move for Cleveland. Being able to pair Ball with either Donovan Mitchell or Darius Garland in the backcourt eases a bit having those two smaller guards.

Of course, the big caveat is Ball’s health. How many games will he be able to play in the regular season and will he be available in the playoffs?

We also like the addition of Larry Nance Jr., making his second visit to the franchise where his father’s jersey hangs in the rafters. Nance adds some size at 6’8″ and he’s a player we have always liked because he’s smart and versatile.

He’s also made himself a threat from the perimeter. He shot 34.6% from three with the Cavs from 2018-2021, but the last two seasons, he’s converted on over 40%.

Nance gives Kenny Atkinson another player with size who can play upfront with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, something the franchise needed last season.

But more work needs to be done.

Cleveland is still small on the wings. They have De’Andre Hunter who is 6’8″ and we would like to think he moves into the starting lineup next season. He scored 14.3 points and grabbed 4.2 rebounds after coming over to the Cavaliers last season and shot 42.6% from three.

He’s still the only wing Atkinson has that is over 6’6″, and we would still like to see another big man who can play in the post.

Maybe the plan is to see what they have in Nae’Qwan Tomlin early in the season, and if it is, then Atkinson should use him early in the season to see if he can be an option once the regular season ramps up after Christmas.

But Houston let 6’11” Jock Landale go, and the Cavs should have been interested. He signed with Memphis. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.4 boards in 12 minutes per game last season. We believe he could’ve helped.

Perhaps, the Cavaliers will give Jaylon Tyson and maybe Craig Porter Jr. opportunities in the first 20-25 games next season to see what they can do. But they still need some longer wings. This is a league now where players in the 6’7″-6’8″ range are plentiful. Cleveland just doesn’t have nearly enough of them.

Look at the recent NBA draft. Of the top ten players taken, only two (V.J. Edgecombe and Jeremiah Fears) were 6’5″ or smaller. The shortest player taken in the top 20 was 6’3″ Walter Clayton. The league is looking for long, athletic wings.

Cleveland doesn’t have enough of them.

After all, the Cavs should be pretty confident they will make the playoffs next season. They won 64 games last season, so even if they win say, 10 less contests, they will still win over 50, and that surely gets you a top four seed.

There is still time for the front office to find some more size on the wing. Let’s hope the roster for 2025-26 is still taking shape.

East Is Wide Open. Cavs Have To Take Advantage

Without playing a game or making a move, the Cleveland Cavaliers position in the Eastern Conference has improved significantly over the last month.

Three of the playoff teams, not the play-in teams, the top six have lost key players to injuries that will likely keep them out of the 2025-26 regular season. Milwaukee lost Damian Lillard, Boston will probably not have Jayson Tatum, and of course, Tyrese Haliburton went down in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, all with torn Achilles.

Suddenly, the new lead dogs in the East are likely the Cavaliers, Knicks, with the Pistons and Magic and perhaps the Hawks in pursuit. Although, the Celtics seem to be going through a massive retooling, and we will see where they are at the beginning of the season.

So, Koby Altman, what are the Cavs going to do to improve their roster so they can succeed in the playoffs. We know they are successful in the regular season; they won 64 games last season. They have to get better in the post-season.

We have in the past talked about the lack of fit in the smaller backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, but we can see there are other ways to add more size to the roster without dealing Garland for fifty cents on the dollar.

Simply put, the wine and gold need more size. On the wing, the only player Cleveland has that has height is De’Andre Hunter at 6’8″. The rest are in the 6’4″-6’6″ range: Max Strus (6’5″), Isaac Okoro (6’5″), Sam Merrill (6’4″), Ty Jerome (6’5″), and last year’s first round pick, Jaylon Tyson is 6’6″.

And don’t try to sell us on the wingspan either. You need height and size. While a guy like Tyson might have the arm length of the player who is 6’8″, if he’s guarding a player who is 6’7″ his wingspan is likely that at least, so you are still at a deficit.

You also need toughness. The Cavs haven’t lost in the playoffs the last three seasons because of a lack of talent, with the exception being the loss to Boston in 2024. They’ve lost because they aren’t mentally and physically strong. That’s a sentiment that runs throughout the league.

So, maybe it’s just a matter of exchanging two or three of the players listed above with bigger wings, in the 6’7″ or 6’8″ range. We understand some of those guys were big contributors to the regular season success, but no one is handing the Cavs a trophy for winning 64 regular season contests.

They also could use someone who has experienced winning in the post-season, and someone who is actually going to get on the floor. We firmly believe winning is a learned skill, and right now all of the guys who have played haven’t been past the second round.

The first round of the draft was last night and currently Cleveland has two picks tonight. Don’t believe anyone who tells you either player taken will have an impact on next season’s squad.

But the free season season starts next Monday, and the Cavs need to alter the roster. We understand that’s a gamble, but after losing in the first round three years ago and the second round each of the last two years, we don’t think running it back is an option.

For Cavs, Fit May Mean More Than Numbers

It has now been a couple of weeks since the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated in the second round of the NBA playoffs by the Indiana Pacers, who will start participating in the NBA Finals tonight.

We know president of basketball operations Koby Altman said he is willing to run it back next year with a roster that did finish with the best record in the Eastern Conference, but we also know that is talk at a post-season press conference.

What we mean is Altman isn’t going to tell anyone what he intends to do in the media.

We have listened to several people in the media who we feel know the game, and talked to people we have coached hoops with, and it is interesting to note they all agree with our thoughts on what to do with the Cavs.

All of these people say it is time to revamp the Cleveland backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, and obviously Mitchell is not going anyway.

This is not to denigrate Garland, who is a two-time All-Star, and through six NBA seasons has averaged 18.9 points and 6.7 assists per contest on 45% shooting, 39% from three. No doubt he can play and score.

But many of the people we have heard and/or spoke to all talk about “fit”. And to us, we just don’t see this combination fits.

The famous example of this is the 1971-’72 Los Angeles Lakers, who replaced an aging, injured Elgin Baylor with a 6’5″ small forward in Jim McMillian and almost immediately embarked on a still record 33 game win streak and eventually an NBA title.

Obviously, McMillian wasn’t as good as Baylor, an all-time great, but he fit with the rest of that group.

So, while we usually error on the side of talent, in basketball, how the pieces fit matter greatly. We also would argue on the side of size, and we don’t mean getting a smaller player with a freakish wingspan that Jay Bilas would love, we mean actual height.

We have argued for a few years now the Cavaliers have to get bigger at guard and at the three. De’Andre Hunter can start at small forward and would take care of the latter. He’s listed at 6’8″.

The two teams in the Finals have size. Oklahoma City’s starters are 6’4″, 6’6″, 6’6″, 7’0″, and 7’1″. The smallest of their three primary reserves is 6’4″.

Indiana’s starters are 6’5″, 6’5″, 6’5″, 6’8″, and 6’11”. Their three main reserves are 6’9″, 6’1″, and 6’6″.

Notice only one player under 6’4″, and the Cavs start two guards who are under 6’3″. And it is tough to play against players who are bigger than you.

That’s part of the fit problem for Cleveland. And the front office of the Cavaliers, nor its fans should be looking strictly at numbers when looking at a change. Again, Garland is a very good player and put some very good numbers, but we just think putting a bigger player opposite Mitchell would help in the long run.

We would say Altman should add more size or at least open up playing time for some bigger players. They need a serviceable backup for Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen for sure, but we’d like to see someone like 6’8″ Luke Travers and 6’10” Nae’Qwan Tomlin get a good opportunity as well.

Jarrett Allen? He’s Not The Problem With the Cavs

The postmortem on the Cleveland Cavaliers season and roster continues and one of the scapegoats seems to be Jarrett Allen. Yes, we know Allen wasn’t much of a factor in the last two losses to the Pacers. Frankly, no one was a factor in the blowout that was Game 4, and we agree he didn’t play well in the last contest.

However, he, along with Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus were the best players wearing wine and gold in the first three games of the series.

He had 12 points and 5 rebounds in the first game, 22 points and 12 boards in Game 2, and 19 points and 12 caroms in the Cavs’ only win of the series.

The criticism comes from those basketball “experts” who believe the only way you can win playing two big men is if one of them hoists a bunch of three pointers.

But Kenny Atkinson made it work in the regular season (yeah, we know) by using a lot of motion so the lane was clear for drives by the guards. That seemed to ebb as the season went on, and the Pacers took them out of that style completely with their constant ball pressure by their backcourt.

The real problem is that Koby Altman put together a roster with only two big men who can actually play and contribute. Allen was probably overexposed against the Pacers because their “five out” style takes Allen away from what he does best, being a rim protector.

And too often, Allen was tasked with guarding Tyrese Haliburton on the perimeter because of switching. He did not allow the Pacers’ star to drive, but did give up threes because, let’s face it, it’s a terrible match up for the 6’11” Allen.

But what was Atkinson to do?

He was pretty much using De’Andre Hunter as the back up 4/5, a spot that at 6’8″ he really isn’t big enough for. Dean Wade could’ve been an option, but offensively he seems afraid to shoot and when he does, it wasn’t going in. Besides, much like Hunter, Wade is really a small forward.

We had been saying all year the roster needed another 4/5 that could contribute and preferably get one who could shoot from outside. The Cavs had several chances to add a serviceable big man but used their open roster spots on Javonte Green and Chuma Okeke, both of whom are in the 6’5″ range.

Maybe Nae’Qwan Tomlin can become a contributor next season. He’s 6’10” and averaged 20.8 points and shot 34% from three in the G-League this past year.

Remember that comment about the lack of size on the roster. Because if you move Allen, you need to get another big in return. That’s not to say Allen is untouchable, anyone can be moved if it upgrades the roster. But as it currently stands, the Cavs have no depth up front.

So, while you criticize Allen for what he’s not, remember he’s a rim protector and a solid rebounder, things you need over the 82-game schedule. We like to look at what a player does well and try to enhance those things.

Jarrett Allen isn’t the Cavs’ biggest issue. Was he overexposed in the Pacers’ series? Perhaps. But isn’t the real problem that Atkinson had no alternative?

That’s something the front office needs to think about this summer as they put together the ’25-’26 edition of the Cavaliers.