Time For A Big Swing For Altman

The NBA Draft is coming up this week and shortly after the free agency period starts, meaning this is the time to rebuild or retool your basketball team if you are an NBA executive. So, the question should be what is Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman going to do, if anything?

Most people don’t think Altman will do more than a tweak or two, which we feel would be a big problem. That’s because we think differently than him, or so it would seem.

Our guess is Altman thinks his squad is on the right path. They’ve advanced one round further than the past two seasons, and at least his coach thinks (and we’ll bet he was expressing the view of the front office) the wine and gold should have won the Eastern Conference Finals. At least that’s what the analytics showed.

For us, that’s a mistake. That’s believing what the numbers says instead of what your eyes are telling you. The reality is the Cavs had a chance to win the first game, and frankly if they had, it would have been a little different.

Kenny Atkinson’s crew blew a huge fourth quarter lead, and pretty much the series was decided then.

We believe Altman should do a deep dive on his roster and figure out who can play in the playoffs and who is a regular season performer, because in watching this team over these last four post-season runs, the games are vastly different.

Cleveland needs more size, and not just height, we are talking about bulk as well. That’s why we like Jaylon Tyson, who the coaching staff (or the front office) ran away from after trading for James Harden. Look at the Cavs’ big men, both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen play with force. That doesn’t make them bad players,, they just don’t bring a lot of physicality to the game.

And again, we will bring up the wings Atkinson has at his disposal. They aren’t tall, they aren’t very quick, and offensively, they are streaky at best. And how many can create their own shot?

There is simply too much duplicate players on the roster, and that has to change. Another fear is Altman has grown too attached to the players he has brought in, a common mistake for a guy responsible for acquiring talent.

For example, the number crunchers love Dean Wade and are quick to provide all kinds of numbers to show how good of a player he is. We see a very good perimeter defender that pretty much refuses to participate on the offensive side of the floor, which is not what basketball is.

So, why not try to do better.

Probably the only way to do a reset on the roster is to move either Donovan Mitchell or Evan Mobley, and most likely the latter because of the contract situation. Does Altman have the stomach to do that? No doubt it’s a high-risk move.

Standing pat likely gets the Cavaliers back to the second round of the Eastern Conference, where they’ve been the last three seasons. But if you want to win the NBA title, you can’t be timid. And after four years where you have been blown out in the round the team is eliminated in, It’s no time for the status quo.

We will see in the next two weeks, where the organization’s mind set is.

Should Cavs Look At A Major Move?

If the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office believes all of the analytics that Kenny Atkinson spoke about following Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals (we still can’t believe he said that out loud), then it is probably true the wine and gold won’t do more than a tweak to the roster going into next season.

And as we have addressed before, that’s a big mistake.

We are sure the front office believes it is making progress because they went a step further in the playoffs, going from a first round loss to a pair of second round defeats, and finally getting to the conference finals.

That’s one way to look at it.

The other is to recognize none of the series in which the Cavs lost over the last four seasons have been particularly close. The first three went five games before the sweep at the hands of the Knicks this year.

By the way, the last four seasons are the Donovan Mitchell era, which brings us to our point.

First, Mitchell is a phenomenal player. Since he has been a Cavalier, he’s made first team all-NBA (only the third Cleveland player in history to do so–Mark Price and LeBron James) and was second team once. He’s averaged at least 24 points per game every season in Cleveland.

And by all accounts has been a great spokesman for both the Cavaliers and the northeast Ohio area, going to high school games around town.

He’s also going to be 30 years old, 6’2″, and his contract runs out in two more years. The Cavs are expected to offer him a four-year deal worth $272 million this summer. That’s an average of $68 million per year, and they would be paying him that amount at 34 years old.

We would think very seriously about doing that. Not because Mitchell doesn’t deserve it, he’s arguably the second-best player ever to wear a Cleveland uniform. However, you have to wonder what kind of player he’s going to be in the last two seasons of that deal.

In our opinion, bigger players age better than smaller ones. Yes, we know about Stephen Curry and James Harden is still put up a bunch of points. Should the Cavs explore trades for Mitchell this off-season?

We know where the Cavs are in the NBA hierarchy, they were one of the last four teams standing this year, so moving on from Mitchell would be a step back in all likelihood. But it just might be the right way to go. Take a step back and not bottom out for another run at a title in a couple of years.

Another direction is what many talk about, going all in by dealing for someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo, dealing say Evan Mobley (as people have discussed), thus making Mitchell the second-best player on the team. That probably gives you a two-year window for a championship, and after you get it, you likely would have to rebuild.

Even doing that, the front office has other work to do. They need more versatile, longer players. They also need more depth at power forward and center.

Jaylon Tyson needs a bigger role. He seemed to get lost after the trade that brought James Harden to Cleveland. We also believe another young player who got lost in the last two months, Nae’Qwan Tomlin can be a contributor next season.

He’s 6’8″ and should fit in as a wing, especially if he can improve his shooting. And it doesn’t have to be three-point shooting, which frankly, we’d be fine if he never took another one of those. He’ll be 26 next season, and we believe he can be a wild card for Kenny Atkinson.

But the big decision is Mitchell. Most people believe it’s a no brainer. We think the front office should take a good long look.

Running It Back? Not A Good Idea For Cavs.

When Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman had his most season press conference, he didn’t give any indication about off-season moves, and that’s not a surprise. Since then, it has been reported the Cavs are going to run it back with pretty much the current roster in 2026-27, and if that is Altman’s intention, it’s a big mistake.

We have gone on ad nauseum about the team’s lack of size, both on the wings and up front. While people talk about the starting big men, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, there has been little behind them over the past few seasons.

And we aren’t just talking height either. Both Allen and Mobley are slender big men, the Cavs have no one with bulk. Over the past few years, the backup bigs have guys like Thomas Bryant. Tristan Thompson, Damian Jones, and Robin Lopez, players who really can’t be counted on in a playoff situation.

Remember, the Cavs did have Isaiah Hartenstein in the 2021 season and after he scored 8.3 points and grabbed six rebounds in 16 games, they let him walk via free agency. They didn’t recognize that he can play.

We have also talked about the lack of size on the wing. Most of the NBA have players who are in the 6’7″ or 6’8″ range who can create their own shot, but the wine and gold’s tallest wing that can do that is 6’6″ Jaylon Tyson. The rest seem to be one-dimensional three-point shooters (Max Strus, Sam Merrill) or defensive minded (Dean Wade).

When Caris LeVert was here, fans didn’t like him, most because he was not a good three-point shooter, which unfortunately is becoming the way players are evaluated these days. However, we liked that LeVert could create his own shot. And when you are late in the shot clock, that is a valuable thing.

On the current roster, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Dennis Schroder are the only players who can accomplish this and two of those players are under 6’3″. It can be done through quickness or brute strength. Cleveland has no one in the latter category.

Players who stand in one spot or only hang out on the perimeter are easier to guard because the defender/opponent kind of knows where they will be.

Somebody floated Zion Williamson as a possible Cavs’ target. Forgetting about his availability concerns (70 games are the most he’s played in a season), he would be a good get. If he gets the ball 15-20 feet away from the basket, you know he’s probably attacking the basket. He’s not shooting a three.

People talk about the “3 and D” players around the league, but to us, Altman has several three OR D players. Strus and Merrill are good from long distance but lack the size and quickness to defend bigger wings, like Mikal Bridges. The one replay where a lob pass from Bridges just gets over Merrill’s outstretched arms is a vision we cannot unsee.

And of course, Dean Wade has the size and ability to play on the defensive end, but he refuses (or is told to refuse?) to play on the offensive end of the floor.

Altman may want to run it back; that’s the ego of people in his position. The reality is the NBA is always changing and what succeeded three years ago is passe today.

In the game of basketball, more often than not, going big is a good way to go. Let’s see if the Cavaliers learned that lesson in the last four series they were eliminated in.

Some Thoughts On The Cavs Following The Sweep

So, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season came to a thud in the Eastern Conference finals, getting swept by the New York Knicks, including home losses by 13 and 37 points.

There were a lot of crazy things said toward the end of the series angering both fans and the media, both local and national, so there was a lot of speculation that Kenny Atkinson would lose his coaching gig as a result.

To be honest, we are glad Dan Gilbert and the front office took a deep breath and looked at the big picture and decided to keep Atkinson in place, and he kept president of basketball operations Koby Altman as well.

The Cavs did win 116 regular season games over the past two seasons under Atkinson’s guidance, and they did advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2018. We cannot erase that accomplishment.

However, the things we have talked about concerning the roster over the past several seasons came to bear in these playoffs, even though they won two series.

We are hoping both Altman and Atkinson are staying because there is an understanding that the current roster is not geared to winning in the playoffs and in Altman’s case, he knows the league continues to evolve and he needs to get more size both in the post and on the wings.

Today’s NBA requires more players who can play on both ends of the floor, can create their own shots and guards and small forwards are getting taller every year.

If that’s the understanding, the roster will have to go through a series of changes.

Atkinson took heat during the season for his four guard lineup, and we agree the coach could have done a better job spacing out minutes for his big men, but the reality is out of the top nine players on the roster, six of them are guards, and we are talking about the roster after the trading deadline.

To be fair, Altman did bring in Thomas Bryant and Larry Nance Jr. in the off-season, but the coaching staff didn’t believe they were playable during the post-season. Bryant played just 41 minutes in the 18 playoff games and Nance just five. We felt both could have helped more during the regular season.

There is no argument about getting bigger, versatile players who can create their own shot. The Cleveland roster has too many players who are one-dimensional. Dean Wade is a very good wing defender that apparently refuses to play offense. Sam Merrill is a three-point shooter and though he’s a better defensive player than given credit for, if his shot isn’t falling, why should he get minutes?

Toronto’s length gave the Cavs troubles. The Knicks’ versatility was a problem. That’s what Altman and the front office have to combat this summer. They definitely need another big man to back up Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, assuming no trades involving them, and some bigger wing players.

We thought De’Andre Hunter would be the latter, but he just didn’t work out.

They also need some tougher players, not physically, but mentally. Players who can handle the playoff atmosphere. There were far too many games in the playoffs where there didn’t seem to be a match of the opponent’s intensity.

The defense also has to improve. We have asked over the last half of the season who is responsible for coaching the defense, and we still don’t know. What we do know is it wasn’t very good. The Cavs allow a very high percentage of three point makes, and a lot of that is there are a lot of wide-open looks from long distance.

So, the management stayed the same, but you would think there has to be better results in the 2026-27 season or there could be a complete cleaning of the people running the wine and gold.

One should hope for a busy summer for the Cavaliers.

Can Cavs Rebound After Devastating Loss

Our first thought after Tuesday night’s Game 1 collapse by the Cleveland Cavaliers was how do they come back from that? With a 22-point lead over the New York Knicks with just under eight minutes to go in regulation, two things came into play: First, Cleveland had no answer for Jalen Brunson, and two, they couldn’t make a shot.

Brunson scored 15 points in the fourth, making 7 of 9 shots as the Knicks hit 59% from the floor, and perhaps even worse, made just 5 of 17 from the floor, and no player in a Cleveland uniform made more than one shot from the field.

The problem for us was the lack of adjustments. If James Harden is making shots, then he is worth having on the floor, because he was who the Knicks were targeting on the defensive end. But he wasn’t, making just one of six, in addition to dribbling the clock down so the Cavs took a lot of bad shots down the stretch.

And we know Kenny Atkinson trusts Harden because of what he has done in the league and his veteran status. But when New York made it a single digit game, he needed to be on the bench, in favor of either Max Strus, Dean Wade, or even Keon Ellis.

Harden isn’t the Cavs’ best player so there isn’t a need to defer to him. The Cavaliers needed to win the game. Simple as that. And besides, it’s not as though Harden wouldn’t start tonight.

And Atkinson should be called out for doubling Brunson when the score got closer under three minutes to go. After Evan Mobley hit a three, the Cavs still had a 97-89 lead with 3:09 remaining. After OG Anunoby split free throws, followed by a weird loose ball foul on Sam Merrill, New York’s next four field goal attempt were threes.

The first make was with Cleveland up by seven. You should be defending the three, not allowing an open look. They missed with the Cavs up six, but on the next possession, they allowed another three point make and then another up three.

Defend the long range shot and if the Knicks are going to score, give them twos.

We also don’t want to hear the fatigue excuse. Cleveland was dominating this game, and there were plenty of opportunities to get some rest for the primary players. Jaylon Tyson didn’t even play. Ellis played just five minutes.

If the Cavs were tired from back-to-back seven game series, they should have gone into the contest with a plan to dust some guys off the bench and give them some court time.

We do want to single out Mobley, who has showed he can raise his game. He was outstanding with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks. And even Dean Wade decided to shoot the ball, hitting 3 of 5 threes and scoring in double figures for the first time since game six of the first round.

But the big question continues to be, can the Cavs come back from a devastating defeat. Yes, they did win game seven against the Raptors after the RJ Barrett shot to win the game. And they came back after getting blown out on their own floor in game six against Detroit.

This could be different. They dominated the Knicks for 40 minutes. Unfortunately, this isn’t college and the pro game is 48 minutes. Can they pick themselves off the mat again?

Cavs Pull It Off, Now Get Ready For The Knicks

It was the one outcome we didn’t figure was possible. We thought it was possible for the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Detroit Pistons, but we surely did not foresee a blowout win.

Kenny Atkinson’s squad returned the favor from Friday night, dominated the Pistons in a 125-94 win and advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2018.

The opponent will be the New York Knicks, who started the questions about this basketball team a few years ago when they beat up Cleveland in a five game first round series win.

What it made us think is why can’t the Cavs play like that more often? Cleveland came out and Donovan Mitchell got his big guys involved early. Evan Mobley had five points, four rebounds, and three assists in the first quarter, while Jarrett Allen scored six. And the cherry on top was the wine and gold knocked down 6 of 13 from long distance, including a halfcourt buzzer beater by Mitchell at the end.

The Cavs also needed someone to step up off the bench and Sam Merrill, who we admit we would have lessened his minutes before the game, turned out to be that guy, showing we don’t know as much as we think we do.

Merrill hit his first two threes, which we have seen before, but he kept it going, ending with five makes in eight attempts and 23 points. Cleveland only made 32.4% from three, but Merrill had the hot hand.

We also have to mention the impact Mobley made in this series. We have always wondered about the physicality with Mobley, but for the series, he scored 15.9 points, grabbed 7.4 boards, and perhaps most surprisingly, dished out 4.9 assists, second on the team to James Harden. He shot 52% from the floor and more importantly was a force inside, blocking 19 shots.

He looked like the player Cavs’ fans have been hoping for since Cleveland became a playoff team.

So, now the wine and gold go from one former coach in J.B. Bickerstaff to another in Mike Brown, now the head man with the Knicks. It is important to point out the Knicks won just one more regular season game than the Cavaliers, finishing at 53-29.

But they have had an easier road in the playoffs, winning the first round in six games and sweeping the 76ers in the semi-finals. The don’t have a big height advantage in the starting lineup, with just one player over 6’7″ in Karl-Anthony Towns, but they do play physical on the perimeter with 6’5″ Josh Hart and 6’7″ OG Anunoby. And of course, their star is 6’2″ Jalen Brunson, who we would say, plays a lot like Harden.

The two teams met three times, but only once after the trade deadline. Opening night saw the Cavs drop a 119-111 decision with Anunoby scoring 24 and Brunson getting 23. On Christmas Day in New York, the Cavs blew a big lead, up by 12 after three quarters before losing by two, 126-124. Mobley came off the bench that day, his first game back after an injury.

Mitchell and Brunson each had 34 points.

In the lone game at Rocket Arena, Cleveland won 109-94 behind 23 from Mitchell and 20 from Harden.

Can the Cavs beat New York and get to the Finals without LeBron James for the first time in team history? Sure, the Knicks are far from a perfect team, they have flaws like the Cavaliers. But the Cavs have to play with the same energy, physicality, and attention to detail as they played with in both Game 7s.

That seems to be a tall task for this group although we don’t know why.

A Game 7 Win And A Date With The Pistons

The nice thing about the NBA playoffs is that after every series, you start with a clean slate. So, that the Cleveland Cavaliers had a tougher time than expected with the Toronto Raptors means nothing when they start the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight against the Detroit Pistons.

As for game seven, the Cavs found themselves down 47-38 with 2:58 left in the second quarter. Max Strus drilled a three, got a steal which led to two free throws from James Harden. After an offensive foul drawn by Strus, Harden knocked down another three, and after another turnover, Jaylon Tyson hit another three and the home team went into the locker room tied.

The third quarter was the Jarrett Allen takeover. Allen scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards in those 12 minutes, and Donovan Mitchell added nine more as Cleveland outscored the Raptors 38-19 and basically put the game away.

You can’t minimize what Strus, Tyson, and to a lesser extent Sam Merrill did in that quarter although Allen was clearly the star.

Strus did a little bit of everything, the all-around game the Cavs need, scoring 12 points with 8 rebounds and five assists. And we are a fan of Tyson (and would like to see him get more time) for the same reason. He had 7 points, 9 boards, and 4 assists.

And we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Evan Mobley’s aggressiveness in the first half. He wound up in foul trouble, but he had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 27 minutes. At times, his passiveness drives us crazy, but he came out to make an impact.

So, now it is on to the top seed in the East, the Pistons, who also needed seven games, and had to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the series, to defeat the Orlando Magic.

Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris took almost half of the Pistons shots in the first round series win and were the only Detroit players to average more than 11 points per game. By contrast, Mitchell and Harden, who took the most field goal attempts for the Cavs, combined to take 41% of them and Cleveland had four scorers who average more than 11 points per game, and Strus scored 10.3.

The Pistons did not shoot the three ball well in round one, knocking down just 32.7% of them, and Cunningham and Duncan Robinson made 40 of the 68 conversions. We would point out though that Toronto didn’t shoot the three well in the regular season, but the overhelping Cavs defense provides opponents with some wide-open looks, so Detroit may do better in the series.

Another challenge will be the physicality the Pistons play with, particularly their big men, Jalen Duran and Isaiah Stewart. Duran had 28 offensive rebounds in the Orlando series and Ausar Thompson had 25 more. The Cavaliers outrebounded Toronto for the series, but that was a result of the 60-33 advantage in the deciding game.

They will have to keep Detroit off the offensive glass.

Hopefully, the Cavaliers learned a lesson Sunday night and will come out with more intensity and physicality, especially on the defensive end in this series. And they don’t have homecourt advantage, meaning they will have to win at least one in the Motor City.

For all of the complaints we had about the Cavs’ play in round one, that all gets erased. It’s a new series and a new set of challenges.

Raptors Bringing Physicality. Can Cavs Answer It?

To quote the great Jim Nantz, “it’s a tradition like any other”. Nantz, of course, is talking about The Masters, but we could use the same line to describe the performance of the Cleveland Cavaliers in their series against the Toronto Raptors.

It started with the first-round loss to the New York Knicks four years ago, when the Knicks started playing a physical brand, some might say, playoff brand of basketball and the wine and gold just never matched it.

Opponents play with force, a physicality, and the Cavaliers simply don’t match it. And that’s what has happened up north, and the two teams come back to Cleveland with the series tied at two games apiece.

To be it simply, Scottie Barnes bullied the Cavs in the two games in Toronto and Kenny Atkinson’s crew hasn’t answered back. Following Friday’s game three loss, Atkinson switched Dean Wade on to Barnes, moving Evan Mobley to Brandon Ingram, and to some extent it worked, they held the Raptors to 93 points, and the two Toronto forwards shot 12 of 37 from the floor.

But Barnes got to the line 14 times, had nine rebounds and six assists. Wade and Mobley were just 7 of 16 from the floor, and the latter had nine rebounds.

Barnes is attacking and the Cavaliers haven’t seemed to have challenged him all that much. Conversely, especially in game four, the outside shot wasn’t falling for Cleveland, yet they kept hoisting the three, taking 40 of their 87 shots from beyond the arc. They made just 10.

The Cavs looked to take control of the game in the middle of the second, third, and fourth quarters, only to see the Raptors close each time. In the second quarter, Cleveland led by seven (33-26) with 1:40 remaining, only to see Toronto close the half on a 12-3 run.

In that quarter, Dennis Schroder and James Harden started taking the ball to the basket and combined for 11 of the team’s 19 points, going 5 of 9 from the field. The rest of the team went 3 for 14.

Cleveland led 56-48 with 3:53 remaining in quarter three only to see the Raptors go on a 12-2 spurt to lead after three 60-58.

And of course, in the fourth quarter they had an eight-point lead at 84-76 with 4:55 on the clock, but the Raptors closed the game on a 17-5 run.

We hate to blame a coach, but we have to wonder what Sam Merrill is giving the Cavs, especially if he isn’t making shots. He did make 3 of 7 on Sunday, but prior was 3 for 10 in the series. And in game four, didn’t have a rebound or an assist.

In the playoffs, we think you need more all-around players. We felt down the stretch the Cavs needed someone else who could take the ball to the basket. Jaylon Tyson is willing to do that and he’s also a stronger rebounder and defender than Merrill.

This is the playoffs. The physical play is enhanced. As for the rotations, the coaching staff needs to go with the hot hand(s). Thomas Bryant needs to play if for no other reason than he’s a big body. Atkinson seems to have gone away from Keon Ellis, who hasn’t done much, but Schroder should get more time. There is no reason he should have played less than Merrill.

We understand Harden is taking a lot of heat nationally, but to us, it’s clear Mobley has to step up from both a physical standpoint and be more aggressive offensively. And Wade needs to shoot if Toronto is ignoring him.

They are doubling the guards and several times Wade took the ball into the paint from the wing, then turned around and passed the ball back outside. He has to be more aggressive offensively.

The Cavaliers can still win this series and really must win the series. They didn’t get Harden to lose in round one. But they have to be more physical.

What we don’t know is are they capable of doing that.

Looking At Cavs-Raptors Matchup

The long 82 game grind is over and the start of the NBA playoffs start this weekend with the Cavaliers taking on Toronto in a best-of-seven series with the Cavs having the home court advantage. Cleveland finished the regular season with 52 wins, six more than their first round opponent.

The teams played three times in the regular season with the Raptors winning all of them but those contests were all played before Thanksgiving and Kenny Atkinson’s roster is much different now.

The first game, played on Halloween was at Rocket Arena, a 112-101 Toronto win, and Atkinson started two players who aren’t even on the roster right now in De’Andre Hunter and Lonzo Ball. R.J. Barrett, Brandon Ingram, and Jamison Battle all scored 20 for Toronto, and Scottie Barnes had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The second game, also in Cleveland, was a 126-113 Raptors win. Donovan Mitchell scored 31 for the wine and gold, but Barnes had 28, Immanuel Quickley had 25, and Jacob Poeltl scored 20. Reserve big man Sandro Mamukelashvilli scored 13 off the bench.

The last game was a 110-99 in Canada and Ingram shredded the Cavs with 37 points with Barnes adding 18. The Cavs started Ball and Larry Nance Jr., in that game as Jarrett Allen was out.

In total, Allen has played 20 minutes against the Raptors this year, and all three games were before Koby Altman remade the roster with the deadline trades for James Harden, Keon Ellis, and Dennis Schroder.

We know the Cavaliers can score, the old coach in us worries about the defense, particularly the potential matchup problems Ingram and Barnes can present. Both are long, athletic players, the type the Cavaliers have had problems with over the last few years.

The plan should be to use Evan Mobley on Barnes and Dean Wade on Ingram, both very good defensive players. The concern with Wade is when will an opponent play him off the floor in these playoffs, because Wade seems to not want to shoot, and opponents could use the man supposedly assigned to him to start doubling on to either Mitchell or Harden.

Quickley is the Raptors’ chief three-point shooter, but he has a hamstring injury, so how much he can contribute is in doubt.

The Raptors’ are in the bottom five in the league in three-point attempts, which defending those shots is a weakness for the Cavs. That’s a good thing.

We also can’t overlook the reputation for having a lack of toughness Cleveland has garnered over the past few years. We do think Altman addressed this by getting Schroder, who is an irritating player (that’s a compliment) and also because of Jaylon Tyson, who is a tough defender, who also can shoot the ball.

But we need to see Allen and Mobley respond the first time an opponent knocks a Cleveland player to the floor. That’s not saying dirty play, it is saying they need to get mad and play with an edge.

We will see how this plays out over this playoff season.

As for this series, Cleveland has the best two players on the floor in Mitchell and Harden. They also have two inside scorers in Mobley and Allen, who Harden can get the ball to inside. We talk about the Cavs’ lack of size inside, but outside of Poeltl, the Raptors don’t have much either.

A first-round loss would be a disaster for the Cavs, but we don’t see that happening. We also don’t think it will be a cake walk because of Ingram and Barnes.

Cavs Strategy This Week Is Sound. Better To Be Healthy

History does repeat itself, right?

A couple of years ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers were involved in a close race for the second through eighth spots in the Eastern Conference standings. With a couple of games to go, the Cavs’ first round opponent could have been Orlando, a young team getting to the playoffs for the first time as a group, Indiana, Philadelphia, or Miami, with their famous culture.

They could have moved up to second place in the conference standing in the last couple weeks of the season, meaning possibly having home court advantage for the second round, but kind of decided they wanted to play the Magic, which indeed happened, in the first round.

At the time (and maybe still is the case), outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, the Cavaliers weren’t very big, and Orlando had Paolo Banchero, Franz and Mo Wagner, and Jonathan Isaac. We weren’t thrilled by Cavs’ choice to play them, even with their inexperience.

It almost came back to bite them in the rear end, when the young, long, and athletic Magic took J.B. Bickerstaff’s team to seven games, and when Orlando led the last game by ten points at halftime, it looked very much like the organization made a bad call.

But Donovan Mitchell scored 24 second half points and the Cavs rallied to advance to the conference semifinals where they lost to the eventual champion Celtics in five games.

It looks like the wine and gold are doing the same thing this year or maybe not. It’s a weird circumstance for Kenny Atkinson’s squad.

Yes, Cleveland is just a game behind the New York Knicks for third place in the conference standings, which if all of the higher seeds win would mean a second-round match up against the Celtics, rather than taking on the top seed Detroit Pistons in the semis.

The Pistons have had a great season with 57 wins to date, but the Cavs have played them tough in two matchups a few weeks ago, despite playing without Donovan Mitchell in both contests.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers are in the midst of a pair of games against the team that could very well be their first-round opponent in the Atlanta Hawks. In last night’s win, Atkinson played his usual rotation. In fact, he kind of shortened it, albeit with Tyson out.

The last two games will probably be a different story. Cleveland hasn’t been healthy all year and now isn’t an exception. Jaylon Tyson and Dean Wade, who should both be in the playoff rotation haven’t played in a couple of weeks. Allen is battling tendonitis in his knee, so some time off would benefit him. Mitchell has an ankle sprain which kept him out of Monday’s game in Memphis.

And James Harden is 37 years old and could use some time off to get ready for the playoffs.

Playing Atlanta twice a week before having to play them possibly seven times in the next two weeks, it serves the Cavs no purpose whatsoever other than to be the blandest team to ever play. Why show them anything on either side of the ball.

We are sure we will see some of the primary players in the three remaining games just to keep them in game shape but even if some people are painting this as the Cavs picking their opponent in the first two rounds, it is really more about making sure the best players are the healthiest heading into the playoffs.

Besides, when you get past the first round of the post-season, all the teams are good. The Washington Wizards aren’t getting a bye into the tournament.

After a season filled with injuries, that’s just being smart.