Cavs Giving Some Vibes Of “Miracle” Team

Think about it for a bit…29-4

The Cleveland Cavaliers started this season with a 15-game winning streak, but right now, they’ve won eight in a row, and started an always tough west coast swing the Friday after Christmas, and won handily against Denver, Golden State, and the Lakers.

One of the indicators of how good a basketball team is their margin of victory, which is second in the NBA at 11.88, just behind Oklahoma City’s 12.0. The only other team over ten points per game are the defending champion Celtics (10.73).

At this point of the season, the NBA is kind of lopsided. There are only six squads that sit 10 games over .500, while there are five teams that still have not reached the 10-win mark.

If you look at teams who have a legitimate chance to end the season by hoisting the Lawrence O’Brien Trophy, there is no doubt the Cavaliers are one of those teams. It is remarkable to think that it was just the 2018-19 campaign where the wine and gold won just 19 games, and they followed that with the same number of victories in the COVID shortened season.

The national media talks about Kenny Atkinson’s club, but they haven’t really been a huge story in the Association to date. One reason is the people who cover the NBA seem to have an agenda on what stories will be important before the season starts, and it is hard to break into that realm.

The other reason is playoff success. This iteration of the Cavs (Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley) have only one a single playoff series, the seven-game victory over Orlando last season.

However, the darlings of the Western Conference, Oklahoma City have done the same. The only difference is the Thunder did not make the progression from also ran to the “play-in tournament” to losing in the first round, to winning in the first round like Cleveland.

And despite this tremendous start to the season, the reality is the real season for the Cavs starts in the playoffs.

These Cavs remind us a bit of the “Miracle at Richfield” team from 1975-76. That team had nine players who averaged over 15 minutes a game, whereas Atkinson plays ten players regularly and when injuries have occurred, other players have stepped in to take their place in the rotation.

We have talked about how Mitchell, the team’s star, is playing a career low 31.5 minutes a night. The ’75-’76 Cavaliers had a former All-Star in Nate Thurmond anchoring the second unit, and the star of the franchise’s early years, Austin Carr, also came off the bench.

Both teams could shoot from outside. The ’76 team, who got to the Eastern Conference Finals, had outside marksmen like Carr, Bingo Smith, Campy Russell, and Dick Snyder. This year’s squad lead the NBA in three-point shooting, making an absurd 40.7% as a TEAM!

The next best percentage is the 38.8% being made by the Knicks.

We have seen people saying nothing should be done by president of basketball operations Koby Altman at the trade deadline. However, we disagree.

Yes, this group has amazing chemistry, but they still need another post presence in case of an injury to Allen and/or Mobley. And we also think that could use another wing defender with some length.

This team has amazing depth, particularly at the wing position. With Max Strus’ return, Atkinson now has Strus, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Georges Niang, and Sam Merrill to play on the wing.

And we haven’t mentioned rookie Jaylon Tyson, who when pressed into service has done a solid job.

The one thing Altman has seemed to always prioritize is character. The Cavs haven’t really had a “knucklehead” or “diva” on their roster for a long time. So, we have no doubt if a deal is made, the addition will fit right into what is working right now.

In a week, the Cavs and Thunder get together in Cleveland. That just might be an NBA Finals preview.

Cavs’ Recent Losses Indicate A Roster Weakness

While there shouldn’t be any real concern over the Cleveland Cavaliers first losing streak of the season, it can be true that some of the concerns we had about the roster showed up in the two straight losses to the Atlanta Hawks, a squad with a 9-11 record to date.

We have been pointing out for we guess a couple of years about the lack of height on Cleveland’s roster. We talked about it before the playoffs last year anticipating a match up with Boston.

While the wine and gold have two smaller guards in Donovan Mitchell (6’3″) and Darius Garland (6’2″), Boston goes with a pair of 6’4″ guards in Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.

The Cavs start 6’5″ Isaac Okoro at forward, while the Celts have 6’6″ Jaylen Brown and 6’8″ Jayson Tatum. And they have Kristaps Porzingis (7’2″) at center, meaning the Cavaliers have a size advantage at only one spot in Evan Mobley.

Atlanta is built similarly although they have Trae Young (6’1″) at the point. The rest of the starting five is 6’8″ Dyson Daniels, 6’8″ Zaccharie Risacher, 6’9″ Jalen Johnson, and 6’10” Clint Capela.

And they use 6’8″ De’Andre Hunter off the bench as well.

Coincidentally, the Celtics and Hawks have dealt Kenny Atkinson’s crew their only three defeats this season and of course, the Cavs and Celtics play tonight at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

It is difficult to point out weaknesses when a team is 15-0 or even 17-1 (still a little weird doing it at 17-3, frankly) but Cleveland needs more size and athleticism at the wing spots and definitely they need another inside player.

We liked the Ty Jerome signing a year ago because at 6’5″ he gives the backcourt more size. But Cleveland is still full of wings that go 6’5″ or 6’6″ when many teams in the league go 6’7″ or 6’8″ at those positions.

And getting Max Strus (6’5″) back doesn’t solve that issue.

Dean Wade is a valuable defender and is 6’9″, and he can defend on the perimeter. However, there are two problems with the fifth-year player out of Kansas State: He’s very streaky with his shot and he’s injury prone.

Wade has only played more than 60 games once in his career in 2020-21, and since his high was 54 games last season. Availability is an ability.

Besides even if Wade is available, the Cavs still need another big man. If something would happen to Mobley and Allen long term, who picks up the slack? If there is a move to be made at the trade deadline, it should be to get a veteran big man who can defend the rim.

And yes, we know Tristan Thompson is on the roster, but he’s there for his veteran leadership and knowledge. If he has to start playing 20 minutes per night, it’s a problem for Atkinson.

Look, the Cavs weren’t going to go 82-0 or even 81-1 this season. They were going to lose some games. Also, they aren’t a perfectly constructed NBA team, there isn’t one, not even the defending champion Celtics.

They came into the season with some flaws on the roster, but the shooting and execution of the players covered some of that up.

We aren’t concerned by the two losses this past week, but watching how Atlanta plays should give everyone, including Atkinson and the coaching staff, an idea of why they are a tough match up.

That’s just the nature of the sport.

Being Thankful…for Kenny Atkinson

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the readers and followers of Cleveland Sports Perspective! Hope you enjoy the most overlooked (in our opinion) of the major holidays.

We have sports thankfulness for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who besides playing outstanding basketball to start the season, also keep sports fans in the area from obsessing on the terrible season the Browns are having.

The 17-2 start is a total surprise of us, and we still think the true test for this basketball team will be the playoffs. We hate saying that because it seems like we are downplaying an amazing first month of hoops, but we know the Cavs are a strong regular season team, will their new style and new coaching pay off next spring.

We liked Kenny Atkinson as a head coach when we had the Brooklyn Nets overachieving during his time there, and when he was dismissed there, he did what basketball lifers do, learning more about the game as an assistant under two men who won NBA titles in Steve Kerr and Ty Lue.

The prevailing thought around the NBA media folks was the wine and gold needed to trade either Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley, because their view of the game is skewed by how most teams in the NBA play today, with one big man inside and four shooters around the perimeter.

And neither Allen nor Mobley are particularly prolific three-point shooters.

Since basketball is a sport where height matters, we always felt the two big man lineup could succeed, and with the offense described above, you have a lot of players standing around, ready to shoot, while another player tries to get dribble penetration and force the defense to help.

Atkinson figured having Allen and Mobley moving and not being stationary would be a device to make it work.

Mobley is actually making less three pointers than a year ago by percentage (35.3% compared to last year’s 37.3%) and is only taking less than one more shot per contest. He also has the ball in his hands more, and his scoring is up two points per game.

An overlooked reason is his free throw percentage which is up to 82.4% from last year’s career high of 71.9%.

We love how Atkinson isn’t afraid to talk basketball philosophy after games. J.B. Bickerstaff used to talk more about effort, and “the grit” of the players, but Atkinson talks about how the players move on the court, who influences the game without scoring, etc.

Another subtle thing occurred Sunday night. After rookie Jaylon Tyson, usually not in the rotation had to play against New Orleans because of injuries and had a big game, the coach made sure he got minutes in the next contest.

Players need rewards for playing well.

There is also an old hoops adage that says if you don’t play your bench, you will never have one. Last season, the Cavs had five players who averaged more than 30 minutes per night and generally played eight or nine most games.

This season, only three players play 30 minutes, led by Donovan Mitchell’s 31.5 (he played more than 35 last season) and they play 10 or 11 most games.

That develops depth.

Look, Bickerstaff inherited a mess when he took over the job and he restored order, leaning on defense to give the younger Cavs an identity.

He’s doing the same thing in Detroit, where he has the Pistons sitting at 8-11 after winning just 14 games all of last year.

But Kenny Atkinson seems to be putting the finishing touches on this group. They’ve embraced the defensive concepts the former coach taught but now have a more diverse offense to go with it.

That is a reason to be thankful.

Right Now, A Total Buy In For Cavs’ Players

As the Cleveland Cavaliers continue their tremendous start, we heard a comment about the off-season that seems to make a lot of sense.

The organization didn’t do a lot in terms of roster reconstruction over the summer, but they did take care of some potential free agents.

The biggest one of course was signing Donovan Mitchell, a perennial all-star to an extension taking him through the 2027-27 season. Although many in the national media had Mitchell declining the player option he had after next season, the five-time all-star decided to stay with the Cavs.

Team president Koby Altman also signed Evan Mobley through 2029-30 and Jarrett Allen through 2028-29. Darius Garland, the other member of what the organization calls “The Core Four”, was already under contract until 2027-28.

As these signings were announced, we thought it was odd to make a commitment to a group that hasn’t been to the conference finals as of yet.

On the other hand, none of the Cavs’ best players are worrying about getting big contracts anymore. And that makes for a more cohesive basketball team.

We aren’t saying any of these guys were ever selfish on the floor, but there is certainly a thought for most players of making a good reputation in the league, showing they can put up numbers, because if they do, a big deal will be coming their way.

Mitchell is the team’s leader and his buy in to what new coach Kenny Atkinson wants to do probably puts everything in place, but you have to wonder if the contract had an effect.

In his first two seasons with the Cavaliers, Mitchell averaged 28.3 and 26.6 points per game playing around 35 minutes per night. He also took about 20 shots per contest.

We know it’s early, way early, but this year, the former 2nd team all-NBA selection is scoring just 22.5 points per game in 30 minutes, taking two less shots per game.

Look, winning makes everyone happy, and because Cleveland has started 10-0, pretty much everything Atkinson has touched has been golden.

Coincidentally, the organization has long felt that for the team to take another step forward, Evan Mobley needed to be more a part of the offense. Mobley is averaging two more shots per game this year, and his scoring average has risen from 15.7 last year to 18.4 in 2024-25.

Mitchell has always expressed a desire to play for championships. Most players feel the same way, but it’s not that they don’t want to win, it’s they don’t know how to do it. Sometimes it’s as simple as trusting your teammates more.

We aren’t saying the difference is because he got his life changing contract, but rather, he feels more comfortable because he got his deal, and is a better player.

And we aren’t just pointing out Mitchell here, we are saying getting everyone on long term deals has fostered more of an emphasis on the team. Right now, every player is sacrificing playing time, as no one is playing more than Mitchell’s 30.3 minutes a game.

If Atkinson can keep the minutes down for his star players, it could and should pay dividends later in the regular season and the playoffs.

Also, the increased time for the reserves mean if they are called upon later in the season, they will be ready. No one gets better by sitting and watching.

Right now, the only agenda for the Cavaliers is winning. Hopefully, that’s the way it stays because team basketball is beautiful to watch.

An Impressive Start For The Wine And Gold

We said all summer long that Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman’s instance on not making any roster changes, thus putting all the blame for what went wrong last season on J. B. Bickerstaff was misguided.

After the first seven games of this NBA season, we are eating a big fat excrement burger.

New coach Kenny Atkinson’s edition of the wine and gold is off to a tremendous start, winning every single one of the seven games they have played.

The Cavs opened with three non-contenders in Toronto, Detroit, and Washington, but then went to Madison Square Garden to beat the Knicks and then handled the Lakers and short-handed Orlando Magic easily, before heading back on the road to beat Milwaukee.

Last season, Cleveland scored 112.6 points per game, ranking 20th in the league in scoring. So far, although it is early, the Cavaliers are second behind Boston, scoring 122.4 points.

What’s even more impressive is they haven’t sacrificed defense in doing that. They were 7th in points allowed and 6th in defensive efficiency in 2023-24. This year, they are 5th in points allowed and 4th in defensive efficiency.

They are knocking down 40.6% of their three-point shots, up from 36% a year ago, and they are taking about the same number of shots from distance. And the only players shooting a seemingly ridiculous percentage was Caris LeVert (11 of 21) and Ty Jerome (6 of 12).

Atkinson has gotten more players involved, playing at least 10 players in each game, with no one averaging 30 minutes per game. Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell lead the team at 29.6 per night.

The most surprising contributor early on has been Jerome, who played just two games last season due to an ankle injury. We liked the signing a year ago because Jerome has point guard skills and has size at 6’5″.

He is averaging 9.9 points and 3.1 assists per contest but has a calm presence about him and doesn’t try to be spectacular, he just makes the right play more often than not.

The great start is excellent, but unfortunately for this group, the real test for these Cavs will not come until April and May, meaning the playoffs.

Barring injuries, we know this is a playoff squad, so can this style win in the post-season. The questions will be there until proven otherwise: Can the Donovan Mitchell/Darius Garland backcourt win in the playoffs and can Jarrett Allen and Mobley be on the floor together and provide an effective offensive system.

On the other hand, we love the more diversified offense, not as reliant on the pick-and-roll, while not losing the defensive focus. We also always thought Allen and Mobley can both be active on the offensive end and Atkinson has given them the ball at the free throw line and let either find open shooters.

Again, we will stress it is very early in the season. And that the Cavs brought back the same team is huge early in the season, while other squads are working in new players, Cleveland has an advantage in that they’ve all played together.

The Cavs’ best start in their history? They went 8-0 to start the 1976-77 campaign, the year after the “Miracle of Richfield”, when the NBA/ABA merger took place, and many teams had major roster shifts.

The wine and gold did not and won 16 of their first 20. Spoiler alert…they finished 43-39. Just so no one gets too carried away.

A Young Team? Not Really True For The Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers made news this week when they signed C Jarrett Allen to a contract extension. Earlier this summer, they signed Evan Mobley to a second contract, meaning every member of the so called “Core 4” are signed for the long term.

And everyone is aware that Donovan Mitchell re-upped with the franchise on a three year deal for a ton of cash.

That doesn’t mean none of the contracts are tradeable, but we digress. Broadcaster Jim Rome used to say players can’t “self-gloss”. meaning they shouldn’t give themselves a nickname, and we feel this way about the “Core 4”.

Heck, former Cavs’ GM Jim Paxson somehow got rid of Shawn Kemp’s bloated contract, so it is possible.

The Cavs organization has started calling them that, and our problem is they haven’t accomplished enough to earn that moniker. Winning one playoff series simply doesn’t do it.

And the organization is paying them a whole lot of cash to a group that again, has never advanced beyond the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Another thing that concerns us about the Cavs’ front office is their insistence the team is young. The reality is Cleveland is 16th in the NBA in the average age of the players, ranking between Atlanta and Sacramento with the roster averaging 26.2 years of age.

Two playoff teams rank in the top 10 youngest rosters: Oklahoma City is 2nd at 23.4 years old, and the team Cleveland defeated in the first round, Orlando is 4th at 24.0. That’s why fans and the front office should be concerned about finishing in the top four this upcoming season. Orlando will no doubt improve.

The Cavs should also worry about Indiana passing them in the standings, as the Pacers are the 11th youngest squad and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals last season.

Of the ten oldest rosters in the league, all but Chicago had winning records a year ago, but none of the teams in that group would be considered “up and coming” because of their age.

Cleveland has only six players born after the turn of the century and of that group, the only ones who get significant playing time are Mobley and Darius Garland. Mobley is beginning his fourth season, and Garland is entering his sixth.

Everyone is expecting Mobley to make a leap at some point and without a doubt he has improved, but in his first three seasons, his per game averages in points have been 15.0, 16.2, and 15.7, and his rebounds have been 8.3, 9.0, and 9.4.

If he doesn’t show dramatic improvement this season, we fear this is what he is, a very good, solid player, but not an all-star.

Many people say he can’t get better because of the presence of Allen, and we will agree to a point. We will see how new coach Kenny Atkinson handles the duo offensively before saying having them both on the floor doesn’t work.

Garland’s stats tumbled last year, but we would attribute that to injuries, but he’s also now been in the league for five seasons. How many players make a big leap in performance after five years?

And of course, we also wonder about the fit between him and Donovan Mitchell. And when we say that, we aren’t insulted anyone’s talent, but in basketball, the pieces have to fit together.

In our minds, this is another reason the Cavs should not run it back in 2024-25. They aren’t a young team. At this point, the players are who they are.

Don’t believe the young team stuff spouted by Koby Altman and his staff. It’s a myth.

Cavs Still Haven’t Made A Move

Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman has said it a number of times since the season ended with a playoff loss in five games to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

He has said he wants the Cavs to run it back with the same core players (the so called “Core 4”) for the 2024-25 season with a new coach in Kenny Atkinson. And after the draft and the beginning of the free agent period, he has done just that, stand pat.

Yes, the team’s perennial all-star, Donovan Mitchell, signed a three-year extension last week, meaning he could be here for four more years, but that’s the extent of the club’s transactions so far this summer.

We guess Altman wasn’t using “GM speak” in talking about the current roster.

If that’s going to be the case, it puts a lot of pressure on new coach Kenny Atkinson, because his hiring looks to be the only reason the current roster will get better, outside of the natural growth of young players.

Cleveland likes to talk about the youth of their roster, but really the only player with the potential to make a substantial leap in performance is Evan Mobley, who will be in his fourth year in the NBA. Yes, Darius Garland will turn 25 during the new season, but he has been in the league for five seasons.

How many players improve their performance greatly after they’ve been in the NBA five years?

And Kenny Atkinson is a coach, not a magician. He can put players in situations where they can succeed more, but he’s not going to make Evan Mobley a great outside shooter and he’s not going to make Darius Garland less turnover prone.

Nor is he going to make a backcourt with two smaller guards along with a small forward who is 6’5″ a defensive force.

We understand the Cavs didn’t make the trade for Mitchell until September 1st, so there is plenty of time before training camp starts to improve the roster. However, virtually every team in the league has made moves since the playoffs ended.

Outside of drafting Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland has been idle.

We have seen reports that the organization is waiting for a decision on Isaac Okoro’s contract status and if that’s true, it’s pretty disturbing. Okoro is a very good defender who is limited offensively and he’s only 6’5″.

If he’s holding up potential moves for the Cavs, well…

The current regime seems to be looking at the incremental improvement from non-playoff team to play-in tournament team to lose in the first round to winning in the first round and thinking they should stay the course.

We believe in the philosophy of every move a team makes should be gearing towards winning a championship. Falling short of that goal is a failure. Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t look at progress and think we are getting closer to the goal though.

Perhaps a big move will come in the next couple of weeks. But at the end of the playoffs (and last year for that matter), we have felt the Cavaliers needed to add size at guard and small forward, and also get a solid backup for Jarrett Allen and Mobley.

And remember, Altman sped up the winning process when he traded for Mitchell.

We don’t think they can contend for a title without more size. The front office seems to think differently.

Are Cavs Overrating Their Roster?

For many years after Andrew Berry took over as Browns’ GM, people were noting that he didn’t cut any of the players he drafted. Part of that was when he got the job, the Browns weren’t very good, but it is understandable that if you draft a player, you see the reasons you chose him.

Therefore, you give them the benefit of the doubt.

On the other hand, we have been around coaches who love players from afar, and if and when they get them on their team, all they see are the warts.

So, we understand that Koby Altman has a certain fondness for the players he has brought into the Cavaliers’ organization. But we also think it’s fair to ask if he can evaluate them without bias.

In Kenny Atkinson’s introductory press conference, the new coach referred to coaching “four all-stars”. We bristled at that.

First, only three of the current Cavaliers have made an all-star team: Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen. Despite the organization’s wishes for Evan Mobley, who Altman picked with the third overall pick, he has not made one.

And while technically, Garland and Allen have made the team, they made it once, and they made it during the 2021-22 season, which will be three seasons ago when the new season starts.

Garland was comparable to his all-star season the following year, but last year, injuries caused his numbers to drop. And you know how we feel about starting two smaller guards and how it affects things defensively.

Allen was an injury add on in 2022 but was in the discussion to make it to the mid-season classic last year when he averaged a career high in points at 16.5 per game.

Mitchell is an all-star, making the team five times. It may be semantics, but Garland and Allen are players who made an all-star team, we would not consider them perennials.

The elephant in the room is Mobley. We know everyone is high on him, but it is fair to point out his progress has been slow. He averaged 15 points and 8.3 rebounds as a rookie, and although his shooting has improved from 50.8% as a first-year player to 58% last season, his scoring went from 15.0 to 16.2 to 15.7.

Granted, some of that is due to his role (or lack of one) in the offense. The player taken right after him, Scottie Barnes averaged 15.3 a game in his rookie season and 19.9 last year.

What if Mobley is just a real good player, an excellent defender, but not quite an all-star level player?

It wouldn’t mean writing him off, if he can score 18 points, grab 10 rebounds, block a couple of shots in addition to playing excellent defense, that’s something any coach can work with. But it’s not what many expected after his first year.

The Eastern Conference got better since the playoffs ended. Philadelphia signed Paul George. The Knicks swung a trade for Mikal Bridges. Indiana gained valuable playoff experience.

The Cavs need to get better and although we like Kenny Atkinson, we don’t think that’s enough. The off-season has just begun, but hopefully Altman can be truthful with himself about the roster he has built.

That’s a trait the best executives have.

Cavs Running It Back? Bad Idea

With the NBA Finals soon to be over, the NBA crazy time will start very quickly. The draft will occur at the end of the month, followed by the free agency period where trades will occur.

In his post-season press conference, Cavs’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman made comments alluding to the wine and gold’s “Core 4”, and his desire to keep them together.

After all, his supporters will say, the Cavaliers have made progress in each of the last three seasons, going from making the “play-in” tournament and losing to getting into a seven game series to winning a first-round match up.

While all that is true, it can also be true to realize that might be the ceiling for this group. And really, isn’t that what Altman is paid to determine.

The first thing for Altman to decide is who will be the new head coach. It seems like it is down to three candidates: James Borrego, Kenny Atkinson, and Chris Quinn. We would have no issue with either of them.

Our only issue with Quinn would be he is the first lieutenant to Erik Spoelstra, the league’s best coach. Sometimes, these guys try to be their mentor, and since they aren’t that guy, it doesn’t work.

The people who think staying the course with the Cavs led by Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, usually are thinking about it from (surprise!) the offensive end of the floor. However, we say it all the time, basketball isn’t just about scoring points.

Our feeling continues to be Cleveland cannot continue with the small backcourt because Mitchell and Garland do not complement each other, but also because it is not effective from a defensive standpoint. So many contending teams have size at the guard position, and the Cavaliers don’t.

That puts them at a disadvantage.

The other thing that bothers us is the constant talk of having to move Jarrett Allen. We get it, “you can’t win with two non-shooting bigs”, that’s the argument, correct? But what we find difficult to fathom is how you get better by trading your second-best player, and that’s what Allen was this past season.

He averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 boards per night, shooting 63.4% from the floor. If you could trade Allen for a player who has a chance at being your best player, then yes, you can trade him. We doubt that would be the case.

And yesterday, it was reported that Mitchell doesn’t want Allen moved, and that will have weight within the organization.

As for Mobley’s “dominant” series vs. Boston in the second round, need we remind everyone he didn’t do this against Joel Embiid, Bam Adebayo, or even Kristaps Porzingis, he did it against 37-year-old Al Horford, a solid pro, but not a player who should be giving a player like Mobley fits.

Also, trading Allen (or Mobley for that matter) would be removing one of the few players with size on the roster. We understand a big man would come back in any deal, but that player likely wouldn’t be as skilled.

And Cleveland needs to add size, not get smaller. That’s for sure.

If Altman can add a slew of wings in the 6’7″ to 6’9″ range and add another big man to back up Allen and Mobley without giving up one of his core players, then great. We just don’t think that’s possible.

With JB Out, The Pressure Is Now On Altman

Thursday, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t surprise anyone when they announced coach J.B. Bickerstaff would not be returning next season. Bickerstaff was the right man for the job after the John Beilein debacle, but in the NBA, as in life, times change.

Bickerstaff gave the Cavs an identity. They would be a good defensive team and put forth maximum effort. After going 14-40 under Beilein, they won five of the eleven games under the new coach before the season ended due to COVID.

The wine and gold were 29th in defensive rating that season, and during the last three years, they were in the top ten in the league.

We ran into assistant coach Antonio Lang at a mall that season (we don’t know him, but recognized him) and in talking to him (small talk) we said it was a tough season and also remarked at how small the Cavaliers were.

Of the top eight players in minutes that season, the tallest players were Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. who are both 6’8″. And yes, that’s a theme we will address later.

As we said though, times change in the NBA and while the franchise should be grateful to Bickerstaff for setting a course for the young Cavaliers, now after appearances in the post-season the last three years, it is time for a new voice.

And by the way, that’s okay. There are many times coaches and managers are great in making a young team competitive but someone else comes in to put them over the top.

The term “a new voice” has been mentioned several times about the Cavs and we do not disagree. Cleveland needs a better offensive philosophy than the pick and roll heavy system they have used under Bickerstaff.

And we also still believe the frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen can work with a different offensive scheme. It would require Mobley to develop a solid 15-to-18-foot jump shot, but the defensive force that duo gives you is tough to give up on.

Mobley’s biggest strength is being able to guard smaller players on the perimeter and making him a center probably takes that away.

The dismissal of Bickerstaff now puts the pressure to win on president of basketball operations Koby Altman. We said many times during the year that we had issues with the coaching but had equal issues with the roster construction.

We think Cleveland has run its course with the two small guards and no size at the wing position set up. In most games and playoff series, the Cavaliers have a size advantage at one spot, power forward with Mobley. They are undersized at both guard spots and at small forward.

Going back to the conversation with Lang in early 2020 about the roster being small, the person in charge of that roster was also Koby Altman, meaning it’s a trend.

The NBA is getting bigger. The smaller starter among the four teams in the conference finals is Kyrie Irving, listed at 6’2″. The Pacers have a 6’5″ small forward, but both their starting guards are 6’5″ too.

Altman said in his presser he didn’t see the need for changes, but we attribute that to executive speak, he’s not going to tip his hand. The Cavs need players in the 6’7″ to 6’9″ range that can play on the wing and can play.

They also need depth at center and power forward.

J.B. Bickerstaff probably wasn’t the guy to push the Cavaliers forward, but now Koby Altman needs to prove he is the man to build a roster of an NBA title contender.

We will see what the summer brings for the Cleveland Cavaliers.