Cavs’ Depth Being Compromised, Need Others To Step Up.

The absences keep piling up for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they seem to be battling through them as they head into a tough, long trip to the west coast.

After the COVID outbreak hit northeast Ohio, the wine and gold have had several players missing, including starters Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Darius Garland. The first two have already returned, and Garland is likely to be back tonight against Memphis.

Although the virus seems to be out of the locker room, the injuries are now biting the team. We have already discussed the huge loss of Ricky Rubio, and now, another member of the usual rotation, Isaac Okoro, looks to be out 2-3 weeks with an injured elbow.

Our guess is Lamar Stevens will take Okoro’s place in the starting lineup and the rotation, since as J.B. Bickerstaff usually does, he puts the player most like the one missing in his place. And by the way, that’s a very sound strategy, in that is keeps everyone else’s spot the same.

The biggest obstacle the coaching staff has had is the injury to Rubio occurring at the same time Garland was put on the shelf. Having to go to the third option at point guard, Kevin Pangos, was something Cleveland couldn’t overcome, and it caused Koby Altman to sign Brandon Goodwin, who actually might be an upgrade over Pangos.

The former Gonzaga player, Pangos, seems to really struggle against defensive pressure bringing the ball up the court, and although he has a reputation as a shooter, he’s not making shots either.

Goodwin hasn’t shown much as a shooter either (0 for 3 from three, 2 for 6 from the line), but he appears to get into the offense quicker, which is a great help. To aid both Pangos and Goodwin, Bickerstaff seems to run the attack through Kevin Love when he is on the floor.

The problem for some of these players getting extended time for the first time all season, is they have fallen into the trap of doing what the defense wants them to. For example, early in the second half of the New Year’s Eve game against the Hawks, Atlanta started leaving Pangos open, hoping he would shoot.

Instead of sticking to the gameplan, he took the bait, and Atlanta rallied.

That’s another reason Stevens is starting to grow on us. First of all, he plays with great effort and is a very good defender. On offense, for the most part, he doesn’t settle for jump shots when the defense allows them. Generally, he will attack the basket anyway, which is his game.

When everyone is healthy, the Cavs’ offense should run through Garland, Allen, Mobley, and Love. And in the win over the Pacers, they seemed to get back to that, pounding the ball inside most trips down the floor.

While scoring is fun to watch, at their core, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a defensive team first, ranking third in the NBA in defensive rating. No question, it helps to have Allen and Mobley protecting the rim.

One thing they do need is Lauri Markkanen getting out of his shooting slump from outside. That will also help open things up on the offensive end.

Altman Moves Quick, Gets Veteran Point Guard.

The mindset of the Cleveland Cavaliers sure has changed since the beginning of this season. When the campaign started, it figured to be a year to develop the young players the team has accumulated over the past few years.

However, the wine and gold got off to a very good start to the season, and suddenly the playoffs were in the view of both the players and coaching staff, but apparently also GM Koby Altman.

So, when Ricky Rubio went down with a season ending knee injury earlier this week, Altman decided quickly the Cavaliers couldn’t have Kevin Pangos as the primary backup for Darius Garland, who is currently out due to the league’s health and safety protocols.

Altman wanted another veteran presence in the backcourt, so he traded Denzel Valentine, who wasn’t getting off the bench much anyway, to the Lakers, for veteran Rajon Rondo, who Cavs’ fans can remember as a key player on the Celtics teams that battled the LeBron James’ led wine and gold bunch in the late 2000’s.

Rondo won’t provide the court spacing offensively that Rubio did, mostly because he’s not an effective shooter. He’s a career 32% shooter from beyond the three point line.

However, he can pass the ball. He’s led the NBA in assists three times in his career, and he will be able to handle the point guard duties, so Garland can play off the ball and look for shots on the perimeter.

He’s been in only 18 games for the Lakers this season, averaging just 16 minutes in those appearances, scoring 3.1 points, but getting 3.7 assists per game. He’s taken just 32 shots and two free throw all year.

The moves signals that the Cavs are no longer in rebuilding mode and have decided to make a run at the playoffs. It doesn’t mean Altman will throw caution to the wind and start moving younger players to try to win a title, but the front office knows getting into the post-season and gaining that valuable experience for Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen is very important.

As stated before, the cost for Altman was minimal, Valentine played in just 22 games in Cleveland, getting just 9 minutes per night, and when the Cavs were fully healthy, he was firmly anchored to the bench.

He was the 14th overall pick in 2016 after an excellent college career, but it hasn’t translated. With Cleveland, we saw a player who took ill-advised shots, tried to force passes, and kind of played like he was a star, instead of a role player trying to fit into a team.

We would also guess Altman still will be looking to strengthen the roster, as he still has a trade exemption (from the Javale McGee trade last season).

The Cavs signed Brandon Goodwin to a 10-day contract, and frankly, he looked better than Pangos in his debut. Bickerstaff was basically playing eight men, with Rubio being one of them. And we doubt Rondo can handle the minutes Rubio was getting this season (28.5) right away.

And Cleveland still needs another productive wing player, even when Cedi Osman is back from the COVID list. Dylan Windler hasn’t done anything consistently on an NBA floor, and Dean Wade seems to regress when he is presented with a larger role.

Another brutal west coast swing comes in January, and we will have a clearer picture of whether or not the Cavaliers can be team that can have home court advantage in a first round playoff series or they are more like a contender for the play in tournament.

It will depend on what kind of play they get from their backcourt. And that’s in a better spot than it was when Rubio went down.

Young Cavs Using Old Philosophies.

There is no doubt the Cleveland Cavaliers are approaching things differently in this NBA season. While there has been a trend toward “small ball”, mostly because of the success of the Golden State Warriors, the Cavs have decided to go big, playing three guys 6’11” and taller in their starting lineup.

One thing about the Warriors, while they used the small lineup mostly because of the defense of Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, they always had a cadre of big men on the roster, players like Andrew Bogut, Zaza Pachulia, and Javale McGee.

And of course, let’s not forget that Kevin Durant is a seven-footer as well.

J.B. Bickerstaff can play the trio of big men, and we can extend the group to include Kevin Love, because they can all move very well, so they can defend on the perimeter as well as near the basket.

It also works because Lauri Markkanen is very good three-point shooter, knocking them down at a 36% clip, and lately, that number has been even better.

If the starting lineup had the mobility of say, Tacko Fall, it wouldn’t work. They would have a tremendous defense disadvantage. But Jarrett Allen helped win a game because he harassed Portland’s Damian Lillard on the perimeter.

But Evan Mobley’s ability to guard anyone anywhere has changed the dynamic. Mobley is not only emerging as the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year (with Toronto’s Scottie Barnes), but should make an all-defensive team, and we think he should get some MVP votes as well.

Bickerstaff also uses only nine men regularly, and some nights go with just eight players. That would seem to be a problem as the season progresses, but the Cavs currently do not have anyone averaging over 34 minutes per night and have eight players playing more than 20 minutes per game.

That would put no one in the top 20 in the league in minutes per game. The highest ranking Cavalier would be Darius Garland at 34.4 minutes. There are 19 teams whose leader in being on the court plays more than that.

For example, the Bulls have three players who play more than 35 minutes on an average night, and Toronto has the league leader in Fred Van Vleet and Barnes is also on the court for 36 minutes.

There haven’t been a lot of instances where anyone wearing the wine and gold have played 40 minutes in a given game.

As noted, Garland leads the team in minutes, but has played 40 minutes just once, and that was just 40:04 in the loss to the Nets in Brooklyn. Allen has played the next most, but hasn’t been above the 40 minutes threshold.

Mobley has logged one game over 40 minutes, and similar to Garland, it was just three seconds over the level.

From what we can tell, the most minutes in a game that a Cleveland player has is the 43 minutes Isaac Okoro played in the loss at home to Golden State. Dean Wade also played 40 minutes that night, and that is the extent of games where a Cavalier was on the court that much.

Of course, having seven wins by 15 points or more helps get rotational players out of games early, and that has been mode for Cleveland lately.

And we wouldn’t be surprised if Cedi Osman’s (22.8) and Love’s (19.9) time on the court increases slightly as both are playing very well off the bench.

What Bickerstaff and the Cavaliers are doing is turning back the clock in NBA basketball. Back to the days where height mattered, a shorter bench, and defense. As for the latter, as long as no player is being overused it shouldn’t be a problem, although we do have concerns about Mobley since he is a rookie.

It just goes to show there aren’t many new concepts in basketball, or sports in general. Just history repeating.

Not Just Mobley, Other Cavs Are Stepping Up

So, Evan Mobley returns to the lineup last Saturday, and the Cleveland Cavaliers end their five game losing streak with a win and then go to Dallas Monday night, and blow out the Mavericks.

Seems simplistic to say the rookie is pretty important to the fortunes of the wine and gold, no?

While J.B. Bickerstaff’s team is 12-6 with Mobley in the lineup, it should be pointed out that during the those five contests without a win, the Cavs were at various points, missing Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen as well.

Cleveland is 12-7 when Allen plays, and 7-6 when Markkanen is on the court. And to be fair, they are 7-4 when Collin Sexton plays.

Through the first 25% of the season, it is clear, when healthy, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a solid basketball team.

And they haven’t exactly played an easy schedule. They already have made one west coast trip and they’ve only played three teams (Toronto, Detroit, and Orlando) with losing records.

(That’s a little misleading because only 9 teams in the NBA right now have losing records. Out of 30 teams, that’s kind of weird).

Obviously, the contributions of Rookie of the Year candidate (dare we say favorite?) Mobley are a big factor in the success of the team. The third overall pick in last summer’s draft is scoring 14.5 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing out 2.6 assists, and blocking 2 shots per night.

And the big lineup favored by Bickerstaff, using Mobley with Markkanen and Allen together and having Kevin Love as a backup, has been a big success so far.

We have said it for awhile, despite the emphasis on three point shooting and point guards, quality big people are still very important in professional basketball.

There are other factors for the early success as well. Darius Garland continues to improve in all areas. His points per game and assists per game, as well as his overall shooting percentage are all increased from a year ago.

Getting Ricky Rubio has been big too. Although his scoring and shooting have tapered off from the hot streak he had in early November, having a veteran that understands how to play in significant. That he moves the ball, averaging 6.3 dimes per night, helps as well.

And Cedi Osman has turned into a viable three point threat. In the past, we always felt Osman was misused as a shooter, when his real strength was as a slasher and creator. This was because he made just 30.6% of his long range shots a year ago, and more than half his shot came from behind the arc.

This year, Osman has made 43% from three point land, and with the loss of Sexton to injury, it has been needed. He has become what the organization thought Dylan Windler would be, someone who could stretch the defense.

Is the 43% figure sustainable? Maybe it isn’t, but it’s much, much better than 30%.

It’s not all rosy. The injuries were a problem because beyond the top eight players Bickerstaff uses, there isn’t much. Dean Wade is getting minutes and really doesn’t produce much, but he does gobble up minutes. He did have one real good outing against Golden State, but that’s really about it.

Windler has had injuries, but came to the league purported as someone who could do more than shoot, but he hasn’t been good in that department.

Lamar Stevens gives good effort and can defend, but that’s about it, and Denzel Valentine got some minutes when the injuries hit, and showed he needs to develop a better basketball IQ, taking ill-advised shots and some forced passes.

Perhaps if the Cavs stay in the thick of the playoff hunt, GM Koby Altman can make a move to bolster the end of the bench.

It’s fun to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers again. Of course, winning is part of having fun.

Sexton’s Injury And Its Effect On Okoro

It was curious that the news came out about Cavaliers’ guard Collin Sexton being ruled out for the rest of the 2021-22 season late Friday night.

It seems there is some tension in the relationship between the former first round draft pick and the team since a contract extension was not reached prior to the start of the season.

We agree with the organization’s stance since we don’t know what the market is for the 6’2″, soon to be 23-year-old shooting guard. Why not allow him to see what other teams are willing to pay him and allow the Cavs to match it.

Regardless, we are about to see how important Sexton is to this basketball team. Yes, J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad has lost three in a row, but that probably has more to do with the absence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

Little used Ed Davis was forced into action in the last two losses to Brooklyn and Golden State.

Before the season started, most thought Sexton was the team’s best player. He led the team in scoring last season at 24.3 per game, ranking 18th in the NBA. But where would he rank on the team’s pecking order right now?

You could make an argument that he would be fifth, behind Darius Garland, Mobley, Allen, and Ricky Rubio. That’s not an indictment of Sexton’s ability, but more about the development of Garland and Allen, and adding Mobley and Rubio to the roster.

Right now, Sexton has been replaced in the starting lineup by Isaac Okoro, but that presents a bit of a problem. Although Okoro is a much better defender, he’s a liability on offense, shooting 37% from the floor and is just 6 for 34 from behind the three point line.

So, if he is standing outside, there is no reason for opponents to guard him, and that in turn, causes driving lines to close and create a lack of room inside for Allen.

You have to wonder how much longer Bickerstaff can go with Okoro in the starting lineup. His defensive ability is valuable to the team, but if he doesn’t need to be guarded, that’s a problem.

We think the coaching staff likes Cedi Osman and Rubio coming off the bench, but one of them may have to start to give the floor better spacing.

Going back to Sexton, the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for him because the contract extension wasn’t reached. If the team continues to do as well as they were before Allen and Mobley went out, he has lost a lot of leverage, and you have to wonder if GM Koby Altman would go in a different direction.

It has been pointed out by some that the Cavs have scored 100 points in a game only once (last night) since Sexton was injured, but we would remind those folks that the wine and gold haven’t had their full complement of players since then either.

Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen have been out, and now so have Allen and Mobley.

As for Okoro, we said when he was drafted that taking a defense first player with the fifth overall pick wasn’t a good move. That said, there is still time for him to improve his shot to make it passable and punish teams that leave him wide open.

If he doesn’t, he will become a nomad in the league, moving from team to team as a defensive specialist.

Cavs Continue To Amaze Early On.

We cannot say enough how surprised we are by the start for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While it is still very early, the Cavs are currently in 4th place in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5 record, and have done it battling with players out with COVID (Kevin Love and Lauri Markkanen) and others missing time with injuries, including last year’s leading scorer in Collin Sexton and second year player Isaac Okoro.

The wine and gold have a very tough stretch coming up with a road game vs. Brooklyn on Wednesday, followed by home tilts with Golden State, Brooklyn, and Phoenix heading into Thanksgiving. Hopefully by then, Love and Markkanen will be back on the court.

We have said for a few years now that this organization wouldn’t go anywhere until they emphasized defense, and we will pat ourselves on the back a bit for that one. Cleveland is second in the NBA in least points allowed and 8th in overall defensive rating.

Both figures are the best they’ve ranked in many years.

The Cavaliers have a pretty solid top of the roster right now, but beyond the top eight players, they need to get more help.

While before the season, most would have said Sexton is the best player (not us), now he might rank no higher than fourth. Through these 14 games, rookie Evan Mobley would rank at the top, averaging 14.6 points, 8 boards, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks per contest.

And he was shooting over 50% from the floor before last night’s game, and perhaps more impressive, is a 77% free throw shooter.

Add in third year player Darius Garland and you have a very good (and very young) guard/big man combination for opponents to worry about.

Garland currently leads the team in scoring at 16.8 per night, but has also dished out 6.7 assists and is knocking down three point shots at 40%. The playmaking of Garland and veteran Ricky Rubio have Cleveland ranking 7th in the league in assists, compared to 21st last season, and 24th in 2019-20.

We haven’t talked yet about Jarrett Allen, who we felt was the Cavaliers’ best player when last season ended, and this year has combined with Mobley to create a formidable barrier to scoring that the team has lacked, since who knows when?

Still just 23 years old, Allen is scoring 14.2 points and is grabbing 10.9 caroms a game, and is shooting (or perhaps dunking) 69.4% from the floor.

What is special is both Allen and Mobley are able to guard smaller men out on the floor, and we know from watching Tristan Thompson on the teams that went to the NBA Finals what a valuable ability that is.

Another player who has really helped out is a man many were ready to write off, and that’s Cedi Osman. He’s making 40.6% of his three point attempts, and if that is sustainable, he can be a help off the bench. He’s a solid defender and we still think his strength offensively is as a slasher.

When Love and Markkanen return to action, J.B. Bickerstaff will have nine players who can give him solid minutes. He will then have to figure out who else deserves minutes so he can play ten players.

It could be Dylan Windler, who has hit 9 of 21 from behind the arc, something he has struggled with in his injury plagued career. The wine and gold badly need players who can make shots from outside because it opens things up for Allen and Mobley inside.

The next four games will be measuring stick for how good this team is. However, even if they lose the majority of these contests, this team is fun to watch and the future bodes well.

After the past few seasons, that’s a large step in the right direction.

NBA’s Biggest Surprise? How About The Cavs?

It is fair to say the Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA through the first three weeks of the 2021-22 season.

Faced with a brutal early season schedule, which had them playing just three of their first 11 games at home, and with games against eight playoff teams from a year ago, J.B. Bickerstaff’s crew has gone 7-4, winning the last four contests, and now have a schedule featuring eight of their next nine at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Just think about what you will think if the Cavs take care of business at home.

However, this is still a very young basketball team, so it is tough to predict the future, but they have won the last four despite not having Isaac Okoro, Kevin Love at all, and no Lauri Markkanen for the last three. All three of those players are in the nine man rotation Bickerstaff favors.

After the first two games, in which the Cavaliers allowed 132 and 123 points respectively, we would not have thought this type of success would be possible. We have said on many occasions, that until defense is taken seriously by this organization, winning would be very difficult.

Since then, the 113 points put up by the Lakers on October 29th (game #6) is the most scored against Cleveland. They rank in the top half of the league (13th) in defensive efficiency.

They also started trying to race up and down the floor in those first two games, but since have slowed it down, so much that Cleveland is 25th in the NBA in pace.

It’s a formula that has led to success. Hats off to Bickerstaff and the coaching staff for developing a system that allows this group to have some prosperity.

Bickerstaff decided to go with size at the beginning of the season, using Markkanen, Jarrett Allen, and rookie Evan Mobley at the same time. That move has paid dividends to date, even without Markkanen on the floor lately.

Allen, who signed a $100 million deal over the summer, has played like an all star, averaging 14.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per night, and shooting 68.7% from the floor. He also keyed two wins on the defensive end in this streak, defending Damian Lillard and OG Anunoby from making game winning shots.

We can’t say enough about Mobley. When we saw him at the summer league, he looked frightfully thin, but obviously he has a great work ethic. He’s noticeable bigger and stronger, and playing like someone in the conversation for Rookie of the Year.

He’s scoring 14.9 points and grabbing 8 rebounds per game and is a force defensively near the basket and on the perimeter. And he’s shooting 52% from the floor. Add in two and a half assists and 1.3 blocks, and you have someone impacting both ends of the court.

The scoring is more balanced as well. Collin Sexton doesn’t have to score 25 points per game anymore. This year’s team has eight players averaging nine points or more per contest. They have five players taking more than 11 shots per night.

And what an addition Ricky Rubio has been! We said when he came over from Minnesota, he knows how to play. His 13.7 points and almost 7 assists per night have been invaluable so far.

And despite what on most nights is a nine man rotation, no one is playing more than Mobley’s 34.4 minutes per night, and that’s probably a little high considering he’s a rookie (and his frame). Our guess is when Love and Markkanen return, that number will go down some.

Right now, this group is one of the game’s surprising teams, and the key word is “team”. If the wine and gold can continue this style of play on this extended home stand, it could be a fun winter in downtown Cleveland.

Teams will start figuring a way to counter what the Cavs are doing, but they do have veterans in Rubio and Love to help the young guys through it.

A New Season, And Hopefully Big Progress For Cavs

Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will open their 2021-22 season at Memphis trying to show some improvement from the previous three seasons.

Since LeBron James departed for free agency, the wine and gold have suffered through years of 19, 19, and 22 wins, the last two seasons being shortened to 65 and 72 games respectively.

This year, the plan is to play all 82 for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.

The Cavs will have a new look this season, and quite frankly that look is “up”. They feature basically three seven footers in Jarrett Allen, newcomer Lauri Markkanen and rookie Evan Mobley, and just added another big man off the bench in veteran Ed Davis.

This is quite a departure since for many years, the organization ignored big people.

We like this quite frankly. To us, if you play the same style as other teams but don’t have the same talent to play that style, you are going to come up short on the scoreboard. We think this current roster of Cavaliers isn’t suited to play fast and shoot three pointers. They don’t have the long distance shooters.

So why not play slower, control the tempo and use what you do have, which is size. Markkanen can shoot from outside, so he can play the small forward spot offensively, and we would love to see if Mobley can handle playing defense out on the floor with his size and quickness.

We know that isn’t how J.B. Bickerstaff is going to start, he will use Isaac Okoro at small forward to start, and even though we just discussed how long the Cavs are, that lineup will be rather small.

This is still a very young basketball team, with no one outside of Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio having more than four years experience in the league. Why not play a little slower and let hopefully that will lead to fewer turnovers/mistakes.

That isn’t to say the Cavs shouldn’t fastbreak when they get the opportunity. Hopefully, the bigger front line will lead to blocked shots and a larger percentage of defensive rebounds, and they absolutely should run off of those situations.

But there isn’t a need for quick possessions in the halfcourt offense. Move the ball, in and out and side to side and hopefully that will lead to open looks. This team isn’t in the mode of moving the ball up the court quickly off of makes and taking the first shot available.

Play to the strengths you have.

We believe there is talent on this roster. However, the problem remains does the talent fit, is it complementary? Can the Cavs win with two smaller guards? Can they have success with three bigs playing at the same time? And how do Rubio and Love fit in, and will the latter be happy in his role?

Bickerstaff has already indicated Rubio might play more than a normal reserve. Why? Because he has a good understanding of moving the ball and playing for others.

And we continue to say, accountability is of utmost importance. If a player isn’t doing the job, or playing defense, he should be shown the bench. It’s time to take the gloves off and tell everyone winning is the goal.

If this team doesn’t make a big jump in the win column, someone is going to lose their job. So, there’s a lot at stake for both GM Koby Altman and his coach.

Cavs Need To Start Building A Winning Attitude

The Cleveland Cavaliers have played four pre-season games to date, after watching them, we still have no idea what to think about J.B. Bickerstaff’s team.

Our guess is there will be more losing on the horizon, which won’t thrill the fan base who have been watching bad basketball for three seasons since LeBron James departed for Los Angeles.

The Cavs are very much still a young basketball team and if they decided to not start Lauri Markkanen, all of their starters will be 23 years old or younger. By the way, Markkanen is only 24.

However, sometimes younger doesn’t always mean better. We have used this analogy many times, but remember when you went up to the local YMCA or playground when you were just out of high school and a bunch of old guys ran you off the court?

It’s called experience.

Now that doesn’t mean the youngsters can’t learn from old heads like Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love. Here’s hoping Rubio makes a huge impression on Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, because in these practice games, the ball moves a lot more when the veteran from Spain is on the court.

Playing in an average of 19.4 minutes per game, Rubio leads the team in assists in exhibition play at 5.8 per game. That’s almost two dimes more than the next best figures, Darius Garland and another experience newcomer, Kevin Pangos, both of whom dish out four assists per outing.

We believe Bickerstaff’s goal should be getting his five best players on the floor as much as possible and figuring out what style of play is best suited to that group. The coach has said he wants to play up tempo and shoot threes, but it’s hard to see how that works when several of his best players are big men.

We would start Garland and Sexton at guards, with Jarrett Allen, Markkanen, and Isaac Okoro up front, although we’d keep an eye on the latter, who seems to have a problem fitting in offensively right now.

And we would emphasize defense. That keeps you in basketball games. You expended high draft picks each of the last two seasons on players who are good defenders. Let them do what they do best. And at the same time, force your guards to understand that’s what is important on this basketball team.

This past year’s first round pick, Evan Mobley, looks to be a force defensively, but let him get acclimated to NBA life and get stronger by limiting him to around 20-25 minutes per night. To us, he still looks like he will be really good in 2-3 years, but he definitely appears he can contribute now.

But why put pressure on him?

So, if that’s your starting five, your primary bench guys are Rubio, Mobley, and Love, with any other minutes likely going to Cedi Osman, Dylan Windler (who could get more time if he can make shots, something the Cavs desperately need), and Denzel Valentine.

It’s also time to start holding players accountable. If the ball movement isn’t there offensively, take someone out and put Rubio in. It will improve. If one of the guards isn’t working on defense? Move Okoro to guard and bring in Mobley or another forward.

If the Cavaliers aren’t going to win this season, at least they should be laying a foundation for winning. We think there has been a shortage of that thinking since James left after the 2017-18 season.

Cavs Take Mobley, Hopefully More To Come?

It has been rumored for the last couple of weeks that the Cleveland Cavaliers were taking Evan Mobley with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft, and they did just that last night.

Mobley, 7’0″, 215 pounds has tremendous skills, and is a shot blocker. Our concern with him is his weight. Can he withstand the pounding playing interior defense or if an opponent can get into him, could he be pinned to the floor.

We assume the Cavs want to retain Jarrett Allen, making a qualifying offer to the restricted free agent, so can Mobley and Allen play together?

Mobley has talent, but can he be an impact player next season? Because that’s what the wine and gold need, not another developmental piece. If he and Ricky Rubio (more on him later) are the only significant moves for Cleveland, our fear is another season of 25 wins or less might be the result.

Again, not categorizing Mobley as a bad pick, it’s just hard to see him being a guy who can play 30 minutes a game effectively next season. In three years? He could be a stud. If you want to tag on another two seasons among the bottom of the league, then we would guess you are okay with this.

GM Koby Altman has still assembled an odd roster. He has Darius Garland, who looks like he can be a good point guard in the league, but he has also drafted an undersized #2 guard in Collin Sexton and is using player who has #2 guard size at small forward in Isaac Okoro.

Now he has the twin towers in Allen and Mobley. Can this group win together? Maybe, we never rule anything out, but the general history of professional basketball says they would face an uphill battle.

One would assume the addition of Mobley also means the end of Kevin Love in Cleveland, probably as the result of buyout, meaning Altman gets no return for a key piece of the 2016 title team.

And it wouldn’t be a draft day without Altman getting another guard, this time trading Taurean Prince to Minnesota for Rubio and a second round pick. Rubio, who will turn 31 in October, will take over the Matthew Dellavedova guard mentoring role, except the Spaniard is a better player.

Rubio has been a starter for the majority of his seven year NBA career, and knows how to the play the game. He averages 7.6 assists per night for his career. He’s an excellent free throw shooter at 86.7%, but not a three threat from beyond the arc, just 32.5% lifetime.

There is still a long time between now and training camps opening in September, but it still feels like the Cavaliers need to retool their roster. They appear to have some rim protectors, which they will probably really need because the defense out front isn’t very good. Remember, J.B. Bickerstaff used Okoro on virtually every opponent’s best scorer, which created mismatches in other places.

Hopefully, more moves to change the roster will be coming with the free agent period starts, which is another time the league sees a lot of deals. They still need a legitimate scorer at small forward. They need more size in the backcourt or the ability to use Okoro there.

Said it all along, collecting talent is fine, putting talent together that fits and leads to wins? That’s a tough job.