More Thoughts On The Cavs’ Roster

All kinds of stories were written after the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs Wednesday night, some of them were pretty easy to see truth in .

And it looks like everyone has decided that if Donovan Mitchell stays, the front office will be moving on from Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen.

We will come back to that. It’s also expected that J.B. Bickerstaff will not return as coach. We’ve been pretty transparent that although we don’t think Bickerstaff is a great “x’s and o’s” coach, we don’t hold him solely responsible for the early exit.

(NOTE: We don’t think the front office thinks it was an early exit, it was the GOAL).

However, there have been published reports that Bickerstaff’s job was on the line in December, and if you were thinking of replacing him that early in the year, you shouldn’t have brought him back after last season.

Now for the roster. We have been saying this for months, but if Mitchell signs an extension, the Cavs need to move on from Garland. They simply do not play well together. This is a problem for those who view basketball as a fantasy game, where statistics are just plugged in.

It isn’t. It doesn’t mean Garland is a terrible player and it doesn’t mean he won’t go somewhere else and be better. He just isn’t effective playing with Mitchell.

Also, we heard this debate: You’d be selling low on Garland. This cannot be a consideration. If you want the team to be better in 2024-25, you can’t run back the two under 6’3″ ball dominant guard starting backcourt.

The Cavaliers may move Garland for a normal sized (not 6’5″) small forward who fits better but doesn’t have the “numbers” of the player they are trading. That’s alright.

As for the Allen and Evan Mobley frontcourt, we would like to give the new coach a chance to make it work, especially since Cleveland needs size.

Mobley had a great series vs. Boston, but remember the Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis, and were playing Al Horford and Luke Kornet at center, players Mobley is clearly more skilled than.

We also disagree Mobley needs to be a three-point shooter for the combo to work. We think a reliable 15-to-18-foot jumper shot would do the trick and allow both of the bigs to thrive.

Allen was the Cavs’ best player in the playoffs when he was injured and for the season, their second best behind Mitchell. Does anyone else think trading the squad’s second-best player in an effort to get better is a bad idea?

The difference is it is clear that the Mitchell/Garland pairing doesn’t bring out the best in either player, while we understand the NBA folks all think bigs have to shoot threes now, we don’t buy into that.

We think a different coach can make Allen and Mobley an effective center/power forward combination. Besides, if Mobley plays center, his biggest value of being able to defend away from the basket is taken away from him.

There is no question the Cavs need to get bigger. They need more size in the backcourt, on the wings, and can’t have only two effective players in the middle. Size matters.

We would like to see the organization give Luke Travers a spot next season. Remember him? He was a second-round pick in 2022 and is a 6’6″ do it all kind of player. In the Australian League, he scored 12 points, grabbed 7.6 boards and dished out two assists.

We know Summer League isn’t a true judge of anything, but he played well there the last two years. We think he could help next year.

And remember, the Cavs do have a first round pick this year. Hopefully, they take someone who can help right away.

Cavs’ Season Ends, Let The Speculation Begin

What seemed inevitable after Donovan Mitchell injured his calf during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal became a reality last night, as the Celtics wrapped up the series in five games with a 113-98 win.

Jarrett Allen didn’t play at all in the series because of a rib injury, and down two starters, they simply didn’t have enough scoring or depth to be able to compete with the team who had the best regular season in the NBA.

Outside of the Game 2 eruption of 118 points, the most points the Cavs scored in the series was 102 in the Game 4 defeat. And when your opponent regularly hits triple digits, it makes it very difficult to win.

Credit J.B. Bickerstaff for having his depleted crew, and they didn’t have Caris LeVert yesterday, play very hard and made both games without Mitchell competitive. The wine and gold didn’t roll over, they made Boston work to win the series.

Tremendous efforts by Evan Mobley and veteran Marcus Morris, particularly in the second half, kept the series winning contest close. Mobley scored 33 points, 25 of them after halftime, while Morris, picked up after being bought out, scored 25 points in total, making five of six three-point shots. That pair scored 36 of the team’s 46 tallies after the half.

The use of Morris in the playoffs was very puzzling because when he was used, he usually did very well. Yet, he received a DNP-CD in Game 4, a crucial game especially because it was home.

Now the speculation on the future of the franchise will begin. Will Bickerstaff return? We have been critical of the coach the past two seasons, but to be honest, we can’t lay this series loss just on him.

Will Koby Altman stay on as Vice President of Basketball Operations? Let’s face it, this roster was poorly constructed to win in the playoffs, they simply aren’t big enough. They start two short guards, two big men, and don’t have an upper echelon player in the 6’7″ to 6’9″ range.

At the very least, the Cavs need to bring in someone from outside to evaluate the current roster. Altman seems to overlook the weaknesses of players he brought in.

None of the basketball people we know understand the love affair with Dean Wade. He’s a pretty good defender, but crazy inconsistent. He simply doesn’t play well in enough games to justify the faith in him.

The Cavaliers don’t have enough “guys who can play”, meaning players who have a diverse skill set. They have way too many one-dimensional talents.

Isaac Okoro is a defender, but other teams don’t feel the need to guard him. Sam Merrill is a shooter. Tristan Thompson can rebound, but you don’t want the ball in his hands offensively. Georges Niang is a three-point specialist.

And beyond Mobley and Allen, there really is no size on the roster. The Cavs signed Damian Jones in the off-season, but he rarely saw action.

More versatility is needed going forward. Max Strus isn’t the three-point shooter the Cavs thought they were getting (they could have looked at his stats), but he’s a decent passer and rebounder for his size. But his size says he should be playing guard.

The biggest question though is Mitchell. Will he sign an extension or not? If he does, the logical move would be to trade Darius Garland, as it is pretty obvious the two do not mesh well.

We’ve heard folks say Garland still has a good reputation in the league, so he could be the bait to bring in more size.

As for the debate as to whether or not Mobley and Allen can play together? We would like to see a different perspective from another coach before determining it can’t work.

The Cavs did indeed make progress from a year ago, winning a post-season series, but the organization seems to put limits on itself. They were one of the final eight teams playing this season. To virtually stand pat again would be a waste of this opportunity.

They did that last year. They can’t afford to do it again.

Can Unpredictable Cavs Finish It Friday?

For a team that made the play-in tournament and lost in five games to New York a year ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers certainly don’t act like a team that has been involved in post-season basketball for the third consecutive season.

You would think they would be passed the whole “play well at home, play terrible on the road”, but they gutted out a 104-103 Game 5 win over Orlando Tuesday night to take a 3-2 series lead. It was a gutty performance because Jarrett Allen, who may have been Cleveland’s best player in the series, missed the game with a rib injury.

Many of the players who haven’t played in the series to that point came through big time for the wine and gold. The much-maligned Darius Garland got Cleveland off to a great start with 17 first quarter points, winding up with 23 on 9 of 16 shooting, including 3 of 5 from deep.

Garland remains the Cavs’ most reliable long-range shooter in the series, hitting 44.4% (12 of 27).

Max Strus, who together with Georges Niang combined to make just 4 of 28 threes in the series, missed three more in the first half, then came back to knock down 4 of 7 in the second half, scoring 16 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out five assists, including a huge find to Evan Mobley late in the game resulting in a dunk.

And Marcus Morris, conspicuous by his absence in meaningful minutes in the series, made a huge contribution with 12 points, including two big threes in the fourth quarter.

The weird part about Morris is after not playing other than in blowout situations, he would up playing the most minutes of any reserve on J.B. Bickerstaff’s bench.

But perhaps the biggest hero was Mobley, who scored two big hoops in the closing minutes and then made the defensive play of the series so far with a block on Franz Wagner’s drive in the closing seconds to seal the win.

Playing without Allen, Mobley was really Cleveland’s only big (why? Ask Koby Altman) and had 14 points and 13 boards on 7 of 11 shooting. Tristan Thompson did play eight minutes, most of them in the first half.

The Cavs should be at the point where they should be tough enough to go into Orlando on Friday night and win on the road, but after Games 3 and 4, it would seem to be a tough ask. Hopefully, Allen will be back for Game 6.

Georges Niang didn’t play Tuesday night, and we hope Bickerstaff goes back to him going forward. We would have put him out there in the first half of Game 5 to see if he could knock down a shot or two before taking him out. To just not play him? That seems a bit harsh.

The best thing the Cavs did in the victory was take care of the ball. After turning it over an average of 15 times per game in the series, they only had 10 on Tuesday.

And the shooting still needs to pick up. Garland has shot well from outside, but the Cavs are still making just 29% from three in the series. Donovan Mitchell is just 8 for 35 (22.9%).

The best path to victory on the road might be for Mitchell to have a huge night, getting it going from outside.

At this point, the Cavaliers only need to get one more win to advance to the second round.

Based on the way the series has been played in Florida, they have to improve greatly to end this series before a win or take all Game 7.

Cavs’ Direction May Depend On Tonight’s Result

Regardless of whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers win their first round series against the Orlando Magic, it feels like tonight’s Game 5 is a referendum on what the organization has built since LeBron James departed for Los Angeles after the 2018 NBA Finals.

We have not wavered on this, but although we do not think J.B. Bickerstaff is one of the NBA’s best tacticians, part of the problem for the wine and gold is the makeup of the current roster.

We have bemoaned the lack of height for the past two seasons, but it’s not only the tallness of the players, it’s the builds as well. For example, right now Darius Garland and Evan Mobley don’t have the strength to overcome physical play.

Also, the team isn’t mentally tough. They seem to be frontrunners. When things are going well, great, but as soon as something goes wrong, they don’t seem to know how to get things turned around.

And that falls on Koby Altman.

After last season’s playoff loss to the Knicks, Altman looked at the team and decided they needed more shooting, so they signed Max Strus who has one season shooting over 35% from three, and veteran Georges Niang, a career 40% shooter from beyond the arc.

So far in this series, they have made 4 of 28 from long range.

However, we thought at the time the biggest reason for the 4-1 “gentleman’s sweep” by New York last spring was the inability to match the physicalness the Knicks presented. And that was not addressed in the summer, and the two games in Orlando showed the Cavs are still lacking in that department.

Orlando has outrebounded Cleveland in the series after four games, and if the Cavs get to 100 points tonight, it will be for the first time in the series.

The popular thing in NBA circles is when a team loses, the team’s best player is to blame, a theory we do not subscribe to. That isn’t to say Donovan Mitchell has been great in this series, but it’s not as though the coaching staff has done anything to get Mitchell going.

He had a great first half on Saturday, scoring 18 points taking just one three pointer. In the disastrous third quarter, the Cavaliers were outscored 37-10, Mitchell took four shots, three of them from long distance.

When your opponent is on a run, you have to have a set to get your best player a good look. We are still waiting. And by the way, Cleveland’s second-best player, Jarrett Allen, took just two shots.

Meanwhile, Evan Mobley has taken more shots in the series than Darius Garland, a curious statistic. While Garland gives us headaches when he is trying to set up the offense, too much dribbling and very turnover prone, he has been the Cavs’ best three-point shooter in the series, making 9 of 22 (40.9%).

Even if the Cavs win tonight and go on to advance to the second round, these issues aren’t going away, unless Mobley and Garland spend extensive time in the weight room, which we would guess they already do.

As for tonight, let’s hope Bickerstaff is willing to try something different. We would not run away from Strus and/or Niang, but if they aren’t making shots, you have to try Sam Merrill and Marcus Morris, no?

And perhaps use Tristan Thompson up front to provide some muscle, and more resistance to Mo Wagner near the basket.

Orlando has made adjustments to get back in the series. Each of their two best scorers, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have gone off for 30 points. Now, it’s the Cavaliers’ turn to answer back.

The bigger question is can they?

Cavs’ Second Best Player? It’s Jarrett Allen

Quite frankly, we anticipated a tighter first round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic, and perhaps now that the series moves to Florida, we may get it.

The Magic have had problems getting any offense outside of their two forwards, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. That pair is scoring 40.5 points per game, while their next three scorers, Jalen Suggs, Mo Wagner, and Gary Harris are combining for just 29 points per game combined.

Meanwhile, the Cavs’ top four scorers, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, and Darius Garland have scored 73.5 points per night. Cleveland is getting production from several spots, making them harder to defend.

We made the comment on social media last month that while all the talk regarding the Cavs surrounds the backcourt of Mitchell and Garland, no one has noticed that Allen has become their second best player.

Last year, Allen was much maligned during and after the first round loss to the Knicks, although some of his problems weren’t his fault. New York gathered a ton of offensive rebounds because the big man was helping on penetration by the Knicks’ guards and thus was out of position to grab boards.

Offensively, he was only getting seven shots per game and for the series averaged 9.4 points and just 7.4 rebounds per game, well off the 9.8 he grabbed during the regular season.

This year, Allen added range to his shot, taking more shots in the three to ten foot range and still knocked down 63% of his field goal attempts. He also became more of a playmaker, adding an assist per game to his stats.

His performance this series reinforces our comment that Allen is indeed the second best player wearing the wine and gold. He has been a force in the first two games of the series, scoring 16 points and grabbing 19 caroms in Cleveland, and been a force defensively.

His passing has translated as well, with five assists in the series, tied for third with Max Strus.

The injuries to Mobley and Garland have allowed Allen to blossom as a scorer and passer. He did score 16.1 points a game before Mitchell arrived last season but dropped to 14.3 last year as he was regarded more as a fourth option. Heck, he was fifth in field goal attempts behind 6th man Caris LeVert.

He was still fifth this season, but with Garland missing 25 games, Mobley out for 32 contests, and even Mitchell did not play in 27 games, Allen became more important, especially because he was available, playing 77 games, second to Georges Niang.

No doubt that contributed to Allen’s career high 16.5 scoring average and 819 field goal attempts. We always wondered why the Cavs didn’t get Allen the ball more often because for his career, he has made 63% of his shots.

We understand his range isn’t the same as Mitchell or Garland, but he was still 4th in field goal percentage in the league this year, and was 5th a year ago, and 2nd in 2021-22. When he gets the ball close to the basket, chances are, he will score.

The people who wanted Allen traded a year ago got it wrong. He may not be a three-point threat, but he’s a defensive force who can put the ball in the basket. He’s showing in this series that he’s a winning player too.

Thoughts On A Game One Win For Cavs

The first piece of business for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs was not to blow the home court advantage after the first game.

They did just that, defeating the Orlando Magic 97-83, to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Orlando shot the ball putridly, making just 32.6% of their shots, and if you take their all-star, Paolo Banchero out of the equation, it was even worse at 27.5%. And even worse, they missed 11 free throws as well.

In essence, they shot the ball like a bunch of guys playing in their first playoff experience would shoot it.

The Cavs’ big men showed up big time in the first game, with Jarrett Allen getting 16 points and grabbing 18 boards, and Evan Mobley knocked down a couple of threes early before operating in the paint with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks.

And of course, Donovan Mitchell led the way offensively, with 30 points on 11 of 21 shooting, and had several key baskets in the paint when the Cleveland offense bogged down.

After having a 53-41 lead at halftime, the Magic turned up the defensive intensity in the third quarter, cutting the advantage to four, but the veterans off the bench, Georges Niang and Caris LeVert, keyed a 13-2 spurt to push the advantage back out to 15 at the end of the third.

Orlando’s top two scorers, Banchero and Franz Wagner combined for a little over half the Magic’s points, but they received little help from the rest of the roster. We don’t think Gary Harris, Joe Ingles, Cole Anthony, and Markelle Fultz will all fail to make a shot like they did yesterday.

As for the Cavs, they knocked down their first five long range shots, but then shot just 3 for 25 the rest of the way. We would expect a better shooting night for the wine and gold from long distance in Game 2 on Monday night.

We were concerned about taking care of the basketball in the series, and they got away with it in Game 1, turning the ball over 17 times against 12 takeaways. They have to do better going forward.

Orlando’s Jalen Suggs harassed Darius Garland, who did knock down a couple of big threes late, but Garland had five turnovers, and we think Suggs thinks he can take the ball from the Cavs’ guard any time has wants to.

J.B. Bickerstaff did play nine men, although Sam Merrill only got four minutes, missing two shots. We hope the coach continues to put Merrill out there. We understand he didn’t hit shots early, but he has the ability to have a different dynamic offensively.

We would also like to see Marcus Morris get some time as well. We know Bickerstaff likes to use just eight players, particularly in the playoffs, but we think Morris can help.

Monday night, we would guess Orlando will shoot better, but on the other hand, the Cavs should be better from behind the arc too.

The Cavaliers out rebounded Orlando 65-53, and if they can continue to control the backboards, they will be just fine. There is no doubt the Magic will make adjustments before Game 2, and we will bet they will put more pressure on the Cleveland ball handlers.

It will be up to the coaching staff to have something else in the bag. Getting the next game puts a ton of pressure on a Magic team with very little experience.

Cavs Can Move On, But It Won’t Be Easy

This Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers will open the NBA playoffs against the team they wanted to play apparently, the Orlando Magic. Before we talk about this series, let’s cover what happened in the season finale against Charlotte.

For us, tanking the fourth quarter to manipulate who you play in the first round is the sign of an organization that doesn’t believe in itself. Perhaps you don’t agree, but we will say the players didn’t like the move, although Max Strus was the only one who said so publicly.

And remember where Strus came from. He played for Miami, an organization that is famous for not caring who they play, they feel they can and will win. Yes, the Heat view the regular season differently, but that’s because they have the belief they can overcome any obstacle.

The curious thing about the decision is getting into the Celtics’ side of the bracket. Boston is the best team of the NBA, meaning the Cavs time in the playoffs could be limited to a first round win.

But it will not be easy. Orlando is second in the league in defensive efficiency, and they will have a size advantage, particularly at guard and small forward. Cleveland ranks sixth in defense, but over the last month, that side of the ball seems to have dropped off for the wine and gold.

One problem we see playing a good defensive team is getting into situations where you can get good shots, and that hasn’t been a strength of J. B. Bickerstaff. The coach likes to default to the pick and roll in so many situations, and good defensive teams tend to take that away.

There is a narrative out there that this series will be a referendum on Donovan Mitchell, and can he be the best player on a team that goes deep into the playoffs. We don’t think Mitchell was the reason Cleveland lost a year ago. He averaged 23.2 points and 7.2 assists vs. New York. He didn’t shoot well from long distance, just 29%, but as a team, the Cavs shot a better percentage than New York.

Mitchell’s biggest issue was no one else helped. Both Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen averaged less than 10 points per game, and Darius Garland dished out 5 assists per game, but also had 3.6 turnovers.

We would also like to see the coach use Sam Merrill and Marcus Morris in the series. We know he likes to use eight, but he should try to use 10.

Orlando isn’t a good three-point shooting team, ranking second last in attempts (FYI, Denver is last) and 7th worst in percentage made. However, they make 55% of their shots inside the arc, and surprisingly, take the most free throws in the league.

Unlike Cleveland, whose primary scorers are in the backcourt, Orlando’s two best scorers are a pair of 6’10” forwards, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Jalen Suggs, a 6’5″ point guard and Cole Anthony are their next two scorers.

Suggs along with veteran Joe Ingles, a former teammate of Mitchell and Georges Niang in Utah, are the Magic’s best threats from long distance.

It will be interesting to see how Bickerstaff aligns the defense, particularly in key moments. Will he put Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on Banchero and Wagner?

The “x-factor” for the Magic is defensive stalwart Jonathan Isaac, who is one of the best defenders in the NBA. Isaac was sidelined for most of three seasons (2020-21 through 2022-23), playing just 11 games in those years, but played in 58 games this year, and after the all-star break, averaged 7.9 points and 5 rebounds in 17 minutes.

He also made 24 of 48 threes in that span, shooting 56.8% from the floor overall. He can be a handful.

Can the Cavs win the series? Definitely, they have the home court and the playoff experience edge. However, it won’t be easy. The Magic are athletic and long, and no doubt hungry.

Cleveland wanted Orlando. Beating them may not be as easy as they thought it would be when they “arranged” the match up.

Time For Cavs To Have Accountability

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ weird season continues. They have struggled since the All-Star break, but still are in third place in the Eastern Conference, and amazingly are just a game and a half behind the second place Milwaukee Bucks.

Of course, they are also just a half game ahead of fourth place New York, while Orlando has slid to two and a half games behind Cleveland.

Still, that doesn’t make Wednesday loss on the road to a terrible Charlotte team any more palatable, and it doesn’t exactly give fans a warm and fuzzy feeling with the playoffs just a couple of weeks away.

J.B. Bickerstaff has always talked about the Cavs being defensive minded, but the lowly Hornets blistered Cleveland, particularly from inside the three-point line, where they made 31 of 43 shots, a 72% clip.

The thing that came up again to fans and media alike is this word, “toughness”. Or the lack of it from the wine and gold.

When the Cavaliers win, they always talk about togetherness, having fun, and sharing. They also like to refer to themselves as a young team. That’s getting old (no pun intended).

Evan Mobley is 22, but he’s been in the NBA for three seasons. Isaac Okoro is 23, but this is his fourth year. Darius Garland is 24, but in his fifth NBA campaign.

And those are the only guys under 25 getting regular playing time.

Jarrett Allen is 25, Dean Wade, Max Strus, Donovan Mitchell, and Sam Merrill are 27 years old. The young team excuse should be off the table and the coaching staff and organization should stop coddling them.

It’s time for Bickerstaff to stop calling timeout every time the opponent scores three baskets in a row. When Phil Jackson coached, he was famous for not calling timeouts, instead giving his players instructions to figure it out themselves. That’s how you build toughness and accountability.

In that game, Garland, who we have criticized for being careless with the ball, turned it over three times in the first five minutes. Why not take him out of the game after that? Hate to sound like a parent, but there are consequences for actions.

And Marcus Morris, who received the Cavs’ chain for his tough play in Monday’s win, didn’t even get off the bench for the loss on Wednesday. That’s how being tough and physical is awarded in the organization?

It’s long since the time to take the “training wheels” off for this group. They are old enough and been around long enough for the organization to be looking for accountability from this squad.

Perhaps there is a different message in the locker room and at practice. Publicly, it’s beginning to sound like rhetoric.

We’ve said it earlier this season, but the regular season isn’t how the Cavaliers are going to be judged, but it is important to get home court advantage for as many rounds as possible. That’s because this group hasn’t had any playoff success.

The Miami Heat should be the model used for being tough, and it’s not weakness to point to another organization as a guide.

How often do you think Erik Spoelstra talks about having fun?

Cavs Need To Get Healthy And Right The Ship. Quickly

The last month for the Cleveland Cavaliers has been a conundrum. They’ve been missing several key players, including their best, Donovan Mitchell, who has played in just five of the 17 games following the All-Star break.

Evan Mobley and Max Strus are two other starters who have not been available for the bulk of the second half schedule because of injuries.

In that time period, Cleveland has defeated the league’s best team, Boston, the third seed in the West, Minnesota, and had impressive road wins against New Orleans and Indiana.

But they’ve also lost home games to a battered Miami Heat team and Brooklyn.

There are only 12 games remaining in the regular season, and the wine and gold have a west coast trip before the season comes to a close. And they are in real danger of losing home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs, as both the Knicks and Magic are just one game behind in the loss column.

What all this means is coach J.B. Bickerstaff needs to find a winning formula and quickly. Yes, the Cavs have a very good record on the road at 21-13, but we don’t think they want to have their first-round playoff match up without the majority of the games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

First and foremost, they need to get Mitchell healthy. He is their unquestioned leader, and when Darius Garland and Mobley were injured in December and each missed about a month, the ball was put in his hands and he thrived.

Averaging 27.4 points and 6.1 assists per night, along with five rebounds, his ability to score inside, driving to the bucket is sorely missed. And remember, he’s still shooting 37.3% from behind the arc.

Jarrett Allen has held his own, scoring 16.3 points and grabbing 10.8 boards on a nightly basis, as well as being a solid defender, and Caris LeVert has stepped up his game too.

LeVert gets criticized by many of the younger fans because he doesn’t make threes (which is really a stupid criticism) has also stepped up particularly the play making that Mitchell provided. He is dishing out 7.9 assists since the All-Star game, although his scoring and shooting is down.

To us, he has sacrificed his scoring to do what is best for the team, and perhaps that is the first step for many of the other Cavs in order to right the ship.

Cleveland did sign veteran Marcus Morris Jr. to a ten day contract, and at 6’8″, Morris provides some size in the front court and he can knock down shots.

Bickerstaff isn’t blameless either. We do believe he made the decision to have LeVert handle the playmaking duties over the turnover prone Garland, but we don’t understand his substitution patterns at times.

He went through a stretch where he ignored Sam Merrill, who despite a slump in early March where he hit just 4 of 29 threes, has knocked down 17 of his last 37 (46%). Friday night, he didn’t use Craig Porter Jr., even though Garland wasn’t playing particularly well.

And he played a sore kneed Mitchell 44 minutes in an overtime, and that’s when Mitchell went back out of the lineup.

We hate to say it, but how the Cavaliers perform from here on out and during the playoffs will likely determine if Bickerstaff returns as head coach next season.

Also, we also believe if Mitchell signs an extension with the Cavs, a roster shake up will occur, and Garland will likely be traded.

The Cavs do need toughness, but part of that starts with adding size, something outside of Allen and Mobley, the wine and gold desperately need.

Discussing Darius Garland

During the 2021-22 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the surprises in the first half of the season. Coming off a 22-50 record the previous season, Cleveland was sitting at 35-23 as the All-Star game was heading to their home at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

While Evan Mobley was having a very good rookie season, the team’s breakout star was third year guard Darius Garland, averaging 20.3 points and 8 assists per contest.

And he was only 22 years old.

Garland was shooting 47.7% from the floor on 16.3 shots per game, 37.8% from three-point range and making 91.1% of his free throws playing a little less than 35 minutes per game. While Jarrett Allen was named to the all-star rosters later because of injuries, it was Garland who was the breakout star.

After the break, Garland’s shot attempts increased to 19.4/game, but his shooting percentage dropped to 43.5%, although his three-point shooting got better. His minutes increased to 38 per night and his assists increased to 10.

Watching the games at the time, we thought Garland seemed to be in the “I’m an all-star” mode. The Cavs went 9-15 down the stretch, mostly because they lost Allen to a hand injury. They were 37-27 when Allen was hurt, and went 7-11 without him.

Garland had a very good regular season last year, being paired with Donovan Mitchell. He averaged 21.6 points, on 46.2% shooting (career high 41% from three), and his assists were down from 8.6 to 7.8, understandable because of Mitchell’s presence. His turnovers also decreased from 3.6 to 2.9.

But in the playoffs, he had a problem (as did all the Cavs) with the increased physicality. He shot 43.8% from the floor and had just 5 assists compared to 3.6 turnovers per game in the series loss to New York.

He also had problems guarding Jalen Brunson, although to be fair, anyone not named Isaac Okoro had the same issue.

This season, Garland has regressed. To be fair, he has battled injuries all year, missing games early in the season after getting hit in the eye, and then a little over a month with a broken jaw.

His shooting is down slightly (45.6% from the floor, 38.2% from three), and so are his assists (6.2) and his turnovers are up to 3.3. He’s had just two games with 10 or more helpers, and since Mitchell has been out, he’s had some problems late in games with turnovers.

Garland scored 34 points in a win over Minnesota last Friday, but had five turnovers in that game, and was fortunate to be bailed out when he dribbled into a trap late in the fourth quarter, and then in an isolation situation, had a possible game winning shot blocked.

In Monday’s loss to Phoenix, Garland again dribbled the air out of the ball on a key possession late forcing a bad shot. He scored 30 points in that game.

In our coaching days, we used to tell players the last thing we would use to check to see if a player had a good game, was the scoresheet. We feel the same way about these two games.

When Garland was out and the ball was in Mitchell’s hands, it seemed the ball moved more. It doesn’t seem that way now, the ball is sticking in Garland’s hands.

This Cavalier season will be measured by how the team does in the playoffs. However, because Mitchell’s contract situation, there will likely changes to the roster this off-season. If Mitchell stays, Koby Altman has a decision to make with his backcourt.