With Tough Stretch Coming, Cavs Need To Get Back To Defense

When the NBA’s all-star weekend came to town a week ago, the optimism around the Cleveland Cavaliers was at a season high. The wine and gold was sitting as the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 35-23 record.

While people should still be viewing the Cavs as a huge surprise and success this season, there is no question the good thought have waned a bit because of the injuries that continue to plague J.B. Bickerstaff’s team.

Even though Lauri Markkanen returned when the games started back up last Thursday, the Cavaliers have been without all star Darius Garland (bone bruise in the back), and Caris LeVert (sprained foot) in both games after the break.

And now, Garland’s back up, veteran Rajon Rondo is out for two weeks with a sprained big toe.

Those are three of the team’s top nine players, and with three games with playoff teams coming up (Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Toronto) coming up, the Cavs need to adjust their style of play and have some players in the deeper part of the bench step up in the short term.

The “easy” part of the schedule is now over. In addition to the next trio of opponents, prior to St. Patrick’s Day, Cleveland will also play Miami and Chicago, the top two teams in the East, along with another tilt against the Sixers, and Denver also comes to town.

Hopefully, Garland and LeVert will be able to play by those latter four games.

In the meantime, Koby Altman brought in veteran journeyman Tim Frazier to soak up some minutes at point guard. Brandon Goodwin, who wasn’t even in the organization at the start of the season, will start, but the best thing might be for the offense to run through Cedi Osman and Kevin Love when they are on the floor.

And perhaps Bickerstaff should keep at least one of them out there at all times. When Love is on the floor, they like to have him at the high post and pass out of that spot. Osman is more of a drive and dish kind of player, but both have good instincts for passing the basketball.

Until then, the Cavs need players like Goodwin to perform. Unfortunately, he is showing why he was available for Cleveland to sign in the middle of December.

The same can be said of Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens.

It’s tough for players to be productive on most nights. It’s what separates the rotational players in the NBA with the guys who are the 10th to 15th men on the roster.

The best way for those players to make their bones in the league is to not play outside of themselves. Do the little things, set screens, play defense, etc. Those are the things that can be done every night.

Goodwin is very good going to the basket, but is a 31% career three point shooter. He gets in trouble when he shoots them when they aren’t going in. Wade needs to make shots because he doesn’t do much else, although he’s a decent defender.

What we liked about Stevens was that he didn’t fall into the trap of letting the defense determine how he would play. He has a solid mid-range game. He needs to continue that and let the game come to him.

The Cavs don’t need all three to contribute, but two out of three have to.

Furthermore, with Garland and LeVert out, defense is more important and Bickerstaff made that clear to his squad Saturday night.

Again, hopefully the injured players are back soon and the Cavaliers can get momentum going down the homestretch. Until then, they need to get back to what put them on the NBA map early this season.

Cavs Checking All The Boxes On The Good Side.

In the end, Cavaliers’ GM Koby Altman didn’t make any more moves at the NBA trading deadline, meaning Caris LeVert was the only addition to J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad.

As we wrote a couple of days ago, that was a mighty big acquisition, getting a scorer who can do other things for a couple of draft picks that likely won’t yield a player as good as LeVert.

The early returns seem good as well. The former Pacer scored 11 in his debut and 22 against his former team, and visually, looks like he fits in perfectly. He even commented as to how he feels his defense has to pick up because he sees his new teammates putting the effort in.

That’s called having a good culture.

There was a lot of talk about Altman trying to get a better backup point guard with Darius Garland’s current back issues. About a week and a half ago, Rajon Rondo didn’t have a good game against New Orleans, and Brandon Goodwin led a come from behind victory.

He followed that game up with a pair of two point games against Houston and Charlotte.

In the last three contests, Rondo looks like he can be the solution, even at age 35. He has put up 37 points and 22 assists in those games, playing an average of 28 minutes.

We are sure Bickerstaff doesn’t want Rondo playing those kinds of minutes on a nightly basis, but the veteran has shown he is still capable of being able to get the job done.

Bickerstaff has emphasized defense after the first couple games of the season (we are pretty sure he did so in training camp, but the results early were ugly) and the wine and gold now allow the fewest points per game in the league and are third in defensive rating.

Old school hoops people looked at defensive field goal percentage and Cleveland ranks third best in the league in that statistic (behind Golden State and Boston), holding teams to just 44% shooting.

As a contrast, the Cavs themselves knockdown 46.6% of their shots.

The other ranking that used to be judged was the average margin of victory, the reasoning being good teams win a lot of games by comfortable margins, “lucky” ones win a lot of close ones.

Again, the Cavs hold up well here, ranking 7th in this category throughout the league and 3rd in the Eastern Conference behind Miami and Boston at 4.61.

If you figure strength of schedule into the equation, the Cavaliers rank 1st in the East ahead of Miami and Boston.

You can’t help by being impressed by this group.

And while all teams this year have been affected by injuries and COVID, the Cavs have been no different.

Collin Sexton, who was starting at the beginning of the season, and Ricky Rubio, who was making a huge impact off the bench playing almost 30 minutes a game, are both out for the season with knee injuries.

Virtually every key player has missed time due the virus, and currently, Lauri Markkanen is out with a sprained ankle.

We don’t believe anyone understands the importance Markkanen has with his length defensively on the perimeter, and the spacing he provides offensively.

Yes, Dean Wade can shoot from outside, but Markkanen is much better putting the ball on the floor and attacking the rim.

We are anxious to see LeVert on the floor on a regular basis with Garland and Markkanen.

That will provide a much deeper team.

It won’t be easy. The Nets and Celtics both got better at the trade deadline too, and they will be formidable opponents.

But these Cavaliers check all the boxes as well. Spring basketball is always a lot of fun.

Cavs Are Fun, But It’s Time To Expect Success

Since the Cleveland Browns’ season ended last month, the sports focus of the city, other than the obsession with Baker Mayfield, has been on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and rightly so.

Not many people figured this would be a playoff year for the wine and gold, but as of today, they sit tied for the third best record in the Eastern Conference at 34-21, and they were buyers at the trade deadline, getting Caris LeVert from Indiana.

They have already exceeded the 30 wins we predicted they would get this season, and quite frankly, a 50 win season wouldn’t be a big shock.

Most of the commentary in the media has been about how much fun J.B. Bickerstaff’s club is to watch, and after three years of being among the worst teams in the NBA, absolutely it is a joy to watch this team play.

The thing that makes all this winning fun is the lack of expectation. No one expected the Cavaliers to be in this position. Fans were looking forward to the development of Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, and were anxious to see how rookie Evan Mobley would hold up under the grind of an 82 game schedule.

And no one figured Kevin Love would be drinking from the fountain of youth, playing his most energetic and enthusiastic basketball since perhaps 2016.

There are no impending free agencies on the horizon, save for Collin Sexton this summer, so Koby Altman doesn’t have to tiptoe around making players want to stay in Cleveland. This is just about basketball and putting together a team.

How far can they go this spring and summer?

Five of the primary players on this edition of the Cavs are under 25 years old: Garland, Mobley, Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen, and Lauri Markkanen. We didn’t include Sexton because he’s not playing right now.

Of that quintet, only Allen has ever appeared in a playoff game, being in nine of them with Brooklyn in 2019 and 2020. He’s played in one winning post-season contest. Newcomer LeVert has the exact same experience.

On the other hand, Love, Cedi Osman, and Rajon Rondo have plenty of playoff experience. Heck, Rondo even has a nickname (Playoff Rondo) built around his 134 games of experience. Love’s been in 63 post-season games and Osman 14.

You notice all of the experience is coming off the bench.

A realistic expectation for this group probably depends on whether or not they end up in the top four of the conference, which would mean home court advantage in the first round. And even then, it depends on the matchup.

Having to play say Philadelphia or Brooklyn in the first round would be very difficult for these young Cavs, because of having an opponent with a great player who has a tremendous amount of post-season experience.

It would be great to win a title for sure, but ideally, winning one series could be a stepping stone for this group. It will show them what playing in the playoffs is like. Defense gets stepped up, every possession is of even greater importance.

Teams can surprise, like Atlanta did a year ago, but usually there is a process to success once the calendar changes to April and May.

However, Bickerstaff won’t change his approach and neither should the players. They should expect to win. That’s half the battle.

Comparing These Cavs To The “Miracle” Team

Since the calendar flipped to 2022, the Cleveland Cavaliers have taken it to another level, winning eight out of nine, and currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference, just two games out of the top spot.

However, the East is so competitive this season that the Cavs are also just 2-1/2 games ahead of the current 7th seed and finishing seventh through tenth gets you a spot in the (ridiculous) play in tournament.

Although Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen are getting all star buzz, J.B. Bickerstaff and GM Koby Altman have put together a “team”, and we have discussed before how important it is that any addition made to the roster has to be done with an eye on the incredible chemistry and togetherness this group has.

That togetherness reminds us of the first Cavalier team to make the post-season, the 1975-76 Miracle of Richfield group. That team had nine players who averaged 16 minutes per game.

Out of the 11 players who have played 30 games this season for Cleveland, 10 of them have averaged 15 minutes per game. Now a couple of those guys (Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens) have done that because they move into the starting lineup because Bickerstaff doesn’t want to mess with the bench minutes.

The ’76 team was led in minutes per game by Jim Brewer, who averaged 35.5, while this year’s group is paced by Garland’s 34.7 a contest. So, playing time is spaced out among nine or ten players.

Both groups have veterans who were stars in the NBA embracing a reserve role.

Nate Thurmond was a 7-time all-star and started for Chicago the year before coming to the Cavs early in the 75-76 season. Coach Bill Fitch asked Thurmond to come off the bench and be the anchor of the second unit defensively. Fitch felt the veteran would have a huge impact as a shot blocker and rebounder playing 15-20 minutes per night.

This year’s group has Kevin Love, a key part of the 2016 championship team here. Love spent the post-LeBron James’ years being an undersized center, and the pounding of playing against bigger bodies took its toll on him.

With Allen, rookie Evan Mobley, and even Lauri Markkanen, Love can do what he still does very well. Shoot the three ball, score, and rebound. And as with Fitch in ’76, Bickerstaff has limited Love to just 21.6 minutes a game.

Love is hitting 40% from three and is third on the wine and gold in rebounds at 7.2.

Both squads made their bones on the defensive end of the floor. Fitch’s team was 4th in defensive rating, Bickerstaff’s team is 3rd.

There are differences though. The ’75-’76 team missed the playoffs by one game the previous season, the current edition came out of nowhere. These Cavs have the probable rookie of the year in Evan Mobley, while those Cavaliers were largely a young veteran core, many players with two to four years experience.

One problem Altman and Bickerstaff won’t have to worry about is the dispersal draft, which really hurt the Cavs. The NBA and ABA merged following the ’76 season, and not only the college draft, but the players from ABA teams not absorbed into the NBA were drafted in reverse order of their records, meaning Cleveland could not improve its roster.

Players like Artis Gilmore (Chicago), Maurice Lucas (Portland) and Moses Malone (Portland, but traded to Buffalo and then to Houston) went in that selection process.

By the way, Portland won the title the following season.

What strikes us as the most similar thing about the two teams is the togetherness, the unselfishness of the two squads. They are about winning, and that’s refreshing. They want each other to succeed.

That ’76 team went to the Eastern Conference finals, where they took Boston to six games. They did it despite losing starting center Jim Chones to a broken foot, meaning Thurmond had to start and did a tremendous job in the series.

Hopefully, these Cavs can stay healthy so we can see how far they can go this spring.

Oh, and one other similarity. Both teams are incredibly fun to watch.

Not Just Talent, Cavs Have To Be Concerned With Fit In Any Deal.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers currently sitting in the 5th spot in the Eastern Conference standings, much speculation has been made about possible moves to strengthen the roster for the stretch run before the February 10th trade deadline.

The Cavs need some scoring. They rank 20th in the NBA in points per game, and 11th in offensive efficiency. But although they are fifth in the league in field goal percentage from inside the three-point line, they are just 16th from beyond the arc.

Adding another perimeter threat would allow Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley more room to work inside, as we’ve seen teams start to dare the Cavs to shoot from outside, because Allen and Mobley are so lethal in the paint.

Darius Garland shoots the most threes, and he knocks them down at a 36.6% clip, and Kevin Love is next, making 40.3%. However, Cleveland is 20th in the NBA in shooting the long distance shot. They aren’t great at it, so they don’t do it a lot, and that friends makes sense.

The challenge for GM Koby Altman though, is not to just find someone who can make three pointers, but to find someone who fits into how Cleveland currently plays.

J.B. Bickerstaff has built this team on grittiness and a defensive presence, and the players have bought in. To bring in a player who will not buy in to how the Cavs are playing could ruin what this team has been built on.

In terms of what Altman has to offer, Ricky Rubio’s expiring contract would be first and foremost. The injured Rubio will not play the rest of this season, but he is a free agent at the end of this season, meaning his deal can help balance the cash on both sides.

The other major piece is Collin Sexton’s contract. Sexton will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and another team might want the right of refusal on the young guard.

Basketball is probably the leading sport where the parts (the talents of the players) must fit together. For instance, on defense, a team is only as good as its worst defender.

There is also a difference between playing winning basketball and losing basketball, so GM’s have to be careful bringing in players who don’t play “the right way”.

In our opinion, bringing in someone from a losing program would be a bigger risk than bringing in someone who has been on a winner.

When Altman needed to replace Rubio, we went for Rajon Rondo, who has played on winning teams virtually his entire career, including three teams who went to the NBA Finals. The GM knew Rondo would put winning first.

Caris LeVert is another name mentioned prominently, and although he doesn’t have the winning pedigree of Rondo, he is a proven scorer (over 18 points the last three seasons) and has a reputation of being a great teammate.

The downside? He’s only a career 33% shooter from distance.

On the other hand, another player who has been mentioned heading to Cleveland is Sacramento’s Buddy Hield, who is 40% shooter from beyond the arc since coming into the league but has been a part of a losing team for many years.

Could he fit into playing a role on a winning team? That’s what Altman needs to determine.

And really, it’s a question all winning teams have to ask. Not just about Hield, but any player who is used to losing.

Being on a winning team takes a lot of sacrifice for some players, having the willingness to forego some personal numbers so you can win is the type of players coaches and organizations love.

It’s not just about plugging in a players’ statistics to a certain team, including the Cavaliers. Being able to fit into the Bickerstaff’s plan for the team and being willing to fit in with the current group is very important.

If the Cavs want to enhance this team, those are all things that need to be considered.

How Things Have Changed For Koby Altman.

It appears the Cleveland Cavaliers have settled on long term stability, and we hope it works out.

On Christmas Day, the team announced an extension for coach J.B. Bickerstaff, keeping him as the head coach through the 2026-27 season. That would give Bickerstaff seven full seasons at the helm, putting him up there with Bill Fitch (9 years), Lenny Wilkens (7), Mike Fratello (6) in terms of continuous service with the team.

Then on Tuesday it was announced that GM Koby Altman would have the added title of president of basketball operations, and his contract was extended though the 2027-28 season.

So, the Altman/Bickerstaff duo will be running the professional hoops team in Cleveland for the foreseeable future.

What a remarkable turnabout for Altman, who many (including us) questioned since LeBron James departed via free agency following the 2017-18 campaign.

There were back-to-back 19 win seasons (to be fair, the one year was shortened to 65 games by the pandemic), followed by 22 victories a year ago.

His first post-James draft pick, made with the precious lottery pick obtained in the Kyrie Irving trade, was Collin Sexton, a score first 6’2″ guard who isn’t a particularly good passer (some would say not willing either) and because of his height, is a defensive liability.

The next year, he doubled down on the guard position, taking another smallish guard in 6’1″ Darius Garland, and with other first round picks, he took swingman Dylan Windler, supposedly a good shooter, and the troubled Kevin Porter Jr., who has since departed.

The following first rounder was Isaac Okoro, another player with a limited skill set. He’s a very good defender, but offensively, he needs work.

Up until then, you can’t blame fans for wondering what was going on with the Cavaliers. Add in the head coaching chaos, bringing in long time college coach John Beilein, who was ill equipped to coach at the pro level.

Then during last season, Altman got involved in the big transaction involving James Harden going to Brooklyn, and came out with a young, talented big man in Jarrett Allen, and the Cavs signed the restricted free agent to a five-year deal.

After years of kind of ignoring size, Cleveland got some size. Allen averaged 13.2 points and 10 rebounds a game last year, and has upped that to 16.9 and 11 this season.

If he was playing, that move put Altman on a hot streak. Tayshaun Prince came over with Allen, and was used to get Ricky Rubio, a veteran playmaker the wine and gold needed, from Minnesota.

He used the 3rd overall pick to draft Evan Mobley (confession, we though he would be a project at this point) and made another trade to get Lauri Markkanen from Chicago. Bickerstaff likes size, and he decided to start the three seven footers together, giving Cleveland more size up front that most other NBA squads.

When Rubio went down, Altman almost immediately traded for Rajon Rondo, a very accomplished veteran to replace him.

There is no question Altman isn’t getting an extension and promotion without the moves made over the last year.

He also deserves credit for finding Bickerstaff and putting him in charge. Without a doubt, he’s a top candidate for coach of the year honors.

The Cavaliers are four years post-LBJ and they have made themselves into a playoff contender, not just a play-in tournament contender.

There is now pressure on Altman and Bickerstaff to keep progressing and get the Cavs back into championship contention.

It’s funny how things and perceptions can change in just a year. Koby Altman has become a rising executive in the NBA. That’s not something we would have said a year ago.

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.

Rubio’s Injury Hurts, Can Altman Fill The Void?

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ worst fears came true yesterday as it was announced Ricky Rubio tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season.

When Koby Altman acquired the veteran right before the draft, we loved the move because Rubio “knows how to play” basketball, and a young team like the Cavs need more guys who can show them the correct way to handle things.

Although we felt it was a great move by Altman, we think we still underestimated how important the 5th overall pick in the 2009 draft would be to Cleveland.

Rubio has not only helped Darius Garland in his development, which was probably the main reason for the trade, but due to the injury to Collin Sexton, he has wound up playing along side Garland, freeing him up to do more scoring.

Meanwhile, the veteran has ramped up his scoring too. When the trade was finalized, coach J.B. Bickerstaff told Rubio he wanted the Spanish National Team version of the guard, and currently, his 13.1 points per game would tie his career high, set in 2017-18 with Utah.

He’s taking a career best 12 shots per contest (his previous high is 10.7 in his first two seasons with the Jazz), and he’s attempting five three pointers per night, way over his previous high of 3.7, also with Utah.

Right now, he’s the leader of the wine and gold’s bench, which has done a tremendous job all season. All three of the principles in this group, which includes another veteran in Kevin Love along with Cedi Osman, are averaging in double figures.

The Cavs have used a very balanced scoring attack this season, with seven players averaging more than 10 points (not including Sexton) and Isaac Okoro falling just short of that mark at 9.2 points per game.

Rubio’s loss would be a huge blow to the resurgent Cavaliers because he fills so many roles on the team.

As a backup point guard, he allows Garland to play just 34 minutes per night. Without someone of Rubio’s talent, his minutes will have to increase when he returns from the COVID protocols, and that might take a toll on him as the season wears on.

And because he can play with Garland, Cleveland’s leading scorer will not be able to play off the ball as often, which allows him to be a spot up shooter from deep. Rubio’s replacement would have to be someone who commands respect from opposing defenses, and that would be a tough find.

There is also the veteran’s approach the Cavs will miss. Again, when he came to Cleveland, the phrase we used is “he knows how to play”. While, some of that has rubbed off already on his young teammates, we are sure Rubio hasn’t showed all of his tricks at this point.

Can Altman fill this spot with one player? That’s doubtful, so he may have to make a couple of moves to fill the void left by Rubio. Most of the good ball handling guards who can score and provide veteran leadership aren’t probably available.

But right now, the Cavaliers should have playoff aspirations and they’ve earned that right. To keep their winning ways, they need to replace the veteran and as quickly as possible.

Yes, Garland shouldn’t be gone too long, but they need someone who can play with him and be a back-up to the third-year player.

There is a huge challenge ahead for both Altman and Bickerstaff.

Who knew Rubio would make this much of an impact on the Cavs?

Cavs Won’t Be Sellers, Should They Be Buyers At Trade Deadline?

We are sure when the NBA season began, the plan was for Kevin Love to play well enough that contending teams would be interested in adding his hefty contract to help push them toward a lengthy run in the playoffs.

Sometimes, plans go awry and it is for a good reason.

Currently, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a playoff contender, and Love is helping them win basketball games.

Does this mean Love won’t be traded? No, he could still be moved, after all, anything is possible, but it would seem doubtful that GM Koby Altman is going to get an offer that both makes this year’s edition of the wine and gold better, and frees up salary cap space by taking the veteran’s contract.

Cleveland should now be in the “buyer” category now. They sit with the third best record in the Eastern Conference at 19-12, and are one of the better defensive teams in the league. And defense plays once the post-season begins.

One thing the Cavs have going for them is chemistry, they play together and enjoy playing with each other. Even with Collin Sexton sidelined, Cleveland has eight players averaging at least 9.3 points per night, ranging from Darius Garland’s 19.1 to Isaac Okoro at the lower figure listed.

So, Altman should be looking for a player who fits with the current roster and can shoot from outside. And J.B. Bickerstaff likes to play big men, and if you can find another useful big, then why not get one of those too.

The problem is what could Altman give up to make such a move without disrupting the current formula for success?

The easy answer would be Sexton, who is out for the season, and did not sign a contract extension before the campaign started, so he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Our guess is that the front office has reached out to Sexton and his representatives to see if he is interested in staying with the Cavaliers long term at a smaller than the max deal number. Many basketball people have speculated he would be perfect in a sixth man role, providing instant offense off the bench for a contending team.

The question is would he accept that role?

Other than Sexton, and if you move him it would basically be for less than his value, but on the other hand, you get something that helps you this season.

And although the Cavaliers have a very young core, there is no guarantee about any other season except this one. It would seem the future is very bright, but in the NBA you never know about injuries, contract issues, etc., and how is affects a team.

Still, unless another team is interested in a player like Dylan Windler, Lamar Stevens, Dean Wade, and/or Denzel Valentine, the best course of action for Altman would seem to stand pat and see how far this group can go.

That’s not a bad plan either. You would see how these Cavaliers do in a playoff situation, and that would give the front office a good idea of what needs to be done going forward.

What will Altman do? All we can do is wait and see. There will be wings available at the trade deadline, but do the Cavs want to disrupt what is currently working? Normally, we would say yes, but that might not be the wise thing with this group wearing the wine and gold.