This Is A Different Season For Cavs. Don’t Jump To Conclusions Yet

The Cleveland Cavaliers open the home part of their schedule tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks, their only game at Rocket Arena out of their first five contests.

Already, there are complaints about the first two games for the wine and gold, and we base that on the football mentality that permeates throughout the area.

Folks, there are 80 more games to play.

Last year, the Cavs got off to a 15-0 start, one of the best starts in NBA history. Note the end of that last sentence. Teams don’t do that on a regular basis, and the Cavaliers weren’t going to do it again this season.

And frankly, we have said previously that we wanted Kenny Atkinson to do some experimenting with rotations in October and November, particularly getting good looks at some young players.

He has had to make some changes because Darius Garland, Max Strus will both miss significant time to open the year, and then De’Andre Hunter suffered a bruised knee in the last exhibition game. That’s three prominent players.

As a result, Sam Merrill has moved into the starting lineup along with second year player Jaylon Tyson, and guys like Craig Porter Jr. and perhaps Dean Wade are getting more playing time than normal.

Heck, even second-round pick Tyrese Proctor has played in both games, something we didn’t foresee happening before training camp starting.

Perhaps the biggest complaint has been about the usage of Donovan Mitchell, who have taken 40 shots in the first two games. Evan Mobley has taken the next most at 30.

We don’t Atkinson wants his team to rely on Mitchell so much and would like the shot numbers between his two best players to be much closer. By the way, Merrill has taken the third most shots, followed by Jarrett Allen and Larry Nance Jr.

Bet no one had Merrill and Nance in that group.

Mitchell’s usage would have been less had the Cavs not had questionable shot selection in the fourth quarter vs. Brooklyn. Cleveland had a 108-86 lead heading into the fourth quarter Friday night.

Then, they feel into the NBA trap. They made 9 of 11 threes in a 45 point third stanza. Early in the fourth, the long-range shot stopped falling, but the Cavs kept hoisting them, and perhaps had they taken the ball to the hoop when that happened, Mitchell and Mobley could’ve taken the last quarter off.

Merrill made 6 of 10 threes for the game but missed three of them in the fourth. Wade missed three more, as the wine and gold went 1 of 11 in the quarter as a team.

Again, it’s a different season, a different team, and it is way too soon to have any concern.

For this team to get where they want to go, the principal players have to be Mitchell and Mobley, and almost in a #1A and #1B role. Our only question is can Mobley demand the ball at times during the game. For example, last night, would he tell his teammates they need baskets and get me the ball in the paint.

But again, it’s just two games. We would guess Hunter will be back in the lineup tonight, and if so, it probably means less minutes for Wade, and either Porter or Proctor because Tyson can be used at guard.

Much like last season, when they were 15-0, this season is all about how the Cavs are playing in April and May.

Take a deep breath and keep that in mind.

Injuries Mean Opportunities For Some Young Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers announced they will be taking training camp on the road again this season, but they will have two holes in their starting lineup when it starts.

We know about Darius Garland’s toe surgery which will likely keep him out for at least a few weeks, and last week it was discovered that Max Strus will probably be out until December with a foot fracture.

How will Kenny Atkinson and his staff fill those openings when the regular season starts.

We have had issues about a lack of size at both guard spots and the small forward position for the Cavaliers over the past few seasons, and coincidentally, Garland and Strus man two of those spots.

So, it’s the perfect time to see if bigger will be better.

First, let’s look at the guard spot open with Garland’s injury. We would doubt Atkinson would want to start newcomer Lonzo Ball because they want to limit the veteran’s minutes because of his injury history.

That would leave Sam Merrill, second year player Jaylon Tyson, and Craig Porter Jr. as the likely candidates. Porter is more of a point guard, which would make him a natural fit opposite Donovan Mitchell, but we worry about his handle, and he’s still just 6’2″, so it doesn’t make the backcourt bigger all that much.

Merrill would provide shooting for sure and he’s 6’4″, and Tyson shows an all-around game we like and he’s 6’6″ but starting either of those players would involve putting the ball in Mitchell’s hands as the primary playmaker.

Mitchell’s minutes were down to 31.4 a year ago in the regular season, and he has assumed playmaking duties before with Garland out and the Cavs have flourished, so perhaps it’s not a bad way to go.

Either way, Tyson’s minutes should increase dramatically when the season opens.

And that’s because he’s also a candidate to absorb some minutes at small forward with Strus out. The easiest move for the coach would be to move De’Andre Hunter (6’8″) into the starting lineup, which would give the Cavs more size.

Think about a lineup with both Tyson and Hunter starting. It would give the Cavs a starting five measuring 6’3″, 6’6″, 6’8″ and a pair of 6’11” players in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

That’s the kind of size most NBA teams take the court with.

Over the past few years, the Cavs have gotten off to great starts and faded a bit in the second half of the season, one theory we have on this is that other teams are experimenting a bit early in the season, especially with younger players.

Barring more injuries, we believe it is safe to assume the Cavaliers will be a playoff team in 2025-26, so they should use the beginning part of the year to see what Tyson can be, and also to see if Nae’Qwan Tomlin can be a rotation piece.

If they can contribute, it gives Atkinson another more depth on the roster and in the case of Tomlin, a 6’10” player with some range on his shot.

Sure, you might lose a few more games, but you also may get someone who can give you quality minutes down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Either way, it would be a win for the organization.

East Is Wide Open. Cavs Have To Take Advantage

Without playing a game or making a move, the Cleveland Cavaliers position in the Eastern Conference has improved significantly over the last month.

Three of the playoff teams, not the play-in teams, the top six have lost key players to injuries that will likely keep them out of the 2025-26 regular season. Milwaukee lost Damian Lillard, Boston will probably not have Jayson Tatum, and of course, Tyrese Haliburton went down in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, all with torn Achilles.

Suddenly, the new lead dogs in the East are likely the Cavaliers, Knicks, with the Pistons and Magic and perhaps the Hawks in pursuit. Although, the Celtics seem to be going through a massive retooling, and we will see where they are at the beginning of the season.

So, Koby Altman, what are the Cavs going to do to improve their roster so they can succeed in the playoffs. We know they are successful in the regular season; they won 64 games last season. They have to get better in the post-season.

We have in the past talked about the lack of fit in the smaller backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, but we can see there are other ways to add more size to the roster without dealing Garland for fifty cents on the dollar.

Simply put, the wine and gold need more size. On the wing, the only player Cleveland has that has height is De’Andre Hunter at 6’8″. The rest are in the 6’4″-6’6″ range: Max Strus (6’5″), Isaac Okoro (6’5″), Sam Merrill (6’4″), Ty Jerome (6’5″), and last year’s first round pick, Jaylon Tyson is 6’6″.

And don’t try to sell us on the wingspan either. You need height and size. While a guy like Tyson might have the arm length of the player who is 6’8″, if he’s guarding a player who is 6’7″ his wingspan is likely that at least, so you are still at a deficit.

You also need toughness. The Cavs haven’t lost in the playoffs the last three seasons because of a lack of talent, with the exception being the loss to Boston in 2024. They’ve lost because they aren’t mentally and physically strong. That’s a sentiment that runs throughout the league.

So, maybe it’s just a matter of exchanging two or three of the players listed above with bigger wings, in the 6’7″ or 6’8″ range. We understand some of those guys were big contributors to the regular season success, but no one is handing the Cavs a trophy for winning 64 regular season contests.

They also could use someone who has experienced winning in the post-season, and someone who is actually going to get on the floor. We firmly believe winning is a learned skill, and right now all of the guys who have played haven’t been past the second round.

The first round of the draft was last night and currently Cleveland has two picks tonight. Don’t believe anyone who tells you either player taken will have an impact on next season’s squad.

But the free season season starts next Monday, and the Cavs need to alter the roster. We understand that’s a gamble, but after losing in the first round three years ago and the second round each of the last two years, we don’t think running it back is an option.

Jarrett Allen? He’s Not The Problem With the Cavs

The postmortem on the Cleveland Cavaliers season and roster continues and one of the scapegoats seems to be Jarrett Allen. Yes, we know Allen wasn’t much of a factor in the last two losses to the Pacers. Frankly, no one was a factor in the blowout that was Game 4, and we agree he didn’t play well in the last contest.

However, he, along with Donovan Mitchell and Max Strus were the best players wearing wine and gold in the first three games of the series.

He had 12 points and 5 rebounds in the first game, 22 points and 12 boards in Game 2, and 19 points and 12 caroms in the Cavs’ only win of the series.

The criticism comes from those basketball “experts” who believe the only way you can win playing two big men is if one of them hoists a bunch of three pointers.

But Kenny Atkinson made it work in the regular season (yeah, we know) by using a lot of motion so the lane was clear for drives by the guards. That seemed to ebb as the season went on, and the Pacers took them out of that style completely with their constant ball pressure by their backcourt.

The real problem is that Koby Altman put together a roster with only two big men who can actually play and contribute. Allen was probably overexposed against the Pacers because their “five out” style takes Allen away from what he does best, being a rim protector.

And too often, Allen was tasked with guarding Tyrese Haliburton on the perimeter because of switching. He did not allow the Pacers’ star to drive, but did give up threes because, let’s face it, it’s a terrible match up for the 6’11” Allen.

But what was Atkinson to do?

He was pretty much using De’Andre Hunter as the back up 4/5, a spot that at 6’8″ he really isn’t big enough for. Dean Wade could’ve been an option, but offensively he seems afraid to shoot and when he does, it wasn’t going in. Besides, much like Hunter, Wade is really a small forward.

We had been saying all year the roster needed another 4/5 that could contribute and preferably get one who could shoot from outside. The Cavs had several chances to add a serviceable big man but used their open roster spots on Javonte Green and Chuma Okeke, both of whom are in the 6’5″ range.

Maybe Nae’Qwan Tomlin can become a contributor next season. He’s 6’10” and averaged 20.8 points and shot 34% from three in the G-League this past year.

Remember that comment about the lack of size on the roster. Because if you move Allen, you need to get another big in return. That’s not to say Allen is untouchable, anyone can be moved if it upgrades the roster. But as it currently stands, the Cavs have no depth up front.

So, while you criticize Allen for what he’s not, remember he’s a rim protector and a solid rebounder, things you need over the 82-game schedule. We like to look at what a player does well and try to enhance those things.

Jarrett Allen isn’t the Cavs’ biggest issue. Was he overexposed in the Pacers’ series? Perhaps. But isn’t the real problem that Atkinson had no alternative?

That’s something the front office needs to think about this summer as they put together the ’25-’26 edition of the Cavaliers.

Cavs Need Another Big Effort Tonight.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were looking at their season Friday night. They lost the first two games of their best-of-seven series against the Indiana Pacers at home, and of course, in the history of the NBA, no team has come back from down 0-3.

Darius Garland didn’t play in the first two games, and both Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter sat out game two with injuries. All three played with the wine and gold’s season on the line.

The result was a 126-104 win in Indianapolis to cut the series lead to 2-1 for the Pacers. Mobley had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Hunter scored 8 and had 5 boards, while Garland scored 10 points and dished out 3 assists. It was enough to support the incomparable Donovan Mitchell, who poured in more than 40 points for the second straight game.

Hopefully, the trio will be available for the rest of the series, because as we thought going into the Eastern Conference semis, this is going to be a tough series against a quality team.

Mitchell is averaging 41.3 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the series, and Jarrett Allen and Max Strus have been very good, but no doubt, Kenny Atkinson needs his full complement of players going forward, especially because some of his bench guys haven’t played up to their regular season standards.

While we aren’t shocked that Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro haven’t produced, outside of good defense, Ty Jerome’s struggles are a bit puzzling.

Wade has played 60 minutes in the three games and has taken just 8 shots, making just one. To put that in perspective, the Pacers’ Jarace Walker has played 17 minutes and hoisted six shots.

We get Wade is out there for defense and rebounding (he is 5th on the team in the series with 17 caroms), but this is basketball. You have to be a threat on both sides of the court.

As for Okoro, he has played 48 minutes and taken seven shots, making two, and is 0 for 3 from beyond the arc, meaning if the offense is going to put him outside, the Pacers aren’t going to guard him.

Jerome needs a good game in the worst way. During the regular season, we saw many games where he had an impact despite not scoring. In the three games thus far, he is just 10 for 42 from the floor and has made only one of 12 three-point shots.

And as a team the long-distance shot hasn’t been falling for Cleveland. For the season, the Cavs made 38.3% of their threes, and through the first three games, the wine and gold are knocking down just 27.4%.

As amazing as Mitchell has been in the series, he’s only hitting on 22.6% of his threes, compared to 36.8% in the 82-game schedule.

If the Cavs start shooting better from deep in the series, that will add another dimension to their offense, one the Pacers will have to come up with an answer for.

When you are down in a playoff series, every game becomes bigger. So, tonight’s contest will either even the series giving the Cavaliers home court advantage again or put their collective backs to the wall for the balance of these conference semi-finals.

The famed Cavs’ depth has to return for this series to swing. It can’t just be on Mitchell and the starters to be on top of their games.

Losing Game One, Cavs Need To Respond Tonight

We told everyone it wouldn’t be easy.

There is a lot of angst over the Cavaliers’ loss in game one to the Indiana Pacers, but for us, that feeling of deep concern won’t take hold unless they lose tonight to go down 0-2 in the seven-game series.

We hate to break things down in the first game to the NBA being a “make or miss league”, but that’s a good place to start. The Pacers made 53% of their three-point shots and the Cavs, the second-best team in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage, made just 9 for 38 shots from beyond the arc.

There was a 30-point difference from three between the two games. It’s tough to win when you shoot poorly and the other team is hot.

Aaron Nesmith is a very good three-point shooter, making 43% in the regular season and he knocked down four of six, but Andrew Nembhard hit five of six, and he’s a 29% shooter during the 82-game schedule.

Conversely, Donovan Mitchell (36.8%) and Max Strus (38.6%) combined to hit just 3 of 19 shots from distance.

Besides missing shots, the other troubling thing about the wine and gold’s offense was the 50 shots (out of 98) taken by Mitchell and Ty Jerome. The only other Cleveland player who took more than 10 shots was Evan Mobley, who went 9 for 13 from the floor.

The shooting was a big part of the reason for the loss, but certainly not the only reason. The Pacers definitely played with more physicality, and remember they went to the conference finals last season, they have more playoff experience than Cleveland, and it showed.

The Cavs have to pick it up in terms of physical play, and this is something we feel this group needs to reminded of constantly.

Also, Kenny Atkinson loves to talk about the depth of the Cavs and during the regular season and in round one, he was right. However, Sunday night, Indiana had five bench players score, led by Bennedict Mathurin with 11.

The wine and gold had just three bench players score, but to be fair, Sam Merrill started in place of the injured Darius Garland. Jerome and De’Andre Hunter both scored in double figures, but the only other bench points were from Isaac Okoro, who had a bucket.

We thought Okoro was effective in the first half. He was a +6 and hit a layup and had two assists and two rebounds. He didn’t do much in the second half. But in the second half, it seemed he was cast as a three-point shooter, something he’s not good at. He’s much better when he attacks the basket.

Wade is another solid defender, but didn’t even attempt a shot in the first half. In the second half he missed two shots, including a wide open three which would have caused the roof at Rocket Arena to be blown off.

Because of the injuries to Garland, Hunter, and Mobley someone has to step up. Excuses are for when the series is over. Competitors overcome them. And a couple of players are going to have to produce more if none of the injured players can go.

Atkinson has to figure out a way to have both players be serviceable offensively so their defense can be a weapon.

Really, what Sunday’s loss did most was make tonight’s game pretty much a must win for the Cavaliers. They’ve demonstrated all year the ability to win on the road, but losing both home games would make it very difficult to advance.

This might be the first time all season this groups back have been against the wall. We will see what the response is.

#1 Seed Clinched. Cavs Now Need To Get Some Rest

It’s all over in the Eastern Conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the best record in the conference and home court advantage in any series in the East with their win over the Bulls Tuesday night.

So now it is sit back and wait for the weird “Play In” Tournament to be over to see who the wine and gold take on in the first round. Right now, the contenders are the Magic, Hawks, Bulls, and Heat.

The best record out of that group is Orlando’s 39-40 mark, but we know the Magic gave Cleveland a tough series last season, and they lost Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner for significant time during the regular season, so they are better than their record.

The other three teams are currently at least five games below the .500 mark, although everyone is familiar with how the Heat play when it comes playoff time.

The Cavs have three games remaining, two with Indiana, who sit in the #4 spot in the East, and are a possible second round match up and one more with the Knicks, who will probably be the #3 seed. The first two games are vs. Indiana and New York on back-to-back nights on the road, so we would bet many of the starters will either not suit up or will play very reduced minutes.

We know Jarrett Allen wants to play in all 82 games, so he will make an appearance in both road contests, but at least on Thursday, we would guess Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and possible Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter will sit that one out.

NOTE: Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Max Strus have been ruled out for tonight’s game.

So be ready to see lots of Craig Porter, Jaylon Tyson, Luke Travers, Chuma Okeke, Nae’Qwan Tomlin, and Emoni Bates over the next three games.

We are sure Bates is already dreaming of how many shots he can put up before the end of the season.

The players who carried the load to a 63-16 record deserve to rest up for the playoffs and stay healthy. And by the way, we aren’t greatly concerned about Mitchell’s sprained ankle. If need be, he could have two weeks off before the first playoff game for the Cavs.

Basketball players play basketball. And if they are on the court, there are chances for injury. And shouldn’t the Cavs be able to beat a first-round opponent without Mitchell if they had to?

Remember, the Cavaliers lost a second round series to Boston a year ago, and the Celtics didn’t have Kristaps Porzingis?

We are sure that Mitchell is fine and will probably be on the court in one of the last three games. And even if he isn’t he should be 100% when the playoffs begin.

So, the rest of the week should be about resting some key players and having everyone healthy heading into Easter weekend and the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, because of the tournament, the coaching and scouting staff cannot do a full deep dive, but we sure reports are being put together on all possible opponents.

It was a great regular season for sure, but these next two months will decide whether or not this season is a success or if some difficult decisions need to be made.

Altman All In On Blaming The Coaching

Cleveland Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman is apparently using the ultimate “cover you a**” move this off-season.

He is putting all of the blame for a second round exit in the playoffs on J.B. Bickerstaff. While he hasn’t said this publicly, that he has made no moves so far this summer reflects this.

Apparently, he believes Kenny Atkinson will fix the problems the wine and gold had last season.

We guess this means Atkinson has the ability to make players grow, because that’s one of the problems the current roster has. The simply aren’t big enough. They still have two guards who are under 6’3″ and a caste of small forwards who are 6’6″ and shorter.

At the risk of being called negative (we prefer realistic in this case), the Cavs were fortunate to get past Orlando in the first round. Despite virtually no playoff experience, Cleveland had its hands full with the bigger Magic squad.

It took a yeoman effort from Donovan Mitchell to win. Mitchell averaged 28.7 points, 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the series, and outside of Jarrett Allen, who only played the first four games, 17.0 PPG, no one else on the Cavs scored even 15 points per contest in the series.

In the deciding seventh game, Mitchell scored 39 points with 9 boards and 5 dimes. The next best scorer? Caris LeVert with 15 points.

It seems Altman has done what many first-time executives have done, and that is fall in love with the players he has drafted. He looks at all the things that those players could do to cause them to draft them and doesn’t look at how they fit together or how those talents translate to the NBA game.

To be fair, we have been around coaches who are just the opposite, they love players from afar only to grow to dislike them as players when they actually have to coach them. It does work both ways.

Let us say here that we love the hire of Atkinson. He was our first choice because of what he accomplished with the Nets. But this isn’t the college game. Coaching doesn’t make that much of a difference in the NBA in terms of scheming.

How many great NBA coaches are there? Yes, there’s Erik Spoelstra and Gregg Popovich, but how many others?

The best executives can look at the talent assembled and realize what and who fits and who doesn’t. He can see a problem like a lack of size and fix that problem. That’s what Altman needs to do.

This isn’t to say Altman can’t do a good job, but he does have to be open to seeing the warts. Mitchell and Darius Garland aren’t bad players, but they don’t seem to bring out the best in each other.

And that’s alright. But now is the time to fix it.

Look, Altman sped up the progression of this roster when he traded for Mitchell, a perennial all-star. You don’t do that and then wait for an incremental improvement.

However, since he traded for Mitchell, his only additions to the roster were free agents Max Strus and Georges Niang, three-point shooters. We felt Strus was not as good of a shooter (he isn’t) as Altman thought, and Niang is pretty much a one-dimensional player, although we do think he is better than what he showed in the playoffs.

There is still plenty of time for Altman to upgrade this roster. But he can’t keep looking at the players he selected and think coaching did them in.

Nothing Against Tyson, Cavs Still Need Size

The Cleveland Cavaliers had their first attempt to add some size in the NBA Draft Wednesday night, but chose not to do it, drafting G Jaylon Tyson from California with the 20th overall pick.

We say guard because Tyson is 6’5-1/2″ and we are sorry, but in today’s NBA, that’s a guard. We know Cleveland last season played Max Strus (6’5″) at small forward, but we reiterate, that’s the height of a guard.

This isn’t to denigrate Tyson. We also wanted the Cavaliers to draft more well-rounded players as they have a lot of one-dimensional guys, and Tyson appears to be that. He’s a good shooter, moves well without the ball and is a willing passer, all good traits on the offensive end of the floor.

His scouting report says he’s not fast, nor a leaper, but other players have been able to make themselves decent defensively with less physical attributes.

Cleveland could’ve drafted KyShawn George (6’8″), DaRon Holmes (6’10”), Baylor Scheierman (6’7″), or even Kyle Filipowski (7′) and added needed height.

Instead, Tyson joins the 6’5″/6’6″ collection on the roster, joining Strus, Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill, and the forgotten Ty Jerome.

We understand the off-season has just begun, so there is plenty of time to restructure the roster and clear a few of the players we just mentioned, but again, the first thought we had when the pick was announced was another 6’5″ player.

Starting later today, the free agency period starts in the NBA and so there will be a lot of player movement over the next week. Cavs’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman has said that he would like to keep the “core 4” together and this has been repeated through reports since the season ended.

We will soon find out if this is “GM speak” or not.

We are sure new coach Kenny Atkinson has discussed the roster with his new boss. Does he concur with Altman, that is the big question.

In our humble opinion, and we are not alone, the backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland doesn’t work if Cleveland wants to take another step forward and get to the conference finals next season.

It doesn’t mean they are both talented, it just means they don’t play off of each other. This is hardly news in the NBA. We frequently cite the late 60’s Lakers who had Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. When Baylor was injured, the team took off.

A more recent team would be Milwaukee, where it looks like at least in the first year, that the Bucks were better with Jrue Holiday than with Damian Lillard.

Running it back with the Core 4 (by the way, we hate calling them that) just delays progress another season. Right now, in the East, there is Boston, and then no clear-cut secondary contender.

With the correct moves, Cleveland could become the challenger to the world champion Celtics. We don’t think this can be done without a significant roster change.

We guess what we are really saying is the Cavs need Evan Mobley to take a big jump, and we doubt that can happen with two ball dominant small guards playing 35 minutes per night.

We should find out soon what Altman thinks. And of course, there is still the need for more size.

Let the off-season begin!

On To Round Two And Boston For Cavs

Well, they did it. The Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic. And they overcame an 18-point first half deficit to do it.

Early on, the Cavs couldn’t make a shot on offense and defensively couldn’t stop Paolo Banchero, who had 24 points in the first half.

The game may have turned oddly enough when Max Strus and Darius Garland, who were a combined 1 for 8 from the floor, missing all five of their three-point shots, both had to leave the game in foul trouble.

J.B. Bickerstaff went to Caris LeVert, who he benched in the second half of Game 6, and Sam Merrill, who hadn’t been playing much at all, probably because it was all he had.

LeVert hit 4 of 6 shots and Merrill hit two threes and two free throws the remainder of the half and Cleveland trimmed the lead to a more manageable 10 points at the half.

In the second half, Donovan Mitchell took over, scoring 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting, Strus got it going, knocking down 3 out of 4 from long range, and Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro played tremendous defense.

Mobley was a force inside, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking five shots in addition to 11 points. Okoro forced Banchero into a 4 for 15 half from the field, putting the young Magic all-star into check.

In the end though, it was Mitchell. He scored 39 points in all and attacked from the opening tip off, getting to the line 17 times, making 15. He kind of willed the Cavs to victory.

So now it is the #1 seed in the East, the Boston Celtics, who had the NBA’s best record in the regular season going 64-18. They ranked first in the league in offensive rating and third in defensive rating.

And they have stars on top of stars: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and one of the league’s unsung very good players in Derrick White.

However, Porzingis is currently on the shelf with a calf injury, so actually from a size standpoint, the Celts are a much better matchup for Cleveland. Beyond him, the Celtics have only one player who gets more than 20 minutes per night and is 6’9″ or more in Al Horford.

Boston loves the three-point shot, leading the league in attempts and makes, and second in percentage. Their flaw has been when they aren’t going in, they just keep taking them.

The biggest thing though for the Cavs is they have to get offensive production out of someone besides Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, if he can get healthy.

This means Darius Garland simply must play better. Garland hit a three in the fourth quarter and the whole team seemed to celebrate because he’s struggled that much.

Actually, he did shoot well in the series, it was everything else that was awful. He seemed to be very shaky with the ball in his hands and defensively is a problem as well. If he can move the ball (meaning he stops dribbling the air out of the ball) and hit shots, he can be a big asset.

We would also like Bickerstaff to reset. Go back to playing Georges Niang at least to start the series, and we would still go 10 deep, giving time for Sam Merrill, Marcus Morris, and Tristan Thompson.

It’s a new series. We don’t think the Cavs can win; it will be more about how competitive they can play in the series to determine how the team should be reshaped this summer.