With the NBA Trade Deadline fast approaching, contenders are scrambling to get their rosters set for the playoff run. However, the Cleveland Cavaliers need not make a panic move.
As often the case with this time of the year, rumors about potential trades are rife. Since the end of the NBA All-Star game, the Cavaliers have been linked with everyone from Kosta Koufos, to Channing Frye and Ben McLemore. There also seems to be a popular trend which involves trading away Kevin Love for other superstars. This should not, and most likely will not happen.
This NBA season is an extremely unique one. With the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs seemingly having a duopoly over the league to the extent that Real Madrid and Barcelona do in Spain’s La Liga, teams have been left searching for answers. It appears that unless you are nigh on perfect, you’re very unlikely to have a shot at the championship this year, as the route to the Larry O’Brien trophy is likely to go through the Oracle Arena or the AT&T Center.
So where does that leave the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Currently, the Cavs boast a record of 38-14, good for the first seed in the Eastern Conference, with a three game lead over second-placed Toronto. They have an impressive 22-4 record at home and won 8 of their 10 games heading into the All-Star break. The Cavs’ record at the All-Star break is their best record at this juncture since the 2009-10 season, where they were 43-11.
Sounds pretty good right?
Unfortunately not, according to some. The Cavs’ record is dwarfed by that of the Warriors who are at a ridiculous 48-4, including 2-0 against the Cavs, one of which was a 34 point drubbing at the Quicken Loans Arena. The San Antonio Spurs? They are 45-8 and second in the Western Conference, a record that would be runaway first seed in any other season. But this isn’t any other season.
Cavs GM David Griffin really put his name on the map with his mid-season trade for J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov, a trade that catapulted the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. However, as a result of this trade, the Cavalier faithful has been calling for a major move once again.
The Cavs may well, and probably should, trade Mozgov. After really impressing pundits and fans alike last season, Mozgov has been a shadow of his former self. Off-season knee surgery hindered his start to the season and Mozgov has not been able to recover thus far. Mozgov’s form, or lack thereof, has been a major factor in the Cavaliers’ inconsistent play so far. The 7’2″ Russian is on the final year of his contract and the Cavaliers risk losing him for nothing if he is offered more than the Cavs can afford. Therefore, making a move at the deadline is not only good business, but smart business for the Cavs.
However, apart from Mozgov, Griffin should sit tight with the group he has. Let’s not forget, this is the same team that went 34-9 to finish the season after a disastrous 19-20 start to the season, and there’s no reason why they can’t do it again.
After missing the first quarter of the season, Kyrie Irving appeared to be back to his All-Star best. In his last six games heading into the break, Irving averaged an impressive 27.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, all while shooting a scorching 55.9% from the field. Irving also appeared to get his three-point stroke back, making 39.4% of his threes in this period. Seemingly motivated by not making the All-Star team this year, Irving reportedly spent the time off working out with Cavs’ Coach Phil Handy, who wasn’t with the rest of the squad in Toronto.
Cavaliers player development coach/assistant coach Phil Handy skipped on coming to All-Star to workout Kyrie Irving in L.A. during the break
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 12, 2016
Speaking of motivation, Kevin Love should have plenty of it, having been snubbed multiple times. First he was left off by the coaches. Then, when Jimmy Butler and Chris Bosh both went down with injuries, Pau Gasol and Atlanta’s Al Horford were chosen as replacements over Love. Like Irving, the much maligned forward also saw an uptick in his numbers following the hiring of Tyronn Lue before succumbing to a leg and shoulder injury in the games preceding the All-Star break. Coach Lue has made it a goal of his to get Love more involved in the offense, and trading him away would deprive him of the opportunity to integrate Love, not to mention the hassle of introducing another player or multiple players into his schemes.
Which brings us to King James. LeBron has had a pretty weird season so far. His shooting stroke inexplicably comes and goes, as does his effort. However, he’s still pretty darn good no matter how much the media wants to tell you that he’s washed up. According to Basketball Reference, he’s the only player in the league to average at least 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal per game. Only Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Russell Westbrook have done this in ANY season. Let that sink in. James is also playing a career low in minutes (35.9) and should be sprightly for the home stretch. Speaking to Cavs TV’s Fred McLeod, LeBron himself has stated that this is around the time he tends to lock in, so expect to see an uptick in his game.
"“It’s time for me to turn it on,” James said via CavsTV. “This is when I usually start to hit the switch, right after the All-Star break.”"
Instead of swinging for the fences and making a panic deal for the sake of it, the Cavaliers ought to understand the benefit of continuity. LeBron mentions this constantly, but it seems to get glossed over: the Cavs’ Big 3 hasn’t had a lot of time together. Look at the Warriors’ trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, together since 2012. Or the Spurs Big 3 plus Kawhi Leonard, together since 2011. When good players play together for extended periods of time, good things tend to happen. Looking at both the Warriors and Spurs play, each player knows their teammates’ tendencies to a tee, creating an unbelievable level of synergy on both sides of the ball. In today’s NBA, where everyone is trying to mimic the Spurs and Warriors, teams often miss the most important part of the Warrior/Spur puzzle: continuity.
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On paper, the Cavs seem to be primed for another big run to end the season. Everyone is healthy, and Coach Lue will have had some time to practice his high octane offense with his players. Are the Cavs on the same level as the Warriors right now? No, absolutely not. But honestly, who is?
This team, talent wise, still has the best shot of giving the Warriors, Spurs or Thunder a series. And guess what: they are not even close to their ceiling as a ball-club. In all likelihood, the Cavaliers’ barring a shock of epic proportions, will end up in the Finals again. The Cavaliers ought to stay the course and then assess their situation in the summer.