Cavs: Post-All-Star break will give Larry Drew a more fair evaluation
By Dan Gilinsky
The Cleveland Cavaliers should close out the 2018-19 season better than they started it, and how they perform after the All-Star break will tell more about head coach Larry Drew.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season, and I know, we’ve said that countless times here at KJG. With the mile-long list of injuries Cleveland has had, though, it hasn’t allowed for a realistic evaluation of head coach Larry Drew, who has been without his best player, Kevin Love, for all two games since Drew took over as head coach after six contests.
Drew should deserve some credit for the stellar play of Jordan Clarkson this year, who is having a career season, while leading Cleveland in scoring with 17.2 points per game on 51.2 effective field goal shooting, per NBA.com.
Drew should get some praise for Cedi Osman and Collin Sexton progressing nicely in their offensive development as well, as by the looks of it, both could eventually be two of Cleveland’s best primary ball-handlers for years to come.
While Cleveland’s defense has been a disaster this season, as it will likely go down as having the worst defensive rating in NBA history, per Basketball Reference (h/t Amico Hoops’ Eliana Brown), I’m not going to rip into Drew much for that.
The Cavs’ defense has been lackluster, at best, since the 2016-17 season.
Plus, as far as this year’s performance, Cleveland’s best defender, David Nwaba, has only appeared in 27 of a possible 58 games due to reported knee and ankle injuries, per Basketball Reference.
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Tristan Thompson (a reported foot sprain) has missed 23 games, according to NBA.com. That’s also killed the Cavs and Drew’s chances to be competitive.
Thompson, when healthy, has been outstanding. He’s had 11.5 points, and career-highs with 11.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals per game, per Basketball Reference.
There’s been a flurry of trades this year, too, which has made it very difficult for Drew’s rotation to have any sort of routine for considerable stretches of games.
Kyle Korver, George Hill, Rodney Hood and Alec Burks have all been dealt, mainly in exchange for future draft picks.
While it was previously reported that Drew might not even want to be a head coach again, it appears there’s been some change of heart in that regard, and according to Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor (h/t Cavs Nation’s Hunter Noll), Drew will be considered as a long-term option if he’s willing.
"“Nearly one month ago, Drew told The Athletic he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to be a head coach again. After everything that has transpired this year it was a comment rooted in emotion and the next time he had a platform, Drew opened a press conference with a statement, hoping to ‘add additional context’ to that story. So, given the quick reversal, it’s hard to determine how he will view the opportunity at the end of an incredibly tumultuous season.Still, Drew will be one of many candidates the decision-makers look at. He’s earned that.”"
Fedor would go on to express that Drew has been “forced to use 20-plus different starting lineups.”
With the Cleveland Cavaliers having more pieces back for the closing stretch of this season, such as Love, a double-double threat every time he plays considerable minutes, it will give Drew a better opportunity to prove what he can do.
As we noted last week, with Cleveland likely being healthier and a new piece such as Marquese Chriss coming along as an energy big, the offensive flow should be much better for Drew post-All-Star break, which should lead to some winning and continued progress going into the offseason.
This team has some nice pieces, and is playing better basketball as of late. So if they continue that trend, as I believe they will, it will be a better reflection of Drew, and the Cleveland Cavaliers should close the season better than they started it.
Yes, the two picks they’ll have in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft are going to be the key for the coming months, but I would imagine Drew might not be having that be his first priority for the last part of the season (just a hunch).
As his team gets healthier, it will allow for a more fair judgement of how effective he can be in a rebuilding scenario.