The Cleveland Cavaliers being in tight games leads to growth for those on the floor, but also leads to growth for their injured youngsters.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been playing well, for the most part, since J.B. Bickerstaff took over after the All-Star break as head coach. Even with the Wine and Gold dealing with a bunch of injuries recently, the squad has been competitive in most contests.
That’s been really encouraging to see as a Cavs fan. Though the Cavaliers have lost four of their last five, they are continuing to play hard and are moving on to the next play.
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That’s been good to see, and even in a 113-104 loss on Feb. 29 to the Indiana Pacers, when Andre Drummond had his best game as a Cav, the Wine and Gold were right in that one most of the way.
However, since that point last Saturday, the Cavaliers have been without Darius Garland due to a left groin strain, and they’ll be without him on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs (h/t The Athletic‘s Kelsey Russo), and Garland seemingly could miss a few more contests following that. Kevin Porter Jr. is out indefinitely due to him being in the NBA’s concussion protocol, too.
Additionally, Cleveland is still without Dante Exum (left ankle sprain), but Drummond is probable versus the Spurs (left calf strain). Anyhow, the Cavs being in tight-game situations is obviously opportunity for growth for those in there, but also for Cleveland’s injured youngsters.
Garland and Porter both played in that aforementioned Indy game, but the Cavaliers hung around on Monday against the Utah Jazz despite being severely shorthanded and sans Garland.
Plus, though the Boston Celtics were banged up on Wednesday, too, both of those and especially Cleveland’s last two games were opportunities for growth for the youngsters that have been sidelined. Keep in mind that includes rookie Dylan Windler, who won’t play at all this season due to complication related to a reported stress reaction in his left leg.
As far as the other two Cavs’ 2019 draft picks, Porter only played in 10 minutes in that Boston game due to him suffering a blow to the head, and DG again was out in a 112-106 loss, and both were sidelined in Saturday’s 104-102 win over the Denver Nuggets.
Anyway, in the Boston game, Cleveland got a 41-point performance from Collin Sexton, and it’s evident that the game is slowing down for Sexton. The way he’s manipulating his defenders to get quality shots, showing growth as a passer (he had six assists versus Boston, too), and picking his spots has to be meaningful for Garland to be seeing on the sideline/on film.
Along with that, Matthew Dellavedova, who had a career-high 14 assists against the Nuggets, continues to make the right plays and at least mentally, is usually on-point defensively.
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/1236644084841775104?s=20
So, seeing how Sexton and Delly operate and KPJ, DG and Windler seeing Cedi Osman, who had 20 points versus Denver on seven-of-12 shooting (including five-of-six from three-point land), even while being in a shooting slump post-All-Star break, have a short memory as a shooter can lead to growth.
Plus, Tristan Thompson coming up with a big stop on a switchout against Jamal Murray to win the Denver game, and not dwelling on missing two free throws on the possession before, set the right example for the young guns and the group as a whole.
The all-around effort of Kevin Love, who has had 18.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game post-All-Star break, including a 40.7 percent hit rate from three-point range, as indicated by NBA.com, has to be resonating with the squad, too.
Moreover, the Cleveland Cavaliers being in tight games means more opportunities for on-floor growth, but also for those sidelined, such as the injured youngsters. Hopefully, the Cavaliers can keep being competitive under the direction of Bickerstaff, who is 4-5 thus far as their head coach.
Let’s not gloss over how John Beilein started 4-5, though, but as Sports Illustrated‘s Sam Amico essentially hit on, this 4-5 start doesn’t feel like a mirage.