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Dissecting the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2021-22 season

By Quinn Minnich

Cleveland Cavaliers big Evan Mobley greets teammates before a game. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers big Evan Mobley greets teammates before a game. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by David Richard-USA TODAY Sports) /

March

March was a far cry from earlier in the season, having a 6-10 record that month. Two of the Cavaliers’ best players got injured this month, making it harder to win games. On March 6, Jarrett Allen fractured his middle finger, causing him to miss a significant amount of time. Near the end of the month, Evan Mobley got hurt, spraining his ankle against the Orlando Magic, causing him to miss five games as well.

There were a few positives to take out of this month, however. On March 4, in a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, Darius Garland dropped a career-high 19 assists, which also happened to be the highest assists total, tied with Chris Paul, for the 2021-22 season. Also, on March 14, the Cavaliers won in OT against the Clippers, with Darius Garland putting up 24 points and 13 assists in 46 minutes.

The Cavs were the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference at the end of March, and they were once a top 3 seed in the East, and at this point in the season, fell into the play-in tournament. Slowly, the season was slipping out of the Cavs’ hands.

April

During April, the Cavaliers had the play-in tournament, and eventually missed out of the playoffs completely. The Cavs had 3 losses in a row, practically locking them in the play-in tournament. Losses like these showed why the Cavaliers desperately needed the interior presence of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

On April 12, the Cavaliers faced the Brooklyn Nets in the first play-in game. Unfortunately, the Cavs lost this game. The game was a good one, but the Cavaliers could not guard Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving well enough. This meant that the Nets took the 7th seed, while the Cavaliers had to face either the Hawks or Charlotte Hornets.

On April 15, the Cavaliers faced the Hawks, who had just defeated the Hornets by 29 points. During the first half of the Cavaliers’ game, the Cavs were leading by 10 points. However, during the 4th quarter, they were outscored 23-17, enough points to give the Hawks a 6-point victory, and Atlanta clearly had their in crucial stretches, led by superstar Trae Young.

Next. Cornelissen's NBA Awards Ballot: How do the Cavs factor in?. dark

Even if the Cavaliers did not make the playoffs this season, the front office and roster should definitely take this season as a success. The team was not a team praying for the best odds in the lottery, they were actually competitive during the whole season. And next year, the Cavs should have a better season, and should have an improved roster.