The Cleveland Cavaliers had a very good regular season, relative to what was expected of them before the season started. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Cavaliers had a 1% chance of making the playoffs before the season started. Ultimately, the Cavs did not make the playoffs, but if injuries did not pile up, they might have made it.
However, even with a success of a season, the Cavaliers have a few things to address in the offseason, and they’ll have to answer three big questions. There are definitely spots in the Cavs’ offense and defense that can improve, so President of Basketball Ops Koby Altman probably will not stay quiet this offseason.
#1: How do the Cavs increase their bench production?
To finish off the season, the Cavaliers ended the season as the 19th-best bench scoring team in the NBA, with 35.4 points per night coming from players off the bench. Mainly, the scoring off the bench came from Kevin Love and sometimes Caris LeVert, depending on if he was in the starting lineup or not. The bench’s rotation usually would consist of players like Rajon Rondo, Brandon Goodwin, Cedi Osman, Lamar Stevens, Kevin Love, and a few others. Scoring for a bench team like this is not their strong suit.
The playmaking on this bench is very solid, averaging the 3rd-most assists off the bench per night at 9.2 per game, only trailing the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors, both great playoff teams. The Cavs also beat out the reigning Finals teams in the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks in those regards.
However, even with great playmaking off the bench, the bench shooting was not their strong suit. The Cavaliers ended up with the 3rd-worst field goal percentage off the bench, with a poor 41.7% from the field from players off the bench, with Milwaukee and the Orlando Magic being the two teams even worse than Cleveland. The offense was subpar, so maybe in free agency or the 2022 NBA Draft, Cleveland will be able to get a player who can light it up off the bench efficiently.
The Cavaliers’ defense on the bench was pretty good, however. If the Cavaliers’ bench was their own team, they would rank 9th in the NBA in defensive rating, tied with the New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, and Utah Jazz with a defensive rating of 110.5. The defensive versatility on the bench is very good, considering the Cavs have players such as Lamar Stevens and Rajon Rondo on the bench. Rondo, admittedly, doesn’t seem that likely to be back.
#2: How do the Cavs address their rebounding issues?
The Cavaliers ranked in the bottom half of the NBA in total rebounds per night. Even considering the Cavs sometimes had three players 6’11” and taller in the starting lineup in Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, they still did not rebound as well as they could have. Also, in offensive rebounding, the Cavaliers ranked 16th overall, which is okay but should definitely be improved upon coming into next season.
Extra possessions are as valuable as gold for NBA teams, and Cleveland should definitely try to buy in more on offensive rebounding next season.
What is even worse for the Cavaliers is their opponents’ offensive rebounding numbers. The Cavaliers ranked 20th overall in the 2021-22 season. The Cavaliers’ coaching staff needs to work with the team to hustle on the glass, working on positioning to claim defensive rebounds and limit their opponent’s ability to gain extra possessions.
What is surprising is that the Cavs ranked 4th overall in opponents’ defensive rebounding, only giving up 32.4 defensive rebounds per night against other teams, trailing just Utah, the Miami Heat, and the New Orleans Pelicans in that statistic. Considering the Cavs made 46.9% of their shots, ranked 10th in the league, it makes sense that the Cavs had other teams limited in the defensive rebound category.
#3: How do the Cavs improve their offense?
The Cavaliers ranked 25th overall in game pace out of 30 clubs. This makes sense, as Cleveland is a grit-and-grind team under J.B. Bickerstaff, but the offense is lacking because of this. The Cavs’ offense efficiency was 17th overall, tied with the San Antonio Spurs, so the offense definitely has room to grow.
However, Collin Sexton did not play a lot of games this season, and he has been one of Cleveland’s best scorers in his career. If Sexton returns to the Cavs next year and is healthy, I would expect that number to increase.
Also, Cleveland turned over the ball 13.2 times per night on average, ranking 22nd overall. It often seemed like Cleveland was not careful enough with the ball, making silly turnovers. Since Ricky Rubio did miss a good amount of games for Cleveland, that does have an impact on how the Cavs handled the ball. Rubio had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.5, which is very impressive.
Even with a good amount of turnovers, the Cavaliers did have a good amount of assists, though, averaging 25.2 assists per night, ranking them 11th in the league. But, even with this good amount of assists, Cleveland does need better ball handlers next season, as Rajon Rondo is 36 years old, and should probably retire soon, and Brandon Goodwin, who was on a two-way deal, may not be back next season. Darius Garland is definitely a great playmaker, averaging 8.6 assists per night, but he can’t do it all himself.
Cleveland does need help in some ways in the offseason, so Koby Altman will have his hands full come this summer. Whether it be bench production, rebounding, the offense, or something else, expect Cleveland’s team to be even better next season.