During this season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the best teams for a while, as on Feb. 14, the Cavaliers held the 3rd seed in the Eastern Conference, only behind the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls. However, a sum of injuries and unfortunate events caused Cleveland to fall out of the playoffs entirely, as losing two play-in games to the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks consecutively forced Cleveland to watch the playoffs from home.
The season still was a solid season, showing that the young Cleveland roster had talent and had the ability to win games, as they had All-Stars Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, alongside Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Mobley, who eventually got second place for that award. Cleveland’s defense was one of the best in the league, boasting the 5th-best defensive rating in the league.
Unfortunately, Cleveland’s scoring was one of the league’s worst, ranking 25th in points scored per game at 107.8, with the only teams worse than them being bottom lottery teams.
Next year will be a big year for Cleveland, as they have the chance to build upon an already solid roster with other pieces. The Cavaliers’ season can go many different ways, depending on how their roster looks. I will break down in my opinion what the most likely scenario for Cleveland’s season next year.
Offense
On offense, Cleveland should have Collin Sexton returning from injury, so the offensive firepower should increase, as well as the scoring average. The Cavs’ starting 5 consisted of primarily Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen last year, with not a lot of spacing or offensive monsters besides Garland and sometimes Markkanen. But, with a rookie feasibly coming in (14th pick likely in the NBA draft, along with two second-rounders for now), a mid-level exception, and Sexton coming back, the offense should be a lot better than it was this year.
Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro should take noticeable jumps in their offensive game, as both of them are under 22 years old, and definitely have room to grow on the offensive end of the ball. There are things Cleveland should try more on offense, such as their offensive style.
Cleveland took the 2nd-least amount of shots per game, only ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers. Obviously, the Cavs’ scheme is grit-and-grind, a slow-paced, defensive-styled system. However, I think that a faster-paced system would fit more, considering Darius Garland, Collin Sexton, and others are fast players, so maybe a better offensive system would be better for this current roster.
Defense
Like I mentioned, Cleveland’s style is grit-and-grind, so their defense is a main part of their system, showing by their 5th-best defensive rating. But, the defensive rating doesn’t show the whole story. Their steals per game ranked 26th in the league, blocks ranked 24th, and opponent points off of turnovers ranked 27th. So the Cavs can get stops, but other than that, they can’t do much.
Also, Cleveland ranked the best in the league in personal fouls per game with only 17.5 fouls per night, showing that Cleveland does not really risk a lot with steals or blocks, so maybe they can try doing that more as rotators. So if the Cavs would risk it more by aiming to steal the ball or block the ball, maybe the games would end up differently, and they could have easier possessions.
Also, the opponents of the Cavs shot 45.2% from the field, which was 8th-best in the league, but opponents’ 3-point percentage was 35.3%, 16th-best in the league. Like I said, the Cavaliers can get stops, which has been shown, but defense is more than just stops. The Cavs can use more steals, especially considering their amount of speedy players which can lead to transition points.