As the All-Star break approaches, fewer than three weeks away, the Cleveland Cavaliers sit with a 1.5-game lead as the fifth seed over the Miami Heat and are nine games above .500. In many ways, this is the most exciting season the outfit’s had since that dude (LeBron James), who is about to snag Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s regular season scoring record, wore white and wine.
The names on the roster and the direction the squad is headed provide reasonable optimism for thinking the Cavs will be a significant contender in the East for the next five years. But the team is still young, and it has limitations that need addressing. When Cleveland fixes its issues, it will ascend to juggernaut status.
With that said, here are three areas the Cavs have to improve in the rest of the season.
No. 1: Not enough attempts from the midrange
Eighteen teams attempt more midrange shots than the Cavaliers. The squad only takes about nine a night and converts 40%.
Having a midrange game is like possessing a gold claim. In the playoffs, groups prioritize running opponents off the 3-point line and protecting the paint. Some run a bunch of the 2-3 zone, which leaves the middle exposed or deploys drop coverage. The latter means the man initially matched up with the screen setter is low to protect the rim.
A heavy dose of screening, like Cleveland’s frontcourt always provides, creates openings on the wings or at the key for a pull-up jumper from deep, but most importantly, the middle. To the depths of the underworld with the rationale that midrange shots are harder than triples. I will always believe that a shot closer to the hoop is easier.
Outside of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, there aren’t many bigs who can defend the outside. Unless a rival blitzes in pick-and-roll to trap on the wings or ices to double down low, the drop will be used by most teams. Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell could light up that coverage from the middle anytime they want.
Garland takes 14.2% of shots from 10-16 feet away from the cup. Mitchell is at 7.7%. I’d like to see these two increase their frequency of attempts from this range to at least 20% each.