The Cleveland Cavaliers deserve more respect around the league

What must the Cleveland Cavaliers do to earn some respect around the league? At 15 games over .500, the team still isn’t seen by most sports books as a group capable of winning the championship. As of early Thursday, DraftKings, Caesars and Barstool each had them at the 10th-best odds at +3000, +2500 and +2000.

These Cavaliers deserve more respect.

Perhaps the wise guys are skeptical because it’s not a good team on tour (13-17), and the most important players on the squad, outside of Donovan Mitchell, don’t have much playoff experience. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert have played in nine games apiece. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro are yet to debut too. However, Danny Green and Robin Lopez have appeared in 201 postseason games combined.

With the All-Star break now over, the Cavs enter the last 23% of the year as the fourth seed, with a two-and-a-half game lead over the Brooklyn Nets. Capturing third place is possible, but the Philadelphia 76ers are two matches ahead. The next matchup between the two on March 14 splits the 1-1 tie.

Cleveland’s subsequent weakness is the size of its star-studded backcourt. Both are six-foot-one and not reputable defenders. In some instances, when they mark a ball handler well, the offensive player rises and shoots over them like a chair. When DG and Spida are beat off the dribble or caught by a screen, the backline defenders are forced to help. If the opponent has a midrange arsenal, Mobley or Allen have to come out of the drop, but they concede the former space.

Regardless of the deficiencies guarding the point of attack, the group has the third-finest paint protection in the NBA. Despite the other flaws, the Cavaliers are still darn good. Keeping at least the fourth seed guarantees them a homecourt advantage in round one. Keep in mind Cleveland has the second-best record of 30 teams at home. And players don’t have experience until they get there.

The Cavaliers have gone to overtime six times and are undefeated. The next best groups in extra time are the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz at 3-0.

Even the media darlings and book favorites have concerns. Milwaukee needs Khris Middleton to be more than a 13 points per game scorer because the Greek Freak will be bombarded with defensive schemes in the postseason. The Bucks also require Bobby Portis to come back at full power to solidify the second unit. His return is likely Friday.

The Suns look intimidating on paper, but Kevin Durant hasn’t played a minute for them yet. The offense will likely show its explosive form early into the experiment, like when Mick Taylor replaced Brian Jones, one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones. But in exchange to get KD, they gave up a haul of role players and future assets. Some will say, “It’s Kevin Durant,” but the price was too rich for my blood. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson do the dirty work on D of guarding the other team’s perimeter threats. Who will do that now for the Suns?

Philadelphia shouldn’t get taken seriously by anyone as long as coach Doc Rivers is at the helm. His teams are always talented, but he doesn’t deploy counters effectively when the offense is disorganized, or the defense shatters.

I’m old enough to remember Phil Jackson telling his Lakers during a timeout of Game 5 of the 2010 Finals that Rivers’ team blew the most fourth-quarter leads that season. I could get into how James Harden’s had a bum hamstring the last two playoffs or how the 76ers don’t get back fast enough in transition, but I’ll save that for another time.

Nobody should trust a coach that is so uncareful with the health of his players. During Game 5 of Philadelphia’s second-round matchup with Miami in 2022, Joel Embiid, playing with a broken orbital bone, was swatted in the face by Dewayne Dedmon under the rim. Sitting in press row for Unanimo Deportes, I watched Embiid squirm in pain, surrounded by the trainers. He shouldn’t have played another minute, but he did.

After the game, I asked Rivers if there was any consideration to keep his star player out. He said no. That tells me enough. Never mind the blow he took to the head accidentally from Pascal Siakam 11 nights earlier that also left him with a concussion.

Back to the Cavs: What provides optimism for this team possibly advancing multiple rounds is that DG and Spida are drop coverage killers. From 10-16 feet away from the basket, Garland makes 52.3% of his field goals. Mitchell converts 50.7% of his tries from those spots. When they turn the corner of screens set by Mobley or Allen, most of the time the opposing big man is defending the drive.

The better teams have multiple answers for pick-and-roll, such as the blitz, ice, or low-man tag coverages. If Cleveland’s backcourt were blitzed up top, the ball would need to find the closest man, preferably in the middle. If iced, both defenders sending the ball handler to the baseline for the trap leaves the offensive screen setter roaming through the paint unbothered. Allen and Mobley have the vertical spacing for a lob through the center.

No team is perfect, but these surging Cavaliers are good enough to hang with anyone.