When the Orlando Magic made their run to the 2009 NBA Finals, a run in which they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, it was because they surrounded Dwight Howard with shooters like Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, J.J. Redick, Mickael Pietrus, and Courtney Lee. The Magic were innovators by utilizing this strategy of surrounding their star with shooting.
When the Miami Heat won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013, they surrounded Dwayne Wade and LeBron James with shooters like Hall of Famer Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers (who has a knack for making big shots), James Jones, and Lewis (although Jones and Lewis didn’t play much in the 2013 Finals against the Spurs).
When LeBron came back to Cleveland for his second run, from 2015-2018, the Cavs tried to implement the same formula of surrounding their star with shooters. The Warriors dynasty has been supported by great shooting, although the best shooting comes from the “Splash Brothers” Steph and Klay.
Regardless, there is a track record of teams succeeding in the modern NBA when they invest in shooters. If the Cavaliers want to capitalize on their dynamic duo of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, they’ll need to surround them with shooters.
The Cleveland Cavaliers need to find shooting to truly contend
Prior to this past season, the Cavaliers hadn’t made the playoffs since 2018 when they got swept by the Golden State Warriors (a team full of shooters) in the NBA Finals, but they ended that drought as they captured the No. 4 seed in the East. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers ran into their kryptonite and the New York Knicks took them out in five games. If they had more shooters to surround Garland and Mitchell, the Cavs could have beaten the Knicks, and instead, they’d have faced the Miami Heat in the Second Round.
Garland and Mitchell can both shoot the mid-range and three-pointer. Mitchell set the franchise record for three-pointers made in a single season, passing JR Smith’s mark in 2015-16. However, the offense flows best when they are getting to the rim. In order for them to do that, they need to be surrounded by shooters that spread out the defense and give them room to operate.
Shooters already on the Cavaliers’ roster
Of all the guys on the Cavs roster who fit the profile of a shooter, Caris LeVert stands out the most. Back on Apr 4 against the Magic, LeVert was 5-for-6 on three-pointers as he scored 19 points. On Mar 31 against the Knicks, LeVert was 4-for-7 on three-pointers and scored 15 points. Against his former team, the Brooklyn Nets, on Mar 21, LeVert was 3-for-6 on three-pointers. He had some clunky performances mixed in there, but he still averaged 13 points per game this past season.
LeVert alone doesn’t provide enough of a shooting punch for the Cavaliers, and they need more than him in order to provide the spacing for Garland and Mitchell. At one point, the Cavs had Kevin Love on the roster, who is more than capable of spacing the floor. But Love eventually fell out of the rotation in favor of Dean Wade when Love wasn’t producing, although they still could’ve used someone like him in the playoffs.
Eventually, the Cavs and Love came to a post-deadline buyout agreement. Love has since signed with Miami and is now playing in the Eastern Conference Finals after eliminating the Knicks. Dean Wade didn’t help the Cavs down the stretch in Love’s place. In the final five regular season games, Wade didn’t reach double-digits once. In the two playoff games he partook in, Games 1 and 3, he played less than 10 minutes and only scored two points.
Cedi Osman was supposed to be another guy who made shots and opened up the floor for Mitchell and Garland. He proved to be unreliable and extremely inconsistent. Against the Miami Heat on Mar. 10, he had seven points, then on Mar. 12 against the Charlotte Hornets he had three points, and then on Mar. 14 against the Hornets, he had 24 points. This three-game stretch represents his play over the course of the season. He wasn’t able to provide the scoring punch off the bench that was necessary to support Garland and Mitchell.
Shooters the Cavaliers should target this summer
Heading into the trade deadline, Cleveland needed to make a move to fill the hole at the starting small forward position because Isaac Okoro wasn’t getting the job done. Guys like Kyle Kuzma (who I desperately wanted), Kelly Oubre Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr., P.J. Washington, or Dorian Finney-Smith would’ve fit the bill perfectly.
Unfortunately, Cleveland didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline and it came back to bite them in the playoffs when the Knicks exposed their weak supporting cast and lack of shooting. Any of those players would’ve added some of the shooting the Cavaliers desperately needed.
Heading into next season, the only guys who should remain on the roster are Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Evan Mobley, Lamar Stevens, and maybe Jarrett Allen. The Cavs need to bring in someone who can be the starting small forward and they also need to bring in shooters.
Harrison Barnes (who was an integral part of the Sacramento Kings breaking their playoff drought) is available this offseason. Barnes would be a great addition to the Cavs because he would kill two birds with one stone, providing an upgrade as the starting small forward and adding the shooting that the Cavs badly need. Barnes was with the Warriors during their run to the championship in 2015 so he knows how to play with a dynamic backcourt duo, which would make it an easy transition for him to play alongside Garland and Mitchell.
Grant Williams didn’t play in Sunday’s Game 7 for the Boston Celtics in their win against the Philadelphia 76ers, so there’s a chance that he could be available this upcoming offseason. He’s going to be a restricted free agent, which means that a player can sign an offer sheet but their original team can keep them by matching the offer within 48 hours. That’s what happened with Deandre Ayton, he signed an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers but the Phoenix Suns matched it.
This season, Williams averaged 8.1 PPG and his field goal percentage was 45.4%. In Game 7 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks, Williams was 7-for-18 on three-pointers and he had 27 points. In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, Williams had 19 points going 2-for-2 on three-pointers and 5-7 on field goals. In a 118-117 loss in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz on Mar 18, he had 23 points. Even though that’s a relatively small sample size, it shows that he is capable of having big games.
Gary Trent Jr. is also a free agent, but he has a player option, which could make it tough for the Cavaliers to sign him. Trent Jr. would be a good replacement for Okoro in the starting lineup because he can add the shooting and playmaking that the Cavaliers were missing this season. Trent Jr. averaged 17.4 PPG, shooting 43.3% from the field and 36.9% from deep, so he’s a pretty reliable shooter. Garland and Mitchell are both capable of scoring at least 25 points on any given night, if Trent Jr. can consistently add 17-18 points, then that’s a formula that could work.
This season, Jalen McDaniels averaged 9.4 points per game and he had a field goal percentage of 45.5%. While McDaniels was with the Charlotte Hornets, he averaged 10.6 points but then he got traded to the Philadelphia 76ers and his points dropped to 6.7. It’s hard to read into that though because he had to adapt to playing with Joel Embiid and James Harden, two guys who have very specific playing styles.
Playing alongside Garland and Mitchell, McDaniels would be the beneficiary of pick & rolls. When Garland was coming off the pick & roll, it left the opposing defense in a bind because they didn’t want to leave Mitchell or LeVert open but they also don’t want to Garland a clear driving lane. McDaniels would be another shooter and playmaker who could put more pressure on the defense.
History has shown that surrounding your superstar with playmakers and shooters leads to success. The 2009 Orlando Magic, 2012 & 2013 Miami Heat, 2015-18 Cavs, Curry’s Warriors, and the 2023 Philadelphia 76ers have all followed that model. The ’09 Magic eliminated the Cavaliers and got to the NBA Finals. The Heat went back-to-back in ’12 and ‘13, the Cavs and Warriors met in the finals four consecutive years, but Golden State is still in contention, and the ’23 76ers pushed the Celtics to a Game 7 behind great shooting.
The Cavaliers need to follow that formula and implement it, building out the supporting cast around their All-Stars. Otherwise, they’ll have nothing to show for pairing Garland and Mitchell together.