All offseason, the question around the Cleveland Cavaliers has been this: how can they improve a one-dimensional offense that flamed out in the playoffs?
The Cavs did what they could to upgrade the shooting on the roster, as they signed Max Strus, and Georges Niang. They shelled out over $85 million to bring them in, to add more offensive diversity. To win in this league, you need shooters, and the Cavs were severely devoid of them in the playoffs.
In addition to the two elite playmakers the Cavs possess in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, and having a unicorn of a big man in Mobley, the offense is expected to reach new heights this season. It has to reach new heights, as the Cavs need an elite offense in order to keep pace with the top contenders of the Eastern Conference, and if they want to erase last year’s disappointment.
Given how much better the offense has looked in the preseason, there are reasons for optimism. Here are three reasons why the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offense will improve.
On the surface, the Cavs numbers from three-point range were not bad during the regular season last year. They finished 12th in percentage at around 37 percent, but they were only 24th in attempts at around 32 per game. Those are not bad numbers, and the Cavs finished fifth in offensive rating. In the playoffs though, those numbers took a bigger nosedive than the Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs every year.
Against the Knicks, the Cavs shot 33 percent from three on 31 attempts per game. That percentage was the fourth-worst among playoff teams. The Knicks were daring guys like Isaac Okoro and Mobley to shoot because they knew they couldn’t shoot it into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Cavs also didn’t have better options on the bench, as guys like Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens weren’t exactly snipers. Fortunately, with Strus and Niang coming into the fold, the Cavs have added a combined 351 triples. If you replace that with the shooting production of Osman and Stevens, who have been dealt away, the Cavs would have been fifth in total made threes last season. In addition to adding more made threes, the Cavs seem to be keen on attempting a lot more too, as seen in the preseason.
Across their four preseason games, the Cavs averaged a whopping 42 threes per game. For comparison, the league leader in threes attempted was the Golden State Warriors at 43 per game. Expect the Cavs to launch a lot more threes this year, but also expect them to knock them down with the new additions on the roster.
We can talk about the Cavaliers shooting being the key to unlocking this offense, and that may be true. However, the real key lies within uber-talented big man Evan Mobley. When the Cavs drafted him, Mobley had very lofty expectations. He has drawn comparisons to Chris Bosh, and Anthony Davis.
He has been everything the Cavs have hoped for: efficient on offense, and elite on defense, as he was the youngest finalist ever for Defensive Player of the Year last season. However, Mobley has left a lot to be desired when it comes to offense.
Yes, last season he averaged 16 points per game on 55 percent shooting, but he left a lot to be desired at times. He showed a lot of promise at the turn of the calendar year, as he averaged 18 PPG from January to March. Unfortunately, in the postseason Mobley completely disappeared offensively.
He averaged a paltry nine PPG, and greatly struggled with the physicality in the paint. A focal point of his offseason was gaining weight, as he gained seven pounds of muscle, upping his weight to 222 lbs. That should help him offensively in the paint.
Another thing is that the Cavs seem to be keen on giving Mobley more touches, as in the preseason he was getting a lot of elbow touches and allowed to make decisions. Mobley also seems to be developing a nice chemistry with Max Strus, as Strus reportedly asked the Cavs to give Mobley film on Strus’ former teammate Bam Adebayo, so Mobley could see how he operated offensively.
Mobley has the tools to be a successful offensive player. Now, he has to put it together, and the new offensive system should allow him to do that.
Without a doubt, the engine that makes this Cavs offense go lies in their backcourt with Mitchell and Garland. The backcourt duo was the ninth/highest scoring duo in the NBA last year with 49.9 PPG. But, at times last season it felt that they differed to each other a little too much when the other was hot.
For example, Garland averaged 20 PPG when playing with Mitchell, compared to 26 without him. Do not get me wrong, feeding the hot hand is important, but it is also important for the other guy to get theirs too. Striking that balance is imperative for the Cavs’ offensive success this season. Mitchell and Garland need to figure out ways to both go off for 30, instead of one guy getting 35-plus, and the other sitting in the mid-teens to low 20s.
Another year of playing together should do that, and we also saw more balance at the turn of the calendar year. From January to March, Mitchell averaged 28 PPG, and Garland averaged 23 PPG. They should aim to keep their points near this number throughout the season, giving them a 51 PPG average as a duo. Given the added shooting, spacing and movement, if they can get to the low-to-mid-50s, the Cavaliers should have no problem finishing as a top five offense.
The Cavaliers had a good regular season offense last season, but that fell flat in the postseason. Now, the goal should be maintaining consistent offense throughout the whole season, so they can make that deep run they desire.
All offseason, the theme was all about taking the next step in contention. With the regular season beginning tomorrow, we will finally get to see if the Junkyard Dogs have the bite.