“Grinding is a mindset and a willingness and a commitment to work at it.”– Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach, J.B. Bickerstaff
The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off of a relatively poor season that saw them finish 22-50 in a 72 game, shortened NBA season, and as the 13th best unit in the ever-improving Eastern Conference. This led to the team having the good fortune of attaining the third overall draft pick through the luck of the NBA Draft Lottery. The team and Cavaliers General Manager, Koby Altman, would go on to use that draft selection on USC’s PF/C Evan Mobley. This has led to a true spark of hope behind many Cleveland Cavaliers fans, analysts, and media members alike. That spark has only been consistently magnified further and further as the team has spent the majority of the past few seasons accumulating young and veteran talent through the NBA Draft and trade market. This Cleveland Cavaliers front office and staff is now adamant more than ever seen in this post-Lebron era on improving and taking the next steps towards being truly competitive on a consistent game-by-game basis this 2021-22 NBA season. The question remains on how truly realistic this truly actually is for this young Wine and Gold team, but the staff and players from top to bottom have all been very vocal and open about how they hope the acquisitions of USC’s Evan Mobley and veteran player, former Minnesota Timberwolves guard, Ricky Rubio, will play major roles for said progression into potentially competing for a playoff or play-in spot in next season and hopefully beyond.
So with all this in mind, what exactly would an “ideal” and “realistic” NBA season for this Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team look like? Let’s dive right in.
The “Ideal” Season:
The ideal 2021-22 NBA Season is best seen through the Cleveland Cavaliers young core taking the needed next steps to improve, compete, and win on a relatively consistent enough basis in the improved Eastern Conference to where they are capable of making it into the playoffs as a whole, be it through the play-in games or most ideally through making it into the top 6 seeds in the Eastern Conference. The team struggled relatively heavily in the 2020-21 NBA Season, but found themselves eliminated from playoff contention later on into the season in comparison to the prior two seasons. This was largely a direct result of the NBA introducing the play-in games into the season which allow seeds 9 and 10 to potentially also make the playoffs via a small play-in tournament of sorts. Collin Sexton took further steps last season into becoming a truly elite NBA scorer and one of the world’s greatest in that department. He put up an impressive 24.3PPG, a much-improved 4.4APG, and 3.1RPG on 47.5 FG%, 37.1 3PT%, and 81.5 FT% (Statistics provided via Basketball-reference.com) as the Cavaliers lead-2 guard. There is absolutely merit to believing the best possible and truly most ideal season involves him representing the Cavaliers as a first-time all star when the NBA All-Star Game comes to Cleveland in 2022. Sexton has only gotten better and better in pretty much every facet of the game and if he is capable of leading the Cavs to, at the very least, consistently genuine playoff contention- the All-Star nod is certainly a viable possibility for the young man nicknamed “Young Bull”. The Cavaliers starting point guard, Darius Garland, will certainly most benefit from a season of good health above all things. The ideal and perfect season sees him competing for Most Improved Player, as he did somewhat in the 2020-21 NBA season when he received votes for 3rd Place in the Most Improved Player award race. Garland and Sexton (or SexLand, of course) should both take further strides forward in their play-making capabilities as they also now have a new veteran point guard in Ricky Rubio to help mentor and lead the young guards. Ricky Rubio has long been one of not only the NBA, but truly the world’s greatest passers, with he having a vast amount of Olympic and FIBA Basketball success. Garland finishing top 10 in the NBA in assists per game is an ideal season for both Darius and the Cavaliers as a unit.
Isaac Okoro taking continued steps to improving his 2020-21 campaign that saw him finish with 2nd-Team All-Rookie honors, and even progressing into a consistent scorer, shooter, and 2-Way threat alongside Sexton and Garland is easily the most ideal overall outcome for the 20 year old from Atlanta, Georgia. His play in the Summer League thus far early on is already quite encouraging in regards to all of that, and his capability as a finisher and cutter should only improve through the already quality vision of young Evan Mobley and the at-times otherworldly, and excellent vision of players like Darius Garland and of course, Ricky Rubio. The frontcourt this season and beyond will be expected to be filled by Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. They are both two exceptionally long and capable defenders that should ideally allow the Cavaliers defense to improve vastly as the season goes on. Mobley has already shown quality ability to switch out onto and defend the perimeter so far in the Summer League and his shot-blocking capabilities are already very well known. The perfect season for Mobley sees him winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award and cementing himself as one of the NBAs best young big men early and often. Jarrett Allen would also in a perfect world proceed to take the next steps forward, justify himself as a max-level player to support the large contract he received from the team this offseason, and ,alongside Mobley, turn the Cavaliers defense into an elite one. The front-court’s play will be crucial if the team is truly to take the next steps towards playoff competitiveness once again.
The bench, likely led by a unique combination of new Cavalier Ricky Rubio, beloved Wine and Gold-er and Cleveland native Larry Nance Jr., will need to provide firepower off the bench. Rubio’s elite play-making and passing capabilities ideally provide a great boost in every area for the team and the most ideal season sees him putting up good numbers off the bench and competing for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award. Larry Nance Jr. had reportedly been involved in trade talks by the team, but assuming he (as well as Kevin Love at this point) does indeed suit up for the Wine and Gold for the team this upcoming season, he will need to be a key contributor off the bench and for the team in general yet again. The team desperately needs quality perimeter shooting and players like Damyean Dotson, Dean Wade, Cedi Osman, and yes, even Kevin Love (at this current moment at least), will all be asked to provide that pop off the bench that is so desperately needed on this squad. Lamar Stevens is currently fighting for a roster spot in the NBA Summer League, but assuming he keeps said spot, he too has the game to provide a solid burst off the bench as he showed at times throughout the last season. The forgotten man on the Cavs roster tends to be the unfortunately oft-injured Dylan Windler. The ideal season for the former 26th overall selection in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Belmont pretty clearly involves good health and proving to be the player the Cavaliers hoped he could become.
The perfect season for this Cleveland Cavaliers team sees the squad taking next steps towards not only playoff but title competition similar to the 2020-21 Atlanta Hawks who, as an exceptionally young team led by a young backcourt and star, went from 14th in the East in the 2019-20 NBA Season to 5th and even an Eastern Conference Finals appearance this past 2020-21 NBA Season. That high of a leap in the standings may be a bit out of reach for the team in the most realistic side of things, but if the stars do align properly for this team, they hopefully will indeed take that next step and put themselves back on the NBA national radar.
The “Realistic” Season:
The ideal season sees the Cavaliers taking the next step back towards playoff contention and national relevancy, so what exactly does the most realistic season for the team potentially look like in this writer and hopeful analyst’s opinion?
Collin’s continued upward trajectory of positive play is relatively expected and arguably justified given his strong play in this past 2020-21 NBA season, and thus him proving to be a max-level player with the Cavaliers in this upcoming 2021-22 NBA season is indeed realistic. The question at this point simply remains on what his eventual price-point and whether the Cavaliers do indeed decide to pay him- given because the team was reportedly hesitant to give him the max-level contract he has reportedly been seeking and even made him somewhat available in trade talks this off-season. He is practically guaranteed at this point, however, of being a big part of the Cleveland Cavaliers this upcoming season at the very least. Sexton has been very visible amongst his Cavaliers teammates, reportedly very vocal through workouts and this offseason overall, and openly remains one of the hardest workers in the NBA in general. Strong play on his part this upcoming year is not only realistic, but expected for the 22 year old. Darius Garland, as mentioned above, received 3rd Place Most Improved Player of the Year award votes this past season. This was justified by his strong play and stretch that saw him averaging over 20PPG and 7APG, a stretch that helped keep the Cavaliers decently competitive and even in the competition for the final play-in spot, before finally being eliminated in early May. His strong play moving forward is more than fair to expect from him in any realistic setting for the team, especially given how openly he appears to be in peak shape and locked in with the team and his role on it as a whole. The back-court’s positive play will absolutely be key to proving whether or not the team can take the next step back towards competitiveness again and for the first time in this second post-Lebron Wine and Gold era. The most ideal season sees Mobley winning rookie of the year, but a realistic season in my eyes is one that is akin to the 2020-21 rookie campaign of the Golden State Warriors center, James Wiseman. It is already relatively apparent that Evan Mobley is already ahead of James Wiseman in certain areas of his game, but lacks the weight that Wiseman has with a somewhat similar elite wing-span and length. Mobley is expected to realistically struggle against some of the NBA’s stronger big men early on into his career because of his weight issue, but has been already vocal early on about his need to put on more weight so there should not be any concern on that issue in regards to the long-term. A realistic season sees some struggles for Mobley yet just as much will expectedly come with some flashes of genuine greatness along the way. Jarrett Allen is coming off of a strong first campaign with the Cavaliers to the tune of where the team extended him the very first second they were legally capable to do so NBA protocol wise. He most ideally lives up to that contract in the sense that he becomes a franchise-level center for the team as quickly as game 1 of this upcoming NBA season, yet this may not be increasingly realistic to expect as quickly as that if at all. Even if that jump on that level does not happen this upcoming season, he is still both capable and expected of being a major contributor for this team early and often and his strong play will be needed as the Cavs progress forward in the 2021-22 NBA campaign. Isaac Okoro, the Cavaliers 5th overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, has continued to show early on in this 2021 NBA Summer League session and the expectation absolutely is that this strong play continues on into this upcoming campaign. He is in a relatively perfect spot and position with the Cavs to put up consistently quality numbers, play a big part on both ends of the floor, and even help the team to some wins in the coming seasons.
The unfortunate nature of reality is that the wins may not necessarily be there for this Cavaliers team still this upcoming season if this shooting does not improve in pretty much every facet. The team was dead last in the entire NBA in Team 3PT % and has not done anything really drastically acquisition wise to improve on that factor, short of the trade acquisition of Ricky Rubio from the Minnesota Timberwolves which should viably improve the amount of open looks the team gets given his elite passing and playmaking ability. Players such as Dylan Windler, Cedi Osman, and to a lesser extent Lamar Stevens and Damyean Dotson are guys that can viably and realistically improve their team 3PT % if they all have stronger seasons in their own unique way this upcoming year. All of them can and likely will benefit from said addition of Rubio. The other reason behind the relatively likely to be harsh reality behind the wins and losses this team may or may not experience, past their poor team shooting, is largely attributed to how difficult it is to win with a completely young-led team.
Now is it possible that the team has that ideal Atlanta Hawks-like youth-led resurgence this season? In the most ideal scenario and setting that answer is obviously yes, but the reality of things is it is a next to impossible feat in the NBA to consistently win without strong defensive play and strong, quality shooting. The team as a collective unit struggled immensely with both of these things last season and thus the realistic side of things is that the Cavs still need to prove they can compete at a high level and consistently have that reflect in the win column. The additions of Evan Mobley and Ricky Rubio do provide a needed spark of excitement and hope to this team and even somewhat the city of Cleveland overall, so even with reality completely in mind, I personally feel and see it as realistic that the team as a unit can take that jump forward to competing for a playoff spot one way or another.
The future appears bright in Cleveland because it IS bright and rightfully so. These young players are clearly more ready than they have ever been to prove they both belong, have been counted out, and are some of the best of the best. This upcoming NBA season at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and beyond are going to be an absolute blast and big things are coming in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Dream 