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This could be a problem for OKC in the playoffs.

OMG Cavs-Mavs

It's all love for Kyrie.

I don't think Lebron cares all that much about titles anymore either - he undoubtedly sees what the rest of us can see - that the Lakers are not a title contender so might as well just get as much money as he can and live the good life in LA.

I didn't watch one millisecond of NBA All-star weekend and, from the comments here, thank goodness.

And Doc Rivers is not.

The vibes are immaculate right now and national guys are only now taking notice. Of course, the black cloud on the horizon with this Cavs team is - will Mitchell re-sign? He is signed through 24-25 and, if I'm correct, he will be eligible to sign an extension on 07-01-24. If he doesn't sign an extension at midnight on that date, the Cavs have to trade him for what they can. Have to. They cannot go into the 24-25 season with Mitchell as a looming FA at the end of the year. Among Cavs writers and those who know, opinions range from "Mitchell is a lock to re-sign" to "Mitchell has no intention of re-signing and testing FA is a foregone conclusion." I also think this team bears some resemblance to the 08-09 team that overachieved (everyone on that team sucked except Lebron) and then ran into an Orlando Magic team that was built to beat them. I still have nightmares of Mikael Pietrus, Hedo Turkeyglue, and Rashard whatshisface shooting about 110% from 3 that series. The Cavs relatively soft schedule continues through February and then they host the Knicks and Celtics on March 3 & 5 - I imagine those games will be playoff atmosphere type games with those teams jockeying for playoff positioning.

As someone who has watched every femtosecond of Cavs ball for the last few years, it really is astonishing to see this team go nuclear offensively and let it fly from 3. For the last couple season, JBB's offense was archaic and defense was where the team hung its hat. Now? It's bombs away and even supposedly marginal talents like Dean Wade are getting into the act. The bench squad has been so good that any of the starters are rarely playing more than 32 minutes. Despite this recent success, a lot of Cavs fans are still skeptical after Cleveland was bludgeoned out of the playoffs in Round 1 by the Knicks. If that happens again all these good vibes will be forgotten in 3 months.

That Cleveland has been the hottest team in the league sans Mobley & Garland has brought up some interesting debates about the best way forward for the team and this article does a good job of breaking it down. https://theanalyst.com/na/2024/01/are-the-cleveland-cavaliers-better-without-darius-garland-and-evan-mobley/ Normally, a team can hide one little guy, especially when that guy is as talented of an offensive player as Garland is (93rd percentile in offensive DRIP). But the problem is he shares a backcourt with Donovan Mitchell (6-3). And it’s a lot harder to navigate having two smaller guys on defense than it is to have just one. With Garland on the sidelines, Cleveland can play more defensive-first wings and forwards like Wade and Isaac Okoro. The latter is a below-average shooter for his position, but that’s OK because Cleveland is getting more spacing from the power forward spot without Mobley. Strus’ years spent rising up the ranks of the Miami Heat organization have made him one of the more underrated perimeter defenders in basketball. He’s been one of the best acquisitions of the offseason. Among non-rookies, he ranks fourth in DELTA – a metric that tracks the improvement in a player’s DRIP since the start of the season. To his credit, Mitchell has been super locked-in and engaged on the defensive side of the ball, as indicated by the fact that his steal rate this year is at a career-best 2.7%. And like CJ McCollum, he’s reaping the benefits of no longer sharing the backcourt with someone smaller than him. Now, he can draw the matchup against the other team’s weakest offensive player (an honor Garland normally gets). With more defense and size on the floor, Cleveland has experienced an increase in its point-of-attack defense and rim protection (two important parts of great defenses). What Does Cleveland Do Now? This isn’t intended to be a demerit on Mobley and Garland’s individual excellence. The issue here is fit. Mobley and Allen have overlapping skills (defensive anchors who can’t stretch the floor). And so do Garland and Mitchell (undersized offensive stars). Cleveland’s stars are redundant of each other. And redundancies produce inefficiencies. So, what do the Cavs do about this conundrum? Some have suggested that Cleveland stagger the Garland/Mobley minutes from the Mitchell/Allen ones and let Garland/Mobley be flanked by shooters and defenders. Then, do the same with Mitchell/Allen. This way, you always have a dynamic duo on the court. When you think about it, this formula isn’t too different from the theory of Mitchell’s old Utah Jazz team. Back then, the Jazz would try to surround Mitchell and Rudy Gobert with as much shooting and defense as possible. This model leads to great regular-season success. But as we saw in Utah, the ceiling of a team like this is limited. The reason for this is the role players sharing the court with them are flawed. We’ll keep the focus on Cleveland here and look at Okoro. He’s a great defender, but we saw last year that his offensive limitations can get him played off the floor in the playoffs. Merrill is a wickedly good shooter, but his size will make him a moving target on defense. Wade is hitting shots now, but will this hold up in the postseason? Niang only averaged 14.3 minutes per game during the playoffs last year. And the Philadelphia 76ers were a minus-3.9 per 100 in his minutes. Cleveland can be a great regular-season team by following this strategy. But if the Cavs want to win big in the playoffs, they need to consider trading one or two of their core four to acquire a two-way wing/forward or two that they can trust in the postseason. This isn’t a bad problem to have. All four of those guys are valuable assets who could net Cleveland the player(s) it needs in a trade. It’s just about the front office pushing the right button on who it trades and who it gets back. But if they do, watch out for the Cavaliers. With the right move, they could compete for an NBA title.

I think I read he cannot be miss more than 2 or 3 more games and still be eligible for MVP.

Philly has already dropped to the 5 spot in the East and now this...

Dan Campbell…what a collapse

I guess the blue pill is a banned substance…

Looking at the Knicks forums, they are pissed about losing Quickley.

OG is a FA this offseason.