Exiting the All-Star break, there are only 28 regular season games left until the Cleveland Cavaliers face the very best the Eastern Conference has to offer in the playoffs. It all begins with the Cavs hosting the Orlando Magic on Thursday. And although Cleveland was the hottest team in basketball entering All-Star weekend, it might take a bit to get back to that level.
Pre-game, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff compared the tilt with the Magic to a ramping-up process, especially for Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. Cleveland's duo is still on the mend after being sidelined for over a month after undergoing surgery. They both have had a handful of games under their belt since returning to the court and while neither is under a minute restriction anymore, it's still a work in progress to get comfortable on the floor.
JB Bickerstaff, Cavs already eyeing postseason
Regardless of the recovering duo, it's a work in progress for everyone on the Cavs—including Donovan Mitchell, already ruled out for Thursday's game due to illness. Typically, the ramping-up process would be much more strenuous for Cleveland, with their top six players playing heavy minutes to handle the grind of a seven-game playoff series. But with how the remainder of the regular season plays out schedule-wise for the Cavs, Bickerstaff is taking a totally different approach.
“We've got five in seven here and two more five-in-sevens in March and we want to be very, very careful,” said Bickerstaff. ” I think, at this point, we can be very, very careful. We can be calculated in big games where guys do play more in heavier minutes. But, playing guys back-to-back 38-40 minutes a night is just not good for the long-term, especially when we have the depth that we have.”
The first five-in-seven as Bickerstaff calls it begins against the Magic and then the Cavs immediately hit the road to face the Philadelphia 76ers the following night. Following a day of rest, Cleveland heads to the nation's capital to face the Washington Wizards before returning home to face the Dallas Mavericks and then immediately going back on the road to play the Chicago Bulls.
Then a similar gauntlet awaits, but with the pressure being their opposing talent. The Cavs will face the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves in that exact order. Cleveland closes out the month of March with two consecutive five-games-in-seven-nights stretches, testing the mettle of this team with the postseason looming.
That's why Bickerstaff stressing that the ramping-up process will be gradual instead of sudden is important. While the Cavs are loaded with depth this season, it's important to have that depth available when the games matter most during the playoffs. Sure, Cleveland rode the wave of losing Mobley and Garland earlier in the season, keeping things afloat, but they don't want to experience it again.
Follow Us
Subscribe