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Although the Cleveland Cavaliers saw their season come to an end in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics, their future is still bright. In fact, the Cavs believe internally that they're on the precipice of becoming a legitimate title contender, and if this offseason goes as planned, they'll be a real threat next season.
While Cleveland becoming what they believe may seem easier said than done, it isn't impossible to accomplish in a single offseason. In fact, if the Cavs make three simple albeit major corrections to their roster, game plan, and coaching staff, they should be more than in the clear to be considered one of the best the Eastern Conference offers.
What can the Cavs do to level up?
1. Adding size on the perimeter
According to Cleaning the Glass, here are the players who spent the most time at wing (shooting guard or small forward) or forward (small forward or power forward) for Cleveland last season:
- Max Strus, Wing – 2228 minutes
- Caris LeVert, Wing – 1924 minutes
- Isaac Okoro, Forward – 1879 minutes
- Georges Niang, Forward – 1759 minutes
- Sam Merrill, Wing – 961 minutes
- Emoni Bates, Wing – 100 minutes
- Isaiah Mobley, Forward – 56 minutes
- Pete Nance, Wing – 14 minutes
While there's a healthy, albeit nearly equal, distribution of minutes in the Cavs' top four when considering how certain players were utilized compared to their skillset, it becomes clearer that Cleveland still needs support on the perimeter.
Strus and Okoro are shooting guards in terms of size, but the fact that they saw the majority of their minutes at small forward or power forward drives that point home. Ditto for playing Caris LeVert, who is best used as a combo guard, mainly at small forward as well. If anything, the Cavs need to focus on adding bigger players in a similar vein to Niang, who has the size to play power forward naturally, but if Cleveland wants to go big, they can also play comfortably at small forward as well.
When considering what archetype to apply to a player that size, the hope is to glean three-point shooting and rebounding from their minutes on the court, which helps the rest of the team immensely. Strength in numbers, especially with that skill set, is welcome on any team, including Cleveland. That is especially true with how the Cavs need to play next season.
2. Playing with pace and space
Anyone who watched Cleveland last season knows they were at their deadliest when they were playing fast, attacking the basket, and firing away from the perimeter on offense. Sure, the Cavs had shooters available between Strus, Merrill, Niang, Donovan Mitchell, and Darius Garland and threats like Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen on the interior. But, if they commit to focusing on adding more shooting perimeter threats this offseason, it'll take what worked last season to an even higher level.
For this offensive identity to work best, consistency and the ability to tap into it when things are tight during the postseason. Cleveland saw it happen once when they stole Game 2 on the road against Boston. But, having the right head coach roaming the sidelines to scheme up the Cavs for consistent offensive success, built around this core identity, is what will further push the needle and allow Cleveland to be considered a title threat.
3. Finding an offensive mind for the next head coach
This one is probably the most obvious after five years of J.B. Bickerstaff at the helm and all the recent reporting saying that the Cavs are doing their due diligence on offensive-minded coaching candidates. If Cleveland brings in former head coaches like Kenny Atkinson or James Borrego, who both have strong offensive pedigrees predicated on space and pace, then it's the start in the right direction.
However, whoever the Cavs bring in as head coach, their staff has to be built to be able to handle both the offensive and defensive pressures of the regular season and playoffs. Clearly, Cleveland has the pieces to be one of the more balanced teams in the NBA. But, with a few small tweaks to the roster and the right coach to the gameplan, a path to the NBA Finals could soon be on the Cavs' horizon.
