CLEVELAND, Ohio — It’s not panic time for the Cavs.
Despite an at-times hellish season, with a plethora of injuries to navigate, Cleveland finished with 48 wins, secured the Eastern Conference’s fourth seed and advanced to the conference semifinals without LeBron James for the first time in more than three decades.
That’s progress. Not success. But a step forward.
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“I consider this season an improvement,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said following the Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics. “To win a round in the playoffs isn’t easy. I thought we faced a tough challenge in that first round and to be able to go to seven games and win it in a Game 7 showed a ton of growth. I think the play of our guys continued to show their growth. You guys will judge what success looks like.
“But, for us, I think we accomplished what we were trying to accomplish but coming up short of a goal of obviously winning a championship.”
This result shouldn’t create the same feeling as last year’s first-round exit — a non-competitive five-game ouster that informed organizational summer decision-making in which the front office addressed an obvious shooting weakness, hoping to make the offense more diverse and dynamic. There was a sense of desperation, no possible way of keeping the status quo.
Losing to the top-seeded Celtics, with Jarrett Allen sidelined for the duration of the series and star guard Donovan Mitchell unavailable for Games 4 and 5, doesn’t point to failure.
There’s no reason for Cleveland’s brain trust to overreact and start making drastic, franchise-altering moves for the sake of change, especially on the heels of back-to-back playoff appearances. Plus, there are some reasons to believe organic, internal improvements can still be made.
But the result should at least show the Cavs aren’t close to a title. Isn’t that the goal?
This is the tricky part of a team’s renaissance.
Time to take the next step — a brutally difficult one, going from playoff contention to championship hopeful. It’s no longer about getting to the postseason and winning a round. It’s no longer about proving it against fifth-seeded Orlando.
Been there, done that.
It’s now about climbing to the conference’s top tier, alongside those teams. The only way to do that is through honest, clear-eyed offseason evaluation.
For all his success thus far, with the team getting better and going further every season under his watch, is J.B. Bickerstaff the right coach, game-manager, tactician and schematic architect for this next step? It’s not so much about what he has already done. It’s about the future. Would it be better to infuse this franchise with new ideas, concepts and philosophies that better align with modern hoops?
There’s ample individual talent spread across the roster. But the Cavs have reached a point where fit and playing style matter.
Pairing Allen and Evan Mobley together has made Cleveland unique, with a suffocating top 10 defense each season of the partnership. Breaking them up would be risky. But there are obvious offensive limitations. The two seem to occupy the same space and stand in one another’s way at that end.
Eventually, the Cavs knew Mobley would evolve into a full-time center — and they got a glimpse of the possibilities at various points this season, including the final eight playoff games. Even with the possibility of him getting pushed around by bigger, burlier centers, that positional switch allows more offensive freedom. If Mobley is, indeed, the most important player, something various members of the organization have boasted, isn’t it time to unshackle him and let him prove it?
What about Darius Garland and Mitchell?
On one hand, Garland needs a lethal scoring backcourt mate while Mitchell can benefit from a secondary creator. Garland was much worse without Mitchell. The idea of the two remains logical — and the ceiling is still highest with both on the floor together. But Garland (and to a lesser extent, Allen) may also be the linchpin to address Cleveland’s wing problem, one the front office has been trying to fix for years.
Kevin Durant -- even though Cleveland and Phoenix doing any business together is highly unlikely given the ownership rivalry? Brandon Ingram? Paul George? Devin Vassell? Harrison Barnes? Someone else?
Those are just a few names who could be part of the summer marketplace. There will be movement. Don’t be surprised if guys attempt to migrate East.
Because of Mitchell’s ball-dominant tendencies and comfort as the offensive engine, something he showed during six straight Garland-less weeks, the Cavs could theoretically find a better stylistic complement while rejiggering the look — and fit — of the roster, making it more symbiotic by using Garland as the primary trade chip.
It’s dangerous to offload talent when those guys have contributed to a pair of well-to-do seasons. The Cavs should only consider it if the return is worth it. They don’t have to do something. Not that drastic, anyway. They could keep trying to work the margins.
It’s also dangerous to have a false sense of security, leaning into the idea of internal improvement, especially when the star player is thinking bigger and it’s the organization’s task to convince him this is where he should remain.
Lots of questions. Not many easy answers.
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