Cleveland’s 51-31 record in 2022/23 was the best mark for a Cavaliers team without LeBron James since 1992/93 and resulted in the franchise’s first playoff berth since James’ most recent departure in 2018. Unfortunately for the Cavs, their postseason run was short-lived, as the Knicks quickly dispatched them in a one-sided first-round series.
Speaking to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff admitted that the playoff loss “took some time to process.” But now that he’s a few months removed from it, Bickerstaff is more willing to focus on the Cavaliers’ regular season success and to find silver linings in their early postseason exit.
“I think when you sit back, look at the regular season – and I think the regular season was a test that was passed – and then you get to the playoffs where things ramp up a notch, it was the greatest learning experience our guys could have had, that I could have had,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s the opportunity to be in a position you have never been in before and a responsibility that you’ve never had before. Nothing worth having has ever come easy to anybody.
“At the end of the day, you sit back and look at it and the season was successful. The experience our young guys gained in the playoffs is only going to make them better. That’s the reality of it. We get caught up in the emotion of it all in the moment because we are all so competitive. But in reality, we’re not above the process either. There are steps that just can’t be skipped.”
As Bickerstaff notes, many of the Cavaliers’ core players – such as Evan Mobley and Darius Garland – are still young and were experiencing a playoff environment for the first time. He believes they learned important lessons during that five-game series and will benefit from the experience going forward.
Here are a few more highlights from Fedor’s interview with Bickerstaff:
On how adding Max Strus and Georges Niang as free agents will impact the Cavaliers’ playing style in 2023/24:
“I don’t want to give away too much. But the spacing on the floor becomes different. The attention that goes to those two guys because of Georges’ career 40% 3-point shooting and Max Strus’ ability to make shots off the move, defenses have to make different decisions now than they had to last year. Those are different dynamics that we added.
“Our offense can improve and be more dynamic and difficult to guard — even though we were a top-10 offense in the regular season. You learn from the playoffs about how to become more difficult to guard in that setting. I think there is a more dynamic nature that we can have offensively. Those are things I’m studying now and we will implement this coming season.”
On Donovan Mitchell‘s potential long-term future in Cleveland:
“He was with us in Las Vegas and stayed longer than most. He worked out with the guys and went to dinners. … There were conversations we had with him during free agency about trying to get the people we needed in here. There were conversations he had with the guys we were able to bring in.
“All those things tell you that Donovan is all in. If a guy is not attentive to free agency and how we are going to get better as a team, if he is not attentive to his teammates over the summer, if he is not attentive to working on the individual things that may make him uncomfortable but also are best for the team moving forward, to me that would be a guy who is not engaged. I have seen the opposite. I have seen a guy who is all in.”
On whether he’s feeling pressure to live up to increased expectations in 2023/24:
“Pressure from what? I think the funny thing for us coaches when it comes to pressure is you want to have a good team and you want expectations. If you have a team with no expectations, as a coach, competitor, and player, that is ultimately not the job you’re looking for. The word pressure is kind of comical, to be honest with you, because you have a good team and that’s what you want.
“… Pressure isn’t a word that coaches really think about because it’s our job to continue to get better. I think we have done that here. From where we started with this team to where we are now, there is no way to say we haven’t done the job building this the right way. Look at the environment. Look at individual development. Look at team development. There are no holes. Our job is to continue to do what we’ve already done but also continue to get better. That’s what we want.”
Is Donovan going to be eligible for the same extension Jaylen got? Cavs have no choice but to max him. Cavs are going to have a hard time improving this team going forward
Cleveland will be fine. That said money will get tight. There are reasons the team is all in on developing players through the G-League. 3 of the core 4 of this team will be on Max deals in 2 years time. They will also have to keep Jarrett Allen happy. That said it was not an accident they won the Summer League title. Those kids like Isaiah Mobley, Sam Merrill and others played together on a team that made the G-League playoffs. Add the drafting of #1 high school prospect Emoni Bates and the savvy signings of Craig Porter Jr and Pete Nance this team is using the G-League as a minor league rather than treating those rosters as a place to stash injury replacement players like most teams. The kids will be cheap until they prove they can play. They won’t all work out but if half of them do the team should contend for the rest of the decade.
Mitchell won’t be super-max eligible since he was traded while on his second contract. So his next max deal would start at 30% of the cap instead of 35% (like Brown’s).
Team needs a Mahorn and a Laimbeer, a couple of Rodmans and a Dave Debuscher or two. Old school meanness can save this team.
Those guys don’t exist in today’s NBA. That said Allen and the Mobley Brothers will bulk up and become more aggressive in time. Even then the Cavaliers lost to the Knicks for 2 reasons. 1 a lack of frontcourt depth and second a shortage of outside shooting. The Knicks clogged the paint which is where the Cavaliers like to operate. This forced the Cavaliers to rely on their outside shooting. Still these were close games. The Cavaliers defense worked. It was the Number 1 ranked defense in the NBA playoffs. Furthermore the Cavaliers starters led while they were on the floor. A third issue was a lack of overall depth that gave away the leads the starters earned. This is why Cleveland focused on acquiring outside shooting and bench help in the off season. These are kids. As they mature and add weight toughness will come.