The Cavs’ season ends with a 15-point loss in Boston
The Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a 113-98 loss to the Boston Celtics in TD Garden. The Cavs fought valiantly in the last two games, both without superstar Donovan Mitchell, but they ultimately came up short in final quarter. While disappointing, there are still positives to take away from the game. Here is the final market watch of the season.
While the futures of some of the Cavs’ other players is in flux, the same likely cannot be said about Evan Mobley. The 22-year-old finished Game 5 with 33 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks on 15-24 shooting. He put together some of his most complete games of his career this postseason, and the growth has been evident.
Since Game 6 against the Orlando Magic, a game in which he had three points en route to a disappointing Cavs loss, Mobley has looked much more dominant. In the six games since, Mobley has three double-doubles and scored 17 or more points in all but one of those games. His comfort level on offense has gradually improved, all while playing out of his normal position of power forward. Mobley had to bang around in the post with Al Horford, no easy task for a young player. The defense from Mobley has always been stout, but he really seemed like a guy who was coming into his own on offense.
Mobley is due an extension, and there should be little doubt in what the Cavs need to do. Game 5 for Mobley was one the Cavs can look back on fondly this summer with hope for the future — no matter what it holds.
The only player more criticized than Mobley this season has been Darius Garland. It was a difficult year for Garland, who suffered multiple injuries and personal loss that deeply impacted his play on the court. Too often, all season, Garland would disappear for multiple games and look passive with the ball. He was careless with the basketball, turning it over 14.8% of the time (19th percentile) per Cleaning the Glass.
Fans saw that seesaw in Games 4 and 5 against the Celtics. Garland had 30 points in Game 4 and paced the offense, but collapsed in Game 5. He finished with 11 points on 4-17 shooting, nine assists, and two turnovers. He also failed to hit a three-pointer in a game for the first time this postseason. Boston has excellent defenders, and Garland was targeted even more with Mitchell out, but the expectations for a player who just received a max contract extension are higher.
The Cavs are headed for change this offseason, and the backcourt will be at the center of things. Garland’s name has already popped up in trade talks if the Mitchell re-signs with Cleveland, and trying to move him at his absolute lowest value would likely not net a good return. It was a disappointing finish to a disappointing season for Garland, but one that he can hopefully build on as well.
Whether or not you approved of J.B. Bickerstaff’s job as head coach this past season, it's hard to deny that the progression he's made with the team has been upward and linear. The Cavs went from the lottery, the play-in, the first-round, and now the second-round. Bickerstaff led the Cavs to their first playoff series win without LeBron James since 1993. He stabilized the role when John Beilein was unceremoniously let go. But the Cavs are at a crossroads with the head coach.
Never mind the article from The Athletic that highlighted players’ discontent with Bickerstaff, which has been downplayed all season, the Cavs may need a new coach to push the team forward. Too often the Cavs seemed out of position, without adjustments in critical moments, and not focused. At times, the Cavs seemed in dire need of a Tyronn Lue type of coach who commanded respect, made halftime adjustments, and pushed players hard to be better and sharper. For a team that wanted to be great, there was seemingly never enough of a desire to do the thing necessary to make that happen.
Last summer, Koby Altman made essentially three moves to try and close up the gaps that the Cavs exhibited in the playoffs against the Knicks: acquired Max Strus, signed Georges Niang, and signed Ty Jerome. Those moves did not work.
Strus was even more hot and cold than normal, and never really found his footing shooting-wise all season. In the playoffs, he was really only cold aside from a spot here and there. Niang was completely unplayable, especially since his shot never came around. Jerome never even made it on the court with a mysterious ankle injury.
Now, Altman is faced with fixing the mess and logjam of misfit toys. He has some levers to pull, but the bench largely failed the Cavs once again this season after being tragically bad last year as well.
