The leaders of the Cavaliers will have to ask themselves questions this summer. Especially the good ones. Because after a regular season ended with 51 wins, elimination in the first round of the playoffs in just five games against the Knicks remains a blow. Donovan Mitchell has already mentioned the criticism he feels he deserves for this.
What about at the top of the organizational chart? How to bounce back? The president of the franchise already announces that we should not expect major work during the offseason in Ohio.
“It’s obvious that we will have to look closely at what we can adjust, but there will be no radical changes”, announces Koby Altman for the Plain Dealer. “Nobody is panicking after this exit in the first lap. There are things to keep, to learn from this experience in the playoffs, from these 51 successes in a very competitive NBA. We came back on the map and with 95 wins in two years, the progression of the players and the All-Stars, it’s hard not to be proud of them. »
Bickerstaff very close to his players
No need to imagine the departure of JB Bickerstaff, author of remarkable work since his arrival during the 2019/2020 season and who has made the Cavaliers progress year after year.
“We can put an end to speculation. No doubt. Look what he achieved. Bickerstaff has been part of the rebuilding from the ground up, doing a phenomenal job of instilling a culture of responsibility and hard work. You don’t win 51 games, you don’t become the best defense in the league by chance. He created an amazing atmosphere and excitement here. Both of these things can hold true despite the disappointment of the past ten days. »
“He built something unique”
Players also support their coach, as Caris LeVert and Ricky Rubio state.
“He is a coach close to the players, he puts them at ease while asking a lot of them. He does it from superstar to fifteenth man,” explains the winger. “I fell in love with Bickerstaff’s way of dealing with the players”, adds the Spanish playmaker. “That’s why I came back here. He built something unique. The daily atmosphere in training is tranquil. There is no tension and it helps to build something in the long term. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Donovan Mitchell | 68 | 35.8 | 48.4 | 38.6 | 86.7 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 28.3 |
| Darius Garland | 69 | 35.5 | 46.2 | 41.0 | 86.3 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 7.8 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 21.6 |
| Evan Mobley | 79 | 34.4 | 55.4 | 21.6 | 67.4 | 2.4 | 6.6 | 9.0 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 16.2 |
| Jarrett Allen | 68 | 32.6 | 64.4 | 10.0 | 73.3 | 3.3 | 6.5 | 9.8 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 14.3 |
| Caris Levert | 74 | 30.2 | 43.1 | 39.2 | 72.2 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 12.1 |
| Cedi Osman | 77 | 20.1 | 45.1 | 37.2 | 69.4 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 8.7 |
| Kevin Love | 41 | 20.0 | 38.9 | 35.4 | 88.9 | 1.0 | 5.8 | 6.8 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 8.5 |
| Danny Green | 8 | 11.9 | 50.0 | 44.8 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 6.5 |
| isaac okoro | 76 | 21.7 | 49.4 | 36.3 | 75.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 6.4 |
| lamar stevens | 62 | 18.1 | 44.8 | 31.6 | 70.2 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 5.3 |
| Ricky Rubio | 33 | 17.2 | 34.3 | 25.6 | 80.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 5.2 |
| Sam Merrill | 5 | 11.7 | 40.9 | 27.8 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 5.0 |
| Dean Wade | 44 | 20.3 | 41.2 | 35.4 | 65.2 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 4.7 |
| Raulzinho Neto | 48 | 10.5 | 51.8 | 28.6 | 91.2 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 3.3 |
| Robin Lopez | 37 | 8.1 | 64.0 | 50.0 | 77.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 3.0 |
| Mamadi Diakite | 22 | 8.0 | 48.0 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 2.6 |
| Isaiah Mobley | 12 | 7.0 | 42.9 | 37.5 | 100.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 2.6 |
| Dylan Windler | 3 | 3.5 | 66.7 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
