With every new season comes a new energy for the NBA, but for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it’s simple: We’re sick of losing, not just tired, and need to hold each other accountable.
From Darius Garland to Jarrett Allen to even newcomers like Ricky Rubio, the message was clear and they felt like this team can take some strides in the upcoming season.
Though he hasn’t been in Cleveland long, newcomer Ricky Rubio already has set the tone in his press conference on Cavs Media Day on Monday.
“It’s been two or three years where the rebuilding process has been in play,” Rubio said on Monday. “I think it’s time to show it. Are we sick of losing or are we just tired of losing? They’re two different things. We will see how it is. We have not practiced or played a game together, but I’m excited to see what’s coming.”
For Rubio, this is another chance for him to be a veteran to lean on for these young players, like he has for All-Stars like Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, Suns guard Devin Booker, among others.
Ready to breakout?
For Cavs guard Darius Garland, the leap from year one to year two was tremendous, but after playing on the Team USA Select team and working out with his fellow Cavs teammates, there is a growing buzz around the league about the potential third year jump for the young point guard.
“What’s exciting for us is people are anticipating watching him play,” Cavaliers GM Koby Altman said on Monday about Garland. “He’s put himself out there as this creative, imaginative point guard that can shoot 30-footers.”
Altman isn’t the only one dishing out praise for Garland like he’s looking for an open teammate… Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry also had some high praise for the young guard…
Longtime NBA columnist Jackie McMullan said on the Bill Simmons podcast that Curry reached out to Garland and thinks the Cavs guard will be a “flat-out star.”
Garland, 21, averaged 17.4 points and 6.1 assists per game in 2020-21, including a phenomenal month of April where he raised those averages to 20.4 points and 7.1 assists per contests for the team.
With his time at Team USA in addition to the fact that this is looking to be the first full offseason and 82-game schedule he will have played, it’s easy to see why his play could ascend in 2021-22.
Big Men on Campus
If you had to summarize the Cavs’ offseason in one word, it would be big. Not in terms of names, but size.
From re-signing center Jarrett Allen to a 5-year, $100 million deal at the start of free agency to the selection of Evan Mobley to the addition of forward Lauri Markkanen via sign-and-trade, it was clear that both Altman and Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff put an emphasis on adding versatility to their offense.
“They just allow you to do things because of their size, length, and versatility. They aren’t seven-foot stiffs,” Bickerstaff told reporters on Monday. He later added: “Philosophically, if you have size and skill, that beats small-ball.”
Bickerstaff also mentioned the need to “become more modern” and that the team last year played too slow and needed to create more threes. In 2020-21, the Cavs were not only last in the league in three point percentage (33.6%), but also 28th in attempts (29.7).
With the additions of Markkanen and Mobley with Allen and Love, expect plenty of movement and passing from the Cavs bigs throughout the season.
Fully-Loaded
With NBA players like Nets guard Kyrie Irving, Wizards guard Bradley Beal, and Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins leading headlines about their hesitancy to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Altman also confirmed to the media that the Cavaliers will have everyone fully vaccinated within the next few weeks.
With the roster almost fully vaccinated, the Cavs can turn their focus to the team’s first full season since 2018-19.