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2020-2021 Cavs Season General Discussion

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I'd move Prince over Cedi just because of age and I dont think the return for Cedi would be great. I think Cedi is a hard worker that fits into the culture and may still figure it out.
I'm not really enamored with either one, but I am curious what Altman is, able to get.
 
I'm not really enamored with either one, but I am curious what Altman is, able to get.

I'm certainly not enamored with Prince at this point, he is what he is and at this point in the rebuild we don't really need what he gives. I do think we need to maintain at least 3 wings in the rotation so I wouldn't be dumping both Cedi and Prince without bring back a solid wing. I think Cedi could develop just alittle bit more and be alot more valuable on the trade market. I don't think Prince's value change much going forward. Having Wade makes it easier to get rid of Prince since we should have solid PF depth if Love and Nance become healthy.
 
Assessing the Cavs at the halfway point what jumps out is how different things are at this point from what we expected. Here’s what I did NOT expect:
  • Kevin Love would only play 2 games
  • Kevin Porter Jr would not play at all and would be traded
  • Andre Drummond would play 25 games and would be sent home to wait for a trade
  • Larry Nance Jr would play 19 of 36 games due to injury
  • The Cavs would be fourth in the league in player-games missed to injury
  • The Cavs would obtain Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince in exchange for Dante Exum and a second round pick.
Going into the season I expected Drummond and Love would be starting every game, unless injured, and Nance and Porter would be getting at least 25 minutes a game.

I would say the most signficant development of the first half is the acquisition of Allen, who will be their starting center of the future assuming they are able to sign him to a long term contract.

The biggest disappointment without question is the implosion of KPJ, who was seen as one of the franchise’s building blocks and a potential star.

Positive developments include the improved play of Sexton and Garland over last season, the recent surge by Dean Wade, and the play of Jarrett Allen.

The performance of rookie top five pick Isaac Okoro is a matter of some debate. In terms of sheer numbers, Okoro is ranked 185 out of 186 qualified players in basketball-reference.com’s player efficiency ratings. In true shooting percentage Okoro ranks 183 of 197. And in total rebounding percentage he ranks 177 of 186. No question he is near the bottom of the league in both scoring and rebounding.

Okoro ranks 146 of 186 in assist percentage. He’s 159 of 186 in turnover percentage. Not only is he awful at putting the ball in the basket, he also loses it a lot and does not create scoring for other players. In Offensive Wins Shares he’s 472 out of 492. In Defensive Win Shares he’s a little above average.

In terms of Wins Shares per 48 minutes, Okoro ranks 178 out of 186. Darius Garland ranks 173, by the way. In VORP Okoro ranks 489 of 492.

The Cavs are 14-22, which equates to a 32-50 record over an 82-game season. According to powerrankingsguru.com, the Cavs have played the sixth toughest schedule so far. For the second half the Cavs have the 18th easiest schedule.

http://powerrankingsguru.com/nba/strength-of-schedule.php

The Cavs have lost 133 man-games to injury this year, which is the 4th highest in the league. But you also have to factor in the value of the players lost; a star player missing 10 games is very different than a guy averaging five minutes a game. In an effort to factor in player value Spotrac.com added up the salary lost to injuries (assuming higher salaries generally correspond to better players) and in this category the Cavs lead the league, thanks mainly to Kevin Love.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/injured-reserve/cumulative-team/

Obviously this figure does not count the games missed by Kevin Porter Jr, who was expected to be a key contributor.

Considering the Cavs had to play the sixth hardest schedule and lost the fourth most games to injury (including 34 games by their highest paid player and 17 games by Larry Nance, Jr) the fact that they are 14-22 is very, very encouraging in my opinion. Getting Love and Nance back combined with an easier schedule and the surprise emergence of Wade as a solid contributor should result in the Cavs winning a higher percentage in the second half.
 
Second half, as shown during the telecast last night:

36 games in 65 days.

17 home, 19 road

9 sets of back to backs

21 games vs teams currently with losing records

3 games each with Wizards, Bulls and Raptors.
 
If Cavs can extricate themselves from paying Prince $15 mil next season they will have capspace even after Allen's caphold and rookie contract is added.
 
If Cavs can extricate themselves from paying Prince $15 mil next season they will have capspace even after Allen's caphold and rookie contract is added.
It seems unlikely that we’ll shed him and Drummond without adding any salary beyond this year.

Only way would be if we gave away assets, which seems like a bad idea to me.
 
Continuing with the first half look at the Cavs, I thought I’d look at the team’s ranking in various offensive categories.

Offensively the Cavs rank 30 of 30 in points per game and 28th in offensive efficiency, which measures points scored per possession.

The Cavs‘ have an unbalanced offense. They rank first in percentage of points scored on 2’s and last on percentage of points scored on 3’s. They rank last in 3-point rate and 27th in 3-point percentage. IOW, they shoot fewer 3’s than anybody and miss more than all but three teams. They only rank 24th in 2-point percentage so they’re not much more accurate from short range.

The Cavs also rank 29th in free throw percentage so they absolutely suck at putting the ball in the hoop no matter the distance or whether they’re guarded or not. As a team they are just very bad at making the basketball go where they want it to regardless of the circumstances.

I think it’s pretty clear that 3-point shooting is the #1 problem with the offense. Overall they are 28th in effective field goal percentage. But there is another problem; they also rank dead last in turnovers per possession. A lot of times they don’t miss shots because they aren’t even able to get the shot off.

On a per possession basis they commit more turnovers and take fewer 3’s than any team in the league. They’re bad at making 3’s and making free throws. The only thing they’re good at is offensive rebounding (3rd thanks to Drummond and Allen) and points in the paint (2nd). The problem is that baskets in the paint are only worth two points.

The Cavs rank 22nd in assists per possession so they’re below average in that area as well.

So it’s pretty simple - the Cavs need to shoot more 3’s, make a higher percentage of them, and reduce their turnovers. Last night they lost a game by 3 points because they were outscored by 25 on points off turnovers.

Things seemed to be moving in that direction the last five games before the break but they need to keep emphasizing a more balanced offense that generates more good looks from deep.
 
Hopefully Cavs just let Drummond expire before bringing back a bad contract. Otto Porter Jr's expiring plus a SRP seems like a doable deal?

I'm just hoping Boston gets desperate and uses that TPE on someone like Prince.
 
I would love Dinwiddie but he is not realistic at all
 
Hopefully Cavs just let Drummond expire before bringing back a bad contract. Otto Porter Jr's expiring plus a SRP seems like a doable deal?

I'm just hoping Boston gets desperate and uses that TPE on someone like Prince.
I think a buyout of Drummond is all but inevitable. The Cavs aren’t taking back multiple years of bad salary(ies) for a couple of 2nd round picks.
 
I think a buyout of Drummond is all but inevitable. The Cavs aren’t taking back multiple years of bad salary(ies) for a couple of 2nd round picks.
Koby has talent back multiple years of bad money every year he’s been a GM. Including this year with prince.
 
Koby has talent back multiple years of bad money every year he’s been a GM. Including this year with prince.
all bad contracts were taken as an interim and with intent to flip at some point. yes we got prince, but he came with allen and we gave up exum (a bad contract) to make it happen. you take bad contracts so you can get talent. it is what it is. you just need to be smart about it if you can flip it in the future and make it an asset.
 
Free Agent Point Guards this summer:

McConnell
Exum
Kris Dunn
Dinwiddie
Reggie Jackson
Elfrid Payton
Patty Mills

Who are the top 3 you would target for our backup PG spot?

(I left out Lowry/Dragic/Lonzo/Schroeder as I think they will all be out of our likely MLE price range)
I'd give McConnell the full MLE for 4 years. We need a backup PG bad.
 
Second half, as shown during the telecast last night:

36 games in 65 days.

17 home, 19 road

9 sets of back to backs

21 games vs teams currently with losing records

3 games each with Wizards, Bulls and Raptors.
That is a rugged schedule. Going to be lots of load management among contenders and likely a good number of games missed to injury.
 
Free Agent Point Guards this summer:

McConnell
Exum
Kris Dunn
Dinwiddie
Reggie Jackson
Elfrid Payton
Patty Mills

Who are the top 3 you would target for our backup PG spot?

(I left out Lowry/Dragic/Lonzo/Schroeder as I think they will all be out of our likely MLE price range)

I want a veteran who knows how to win, isn't a known chucker, and can possibly be had for the minimum.

If I can't have all of that, then the first one is most important.

That said, Patty Mills is at the top of my list. McConnell is probably the best player of the bunch, but I think he'll be more expensive than a team like ours would typically want to pay a back-up. But I wouldn't be against paying him if they were willing.

Really don't want Reggie Jackson or Kris Dunn at all.
 

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-13: "Backup Bash Brothers"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:11: "Clipping Bucks."
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