The Cleveland Cavaliers have decided to run it back with the same roster construction as they had in 2023/2024. The Cavaliers are keeping the ‘Core 4’ of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen together to be the main guys for 2024/2025. With other Eastern Conference contenders making splashes in the off-season, are the Cavs making a mistake by standing pat? Time will tell.
New philosophy
To be fair, the Cavaliers are not completely running it back. They had parted ways with their 5-year Head Coach JB Bickerstaff. Despite getting Cleveland to their first 50 win season since the Lebron years, his 6-11 playoff record was not good enough. Enter long time Assistant Coach and 2022 NBA Champion Kenny Atkinson. Coming from the Golden State Warriors, Atkinson intends to implement more Split Action and to run less pick and roll offense. The Split Action will help space the floor and Cavs’ opponents will have to guard the 3-point shooter coming off the screen which should open up more cutting lanes for easy baskets. So far, the the Cavaliers’ offense has been excellent.
Credit: Kirk Goldsberry https://x.com/kirkgoldsberry
Another reason the Cavaliers felt comfortable running it back is due to Donovan Mitchell signing a 3-year $150 million extension. Often the subject of many off-season and in-season rumors, Mitchell solidified his Cavalier career until 2026/27 with a player option for 2027/28. So far, Mitchell has been excellent, shooting 50% or better in 4 of the first 5 games.
The offense is cookin’
Now, the Cavaliers have started the season on fire, their opponents have not all been championship-caliber teams. But the Cavs showed out against Lebron’s Lakers winning 134-110. The Wine & Gold had a very efficient night shooting 56% from the field and 41.5% from 3-point range. A feature of the 2023/24 Cleveland Cavaliers was their ball movement. The Cavs are actually making 30 fewer passes per game this season than last, a 10% drop. How could the Cavs have the most efficient offense this year with less ball movement? They are getting better looks sooner.
The Cavaliers averaged 17.2 wide-open 3’s per game last year and shot 39.6%. This year, they are up to 19.3 wide open 3’s (and they’re shooting an NBA-best 55.2% on those attempts). This is showing that the Split Action is pretty effective in the early going. Let’s hope the Cavs can continue this strong start and use this new offensive philosophy into the playoffs.
The Cavaliers will be back in action on Friday November 1st in prime time on ESPN (7:30p EST) against the Orlando Magic. It looks to be a great test of top-4 contending teams in the East, the Magic are hoping to bounce back after their loss to the Bulls, and the Cavaliers are hoping to keep their winning streak going. Oh and yeah, their might be some bad blood from the 1st Round playoff matchup from last season….
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