Five QuestionsHeading Into Camp
Some Queries as the Cavaliers Tip Off the 2018-19 Campaign on Monday
by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
9/21/18 | Cavs.com
We’ve covered all the bases over the summer. We wrapped up Summer League, signed and lost some players. We broke down all the Player Movement in both Conferences and named the Cavaliers All-Time All-Hair Team.
On Monday afternoon in Independence, the rubber hits the road and the preparation stage for the 82-game odyssey begins. Tyronn Lue’s new-look squad will have some question marks heading into Training Camp and they’ll need some answers by October 2 when they take on Boston to tip off the preseason.
As we head into our final weekend off, here are FIVE of those questions that the Wine & Gold face heading into the 2018-19 campaign …
First rounder Collin Sexton opened some eyes this past July in Vegas Summer League.
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
1. Will Kevin Love embrace his role as the team's new leader?
We can talk about the theme of 2018-19 season next summer, but an early candidate would have to be the way roles will change this year. With LeBron taking his talents to Tinseltown, things will be different for everyone up and down the roster.
In late July, the Cavaliers inked Kevin Love to a contract extension that’ll keep him in Cleveland for the foreseeable future. Now the only remaining member of the Big Three that won the 2016 NBA title, Love must now assume more of a leadership role with the Wine & Gold. The five-time All-Star is the team’s best player and most accomplished veteran. How he does on and off the court this year will make a lasting difference on Cleveland’s young guns.
Love’s resume is almost as good as it gets. Aside from the aforementioned All-Star nods and Championship ring, the 5th overall pick of the 2008 Draft is one of only eight players to tally 11,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 1,000 three-pointers and the only player in league history to post a career average of at least 10.0 rebounds while knocking down at least 1,000 three-pointers.
In 271 regular season games since being traded to Cleveland for Andrew Wiggins in 2014, Love’s averaged 17.1 points and 10.0 boards per – leading the squad in total boards, double-doubles and three-pointers made over that stretch.
In the postseason, the former UCLA star has averaged 15.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per – notching 27 double-doubles, shooting 40 percent from deep and 85 percent from the stripe in the process.
Not exactly known for his one-on-one shutdown skills, it’s worth remembering that Love has the biggest defensive stop in franchise history.
Following his rookie season, Kevin Love was Minnesota’s main man until the deal that brought him to Cleveland. He put up monster numbers, but the Wolves didn’t reach the Playoffs in any of his first six seasons.
He’s a different player now; a World Champion. It’s critical that he brings the confidence that comes with that to the floor this year.
2. What can we expect from the sophomores?
You’d be right to take Summer League results with a grain of salt. It’s nowhere near the level of competition that NBA youngsters will face on a nightly basis come October. But those quasi-inflated numbers do something else. They build players’ confidence heading into their rookie and sophomore seasons.
Collin Sexton was named to the All-NBA Summer League First Team, but he wasn’t the only impressive Cavalier in Vegas this Summer. The Cavaliers’ two international sophomores – Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic – were, in separate games, the best player on the floor.
After doubling-up in his first outing, Osman finished his Summer League stint with a 25-point outing in a win over Indy – going 9-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the stripe, adding six boards, six assists and a block. Zizic doubled-up with 25 points and 11 boards against the man picked one spot above Sexton – Chicago’s Wendell Carter Jr. – and averaged 20.5 points and 12.5 boards in his two appearances, going 19-of-30 from the floor in the process.
Last season, the young Cedi appeared in 61 games with the Wine & Gold, getting 12 starts, averaging 3.9 points on 48 percent shooting -- notching double-figures seven times, including a 16-point effort in his first start of the season, going 6-of-9 from the floor to go with six boards, five assists and three steals in a blowout over Atlanta.
In 32 appearances after arriving in a blockbuster offseason deal with Boston, Zizic shot 73 percent from the floor (49-of-47) – netting five games in double-figures, including a 15-point performance on 7-of-9 shooting against the Lakers in early March and a 20-point showing on 7-of-9 shooting in the regular season finale against the Knicks.
But those numbers mean relatively little heading into this season. Cedi will likely graduate into the starting small forward spot – not an easy act to follow. Big Z will get a softer landing – joining a center rotation that already includes Tristan Thompson and Larry Nance Jr.
There were certain pressures for these youngsters playing on a LeBron James-led team. But they’re about to face a different kind of pressure in 2018-19 – the pressure of expectation. The minutes will increase as will their time under the microscope.
Media responsibilities, the nightly grind, stiffer competition – these are things rookies are able to mitigate, especially on a team like Cleveland’s had over the past four years. The heat’s about to be turned up in Year Two.
The Sophomore Slump is a real thing. The good ones get past it.
Rodney Hood notched double-figures in eight of his first 11 regular season games with Cleveland, and in six of his final nine.
Cavs.com Stats
3. What will the four players acquired in last year's trades be like with a full season?
The Wine & Gold went into an extended funk midway through last season and didn’t shake out of it until the Cavs brass swung a series of deals to infuse some youth and energy into a floundering squad. The moves paid off brilliantly. Cleveland won 18 of its final 28 regular season games – including 11 of its last 14 – and returned to the Finals for the fourth straight season.
But now this foursome – Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, George Hill and Larry Nance Jr. – will come into a full season with adjusted expectations and roles not yet defined.
Rodney Hood, who recently inked a deal to remain in Cleveland, was actually having the best year of his career before Donovan Mitchell’s emergence made him expendable in Utah. Hood appeared in 21 games for the Cavs down the stretch, starting 11 before struggling through the postseason. The 6-8 lefty notched double-figures in eight of his first 11 regular season games with Cleveland, and in six of his final nine. And another noteworthy number is that he’s just 25 years old.
What will his status be in 2018-19 – starter or reserve? A normally quiet guy, will Hood take more of a veteran leadership role? His career has been trending upward. With greater opportunity this year in Cleveland, will it continue to do so?
Like Hood, Jordan Clarkson looked a little out of his depth once the postseason rolled around, unable to find any semblance of rhythm in his Playoff debut. But during the regular season, only L.A.’s Lou Williams had a better scoring average off the bench than Clarkson’s 13.7 ppg. After arriving from the Lakers, Clarkson tallied double-figures in 20 of his final 28 regular season games.
Clarkson is perhaps the one relative newcomer whose role probably won’t change greatly from last year to this one. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – and both Clarkson and the Cavaliers should be good with where he’s at.
The soft-spoken combo guard still has plenty of work to, but he’s a solid scorer who’ll have a better understanding of things next time the postseason rolls around.
George Hill was the most senior veteran who arrived in February’s trade flurry – and he was solid in both the regular season and Playoffs.
His numbers weren’t flashy, but the 10-year vet led Cleveland to a 14-8 mark over the final two months of the regular season and turning in a pair of memorable postseason performances – returning from a back injury to post a clutch Game 7 performance against Indiana and notching 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting in a must-win Game 6 against Boston in the ECF.
When last season ended, Hill was penciled in as next year’s starter. But when the Cavs tabbed Collin Sexton with the 8th pick last June – (and his subsequent performance in Vegas) – things changed at the point guard position. Hill might still come into Camp as the starter, but all indications say he’ll get a hard push from the Young Bull.
Larry Nance Jr. was made for what’s about to unfold for him in Cleveland. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, he’ll be one of the young leaders the Cavaliers will look to in this next chapter.
The high-flying scion of a Cavalier legend, Nance tallied double-figures in 11 of his 24 regular season games as a Cavalier; double-figure boards in seven more games. In his first start with Cleveland – a March 5 home win over Detroit – Nance went for 22 points, 15 boards and a pair of steals.
Nance didn’t get a ton of postseason minutes but made the ones he did count.
He’s a tough, skilled, smart kid who simply makes winning plays – whether they show up in the stat sheet or not. He still has room for growth, but there aren’t many question marks lingering around Larry Nance Jr. with things moving forward.
4. What can we expect from Collin Sexton (and Billy Preston) as rookies?
It’s been a while since Cavalier fans have been excited about a high first round pick. Andrew Wiggins wasn’t around long enough to get attached in 2014, Dion Waiters was kind of an unknown in 2012 and Anthony Bennett in 2013, well …
This summer in Vegas, Collin Sexton – the No. 8 overall pick – almost stole the show in Vegas and was named to the All-NBA Summer League First Team, suiting up in all seven contests and gaining confidence with each passing one – averaging 19.6 points on 43 percent shooting, adding 3.6 boards and 3.3 assists per.
Sexton looked comfortable running the team, played well off the ball and was fearless getting to the rim. The moment never seemed too big for him. In fact, one of the most memorable images of the Summer was his fierce face-off against MVP Josh Hart in the closing moments of a semifinal thriller with the Lakers.
It didn’t take long for the 19-year-old from Atlanta to show exactly why his college coach, Avery Johnson, said he has the “it” factor. The Young Bull more than held his own against true NBA competition in Vegas and there’s nothing that says he’ll be a shrinking violet when Camp opens.
He’s the future of the franchise now. And he’ll have an excellent opportunity to show his stuff as a rookie in Cleveland.
Sexton wasn’t the only intriguing rookie in Vegas this Summer. He’ll garner all the headlines, but an undrafted player the Wine & Gold inked early in Summer League – Billy Preston – is someone to keep an eye on as the season unfolds.
The former top-10 high school recruit left Kansas without ever playing a game because of an eligibility issue. He played just three games with BC Igokea of the Adriatic League between high school and his first Summer League appearance and the early rust showed. But Preston – who already has a sturdy NBA frame at 21 – got better as he went, picking up the speed of the game and netting double-figures in each of his last four outings.
Signed to a two-way deal, Preston will get plenty of time to develop in Canton and could pay huge dividends down the road.
5. What will be the incumbents roles moving forward?
We’ve already discussed Kevin Love. And veterans LeBron James, Jose Calderon and Jeff Green have all bolted via free agency. But what about a quartet of veterans – JR Smith, Tristan Thompson, Kyle Korver and Channing Frye – who’ve logged a combined 226 Playoff games over the past four years.
Swish was healthy this year, but he struggled to find true consistency in his fourth season with Cleveland. He shot .375 from beyond the arc this season and just a shade under that in the Playoffs. He had a strong Second Round series against the Raptors and put up decent numbers against Golden State, despite his infamous Game 1 gaffe.
Along the way this season, Smith moved up to 12th-place on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers list – having now canned 1,917 for his career.
Entering his 15th season, the 33-year-old Smith comes into this season with question marks about his role. But like the rest of the veteran incumbents, he’ll be looked to for leadership as the Cavs transition into a new era.
There’s no question that last season was Tristan Thompson’s most frustrating as a pro – plagued by injuries and inconsistency, two things he’d avoided through the first six years of his career.
His numbers were the worst of his career – averaging 5.8 points and 6.6 boards in the regular season – but he showed glimpses of his former self in the postseason, most notably a Game 7 performance against Indiana, going 5-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the stripe to finish with 15 points and 10 boards, five of those off the offensive glass.
The longest-tenured Cavalier, Tristan will be in a healthy battle for minutes with Larry Nance Jr. (and Ante Zizic) all season long. If he’s feeling like the Tristan of old – that’s a good thing.
Kyle Korver has been almost everything the Cavs have hoped for when they acquired him in January 2017 – and he was one of the squad’s bright spots again in 2017-18. The 15-year vet shot .436 from beyond the arc – good for the 6th-best mark in the NBA – while leading Cleveland with 164 triples.
Korver endured the tragic death of his younger brother late in the season and still was able to produce through the first three rounds of the postseason – notching double-figures in half of Cleveland’s 18 games – before hitting a wall against Golden State in the Finals.
As long as Kyle Korver can shoot three-pointers and make winning plays, there are really no question marks about his role or value to the team.
Speaking of three-pointers, that leaves us with the most accurate long-distance marksman in Cavaliers postseason history, Channing Frye, who’s canned just over 54 percent of the Playoff triples he’s attempted with Cleveland.
But that’s not the (only) reason the Wine & Gold brought Frye back into the fold. There may not be a better locker room guy in the NBA, and he’s still a solid, consistent contributor on the court.
Frye is able to spell Kevin Love as well as any of Cleveland’s big men. And he brings Championship experience, a dozen years of knowledge and some levity to what should be a one hell of a season.