Where do the Cavaliers go from here?
Well, probably not the playoffs. Probably back to the draft lottery. But at least the weight of the Andre Drummond situation is no longer weighing down the rest of the team.
Instead, the Cavs’ young nucleus of Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and rookie Isaac Okoro intends to march forward best it can, improve on last season and focus on what is to come. For better or worse, that is all the Cavs can do now that the trade deadline has passed and no buyout candidates are gonna coming marching through the door.
The Cavs (17-29) are coming off a heartbreaker of a loss Saturday night against the Sacramento Kings, victims of a buzzer-beater by Harrison Barnes. (Related Dribbles.)
Things won’t get easier with a visit to the Western Conference-leading Utah Jazz on Monday night. But coach J.B. Bickerstaff liked what he saw in the team’s first outing after the Drummond ordeal was resolved. (He has since signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.)
For one night, the young Cavs returned to the type of determination and unity exhibited in the early portion of the season. It gave fans reason to tune in and the organization reason to feel proud about what’s being built.
“Those kids fought tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “They hit a tough shot at the end of the game. But our guys did everything they should have. That was a tough shot that Barnes made, but our guys competed tonight. They just made one more play than we did.”
Sexton was particularly on his game, scoring 26 points and once again showing that he knows how to throw the orange ball through the sphere — regardless of what defenses throw his way. Larry Nance Jr. filled in for the injured Allen and was also his usual Swiss-army-knife self, and Garland also had some outstanding moments.
What the Cavs hope to figure out from here, it seems, is if they have a core that can eventually contend for a playoff spot, and more. They aren’t a finished product, of course. They could still use a veteran voice that has “been there before.” They lost one in Drummond, and another when they traded JaVale McGee to the Denver Nuggets last week.
In return for McGee, they got another young player, center Isaiah Hartenstein, age 22.
Eventually, perhaps Kevin Love will make it all the way back from a calf strain that other players (such as Boston’s Marcus Smart) have already suffered and returned. But Love’s pain just won’t seem to go away. Either way, while he’s not likely going to be the same borderline All-Star he’s been for most of his Cavs run, his experience should be helpful.
Right now, though, the immediate goal is clear — and that is to keep games close, show promise and compete. As Bickerstaff noted at the beginning of the year, he wanted the Cavs to serve as pests. He wants them to be a team that opponents dreaded to see on the schedule because, if nothing else, the Cavs will fight to the finish.
That’s a concept Bickerstaff reiterated after Saturday’s loss.
“That’s how you build and become winning team, is you have to have those moments. And that experience is invaluable,” he said. “You can’t learn how to win if you don’t play in critical moments, especially in the fourth quarter. So we need as many of them as we can get.”
