A few random dribbles before the Cavaliers get set to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
1. Throughout NBA history, role players have been known not to play nearly as well on the road as they do at home. You can make the case that the Cavs are a team of mostly role players.
2. Not saying I agree, but you can make the case. Aside from Collin Sexton, Andre Drummond and Darius Garland, you never know what you’re going to get from many of the players on this team.
3. And I’m not sure about Drummond and Garland. Both can put up numbers. Both can be great. Both can also put up numbers and not be great.
4. Now, I’m not here to rip on the Cavs (9-11). They’ve laid two consecutive eggs — Friday at New York and Sunday at Minnesota. You can lay some eggs. You just have to make sure your egg-laying ways don’t become the theme of the season.
5. Mostly, you just need to beat the lousy teams at home and steal a few on the road. When you’re a relatively young team, that counts as growth. The Cavs lost part of their young core when Kevin Porter Jr. was traded to the Houston Rockets. But the rest remain — Sexton, Garland, Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro, Dylan Windler and even Taurean Prince.
6. Larry Nance Jr. is also someone every team needs, a hard worker/hustler who can surprise with a big night here and there. I’m not nearly as sure about the future of Cedi Osman.
7. The Cavs are looking to trade Drummond and will do the same with Kevin Love once he returns from an injury.
8. Drummond is highly unlikely to still be a member of the team after the trade deadline March 25. The Cavs need to trade him or run the risk of losing him for nothing. He won’t be coming back at what the Cavs intend to offer contract-wise.
9. Love is a different story. The Cavs would love to move him, but may not be able to. A few opposing GMs I’ve spoken with recently questioned Love’s passion for the game. One said Love’s contract, age and injury history make him a “massive” risk. None of the GMs I spoke with have an interest in Love.
10. Drummond is different. He rarely misses games and he usually puts up double-doubles. He is the NBA’s returning leading rebounder. His expiring contract, while massive ($28.7 million), also makes him appealing. At best, Drummond could help a contender. At worst, he can come off a lousy team’s books at the end of the year. Both types of teams have an interest in Drummond.
11. Anyway, back to the here and now. The Cavs have four straight home games — vs. Minnesota, vs. LA Clippers, and two in a row vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. They will have to try to get as many as they can in there, as they start a six-game swing through the Western Conference next week. And as of now, they haven’t proven to be a solid traveling team.
12. Tipoff for Monday’s game is 8 p.m. EST. Just an FYI, as they are usually 7 p.m. during the week.
