Three Suggestions for the Cleveland Cavaliers To Ensure Success in NBA Playoffs

It’s been somewhat of a turbulent regular season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers have been without Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen for extended stretches and Max Strus just made his season debut with 15 games remaining. At the deadline, the Cavs traded often-injured point guard James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden.

Yet still, the Cavs find themselves as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, poised to make noise in the NBA postseason.

Certainly, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson is going to be a busy man over the next few weeks. The Cavaliers only have 14 regular season games remaining ahead of the NBA Playoffs, meaning it’s time for rubber to hit the road on postseason lineups.

Here are a few suggestions for the Cavaliers to roll out over the next few weeks to inch themselves closer to being a legitimate contender.

1. Stay in the No. 4 seed

Despite a few valiant attempts at climbing the rankings, the Cavaliers have remained planted as the No. 4 seed in the East for several weeks. They currently find themselves 2.5 games back from the New York Knicks for the No. 3 seed.

But that’s fine.

The Cavs should try to work the NBA Playoffs bracket into their favor. By staying as the fourth seed, the Cavaliers would host the Orlando Magic in the first-round of the NBA Playoffs.

Last week, the Magic got the best of the Cavaliers. But two postseasons ago, the Cavs learned that Orlando isn’t on their level, even though it took seven games to defeat the Magic.

The Cavs are a better team now than they were two years ago. Additionally, remaining in the No. 4 seed would set up a second-round matchup against the New York Knicks, which would be a good primer for an Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics or Detroit Pistons.

2. Find a starting small forward as soon as possible

Even with Strus back in the mix for the Cavaliers, the starting five has been jumbled up for weeks as Allen has been out of the lineup.

Last season, the Cavs probably should’ve started De’Andre Hunter for Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs. That didn’t happen, and Atkinson didn’t adjust until it was too late.

Mitchell and Harden in the backcourt with Mobley and Allen in the frontcourt is easy. But will Dean Wade continue to start with them? Could Jaylon Tyson find his shot again and be added into the equation? If Strus stays hot, could Atkinson trust his NBA Finals experience?

The Cavs have plenty of options and plenty of depth. Getting everybody healthy will make Atkinson’s life easier when it comes to figuring out rotations. But figuring out the starting five is very important so the Cavs don’t find themselves in huge deficits come playoff time.

3. Get comfortable being uncomfortable

The harsh truth for the Cavaliers is that teams who acquire superstars like Harden at the deadline typically don’t win the NBA Finals in the first year of a new team.

The Cavs are going to have to get comfortable with unfamiliar rotations and combinations of players on the floor at the same time. Defensively, they’ll probably want one of Mobley or Allen on the floor at all times. Offensively, the same could be said for Mitchell and Harden.

But the Cavs shouldn’t be afraid to play key contributors significant minutes in the postseason, including Tyson, Sam Merrill, Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis.