Answering Your Cavs Questions: Oct. 29, 2023

Welcome to Cavs Questions! In this daily mailbag, Spencer Davies will respond to fans’ curiosities surrounding the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout the duration of the 2023-24 season. In order to submit yours, simply send your questions on X to @SpinDavies or via email at spindavies22@gmail.com.

The Cavs did not win either of their games this weekend against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. There is a lot on the mind of fans around town, so let's get to it.

Why doesn’t J.B ever challenge anything? The Cavs have a lot of bad calls in every game. Those challenges don’t roll over to the next game. - @KYCblue

What did J.B. do during the offseason to improve as a head coach and when will it show up? - @craiger113

That’s a fair point to make about the challenges. I’m not sure how that process works entirely. There’s obviously members on the staff to make those decisions of when and when not to. Logically, most of the challenges come in the second half or the fourth quarter because of the importance of the situation in critical moments. It would be wise to use them, however. That’s what they’re there for. It’d certainly be better than yelling at the officials and receiving a technical foul, which J.B. Bickerstaff does a lot in defense of his players.

What can a coach do better over a summer to improve? Well, watching film of a playoff series against one specific team isn’t going to fix everything. It’s only applicable to that matchup. So there was some soul-searching and a realization that overall Cleveland needed to score the basketball and push the pace more often. The Cavs have done so in every game so far.

No, losing the first two of three games isn’t ideal. Can we cut everybody some slack though? Cleveland has been hampered by injuries already and yes, it makes a difference no matter how frustrating it may be as a fan to admit. The Thunder game was one that got away, inexcusably, due to defensive breakdowns and turnovers. The Pacers game, on the other hand, was a commendable effort by all involved where the squad ran out of gas at the end.

If you want to find areas to be critical that make the most sense: Bickerstaff’s training camps are rigorous — maybe too rigorous. Both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell are dealing with hamstring issues and we’re less than a week into the season. Those two played a ton of minutes last year. Luckily, Cleveland is more comfortable with its depth this year, so hopefully that allows the team to take some of the load off the All-Star backcourt’s shoulders.

What kind of matchups do you think work best for Evan Mobley? He always seems to go at Myles Turner and dominates inside the paint, but he struggled a bit against Nic Claxton in the opener. - @WillSDV3

It may be less about who Evan Mobley is playing and more about the mentality he carries into the game himself. Contrary to belief, there’s a clear improvement in his offensive repertoire. It isn’t coming as a jump shooter, but rather as a ball-handler, playmaker and attacker.

Obviously, when he faces bigger types such as Mitchell Robinson, Joel Embiid, Steven Adams and Nikola Jokic, he’s not going to try and outmuscle them. He’d rely on his quickness, ability to find pocket gaps and his face-up jumper.

Mobley’s got a finesse game, but he’s starting to build a head of steam in the open floor as well. Rebound and push. That’s where he’s gonna have the most success.

Ugh, Niang. Rough start? Wade? - @DaveCavSteelers

This made me laugh because it’s kind of a question and kind of isn’t. Georges Niang is a career 40-percent shooter and I’m going to repeat that ‘til I’m blue in the face. It’s okay to be confused about his lack of success from deep. With that said, there should be no reservations about Niang taking all those threes regardless of the result. Good looks are good looks. They will fall.

Dean Wade was healthy all training camp and then he got sick at the wrong time. Just put that in the category of terrible luck. He had a good preseason and that’ll eventually show, as we saw on Saturday night in the second half. He’s got good length, can defend, play and guard 3-5 and space the floor. He’ll be in the mix quite a bit this season, more than I originally anticipated.

When will they be at full strength? - @JonT187827

Wouldn’t we all like to know this answer? The Cavs are already somehow down three starters who happen to be All-Stars and part of the team’s core. With the New York Knicks up next in a mini home-and-home series Tuesday and Wednesday, you’d sincerely hope at least two of those players would suit up.

If not, the impatience is only going to get worse — especially with the Mitchell rumors swirling about. Control what you can control!