Cavs president: ‘Have to get over the hump’ after expectations reset
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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard during Game 5 of the second round of the NBA play-offs.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers changed head coaches and saw a 16-game improvement in their NBA regular-season record. In the end, the result was the same as the year before – a second-round exit from the play-offs.
The Cavs’ remarkable 64-18 regular season put them in a spotlight they last enjoyed when LeBron James played for the team, and president of basketball operations Koby Altman knows that has invited title expectations.
Altman met reporters on May 19, six days after the top-seeded Cavaliers’ Game 5 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals eliminated them from the post-season.
“I think we can all agree that coming into the season no one predicted us to be (the) No. 1 seed. I don’t think anyone had 64 wins,” he said.
“Because we were so good, we recreated the expectation of Finals. I think everyone in here saw potential champions, which is a new space for us.
“We recreated the expectation and now we have to live with that. I think it’s a space we want to live in and take that into the play-offs next year, knowing we’re going to have to change that narrative, knowing that we have get over the hump.”
The idiom of “getting over the hump” was present numerous times throughout Altman’s remarks.
When asked if he is confident the current roster construction can win a title, Altman pointed to the team’s young foundation, with All-Stars Darius Garland (25 years old) and Evan Mobley (turning 24 in June) supporting lead guard Donovan Mitchell.
“Us figuring out our offensive identity happened this year and so I’m really optimistic about our future,” he said.
“That being said, it can’t just be 82 games. We have to figure out this next 16, we have to figure out how to get over the hump.
“But this group has shown they can play some of the best basketball in the world.
“It’s how do we do it on the highest stage and continue to keep pushing to get over that hump?”
He also signalled a desire to keep together what he called Cleveland’s “Core Four” of Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and centre Jarrett Allen, who combined to average 76.6 points per game in the regular season.
He did say, however, that the Cavaliers would not be afraid to add pieces, even if it took them into luxury-tax or second-apron territory.
Cleveland were one of the favourites to win the 2025 title, once new coach Kenny Atkinson guided the team to a 15-0 start to the season and additional winning streaks of 12 and 16 games later in the season. They swept the Miami Heat before running into trouble against Indiana, despite some massive games from Mitchell.
“This is Year 3 for the Core Four and they’ve had incredible success, right?” Altman added. “Play-off success needs to come next, but I think there’s an internal belief because of what we proved this year during the regular season and what we’re capable of.
“I know this is Year 3, but there’s a newness, a freshness that we’re going to take into next year having failed again in the play-offs and knowing how much that’s going to hurt.
“And we’re going to get over the hump.” REUTERS
