The Cleveland Cavaliers post All-Star push toward the playoffs isn’t exactly off to a rousing start. JB Bickerstaff’s once-surging team just fell to the Orlando Magic and Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers on a back-to-back, struggling mightily to produce efficient offense with superstar guard Donovan Mitchell shelved by illness.
Cleveland’s inability to both connect on and get up three-pointers loomed large against both the Magic and Sixers. The team took just 22 triples versus Orlando, one more than their season-low, and made only eight threes 24 hours later in Philadelphia.
Caris LeVert has never been a high-volume nor especially accurate long-range shooter. It’s certainly not up to him alone to account for what the Cavs are missing from beyond the arc with Mitchell sidelined. Still, the Sixth Man of the Year candidate hasn’t been able to pick up Mitchell’s slack elsewhere, either, combining for 12 points on dreadful 3-of-21 shooting—including six misses on as many tries from deep—in Cleveland’s pair of recent losses.
After Friday’s game, though, LeVert expressed optimism he’ll soon break out of his mini funk.
“I liked my looks tonight, especially in the second half,” he said, per Chris Fedor Cleveland.com. “I’m happy with how the ball is leaving my hands. Sometimes you go through that. Is what it is. It’s the NBA. Try not to think too much about it. Just continue to do what I do and be who I am. Do the same stuff outside of games and things like that. Just gotta keep going. I’m due for a big game.”
A scorer and creator like LeVert is bound to endure off shooting nights. It’s hardly surprising two of them have come sans Mitchell, with opposing teams making him more of a priority on the scouting report. The lack of inherent pressure Mitchell puts on defenses from all three levels of the floor has made exploitable numbers advantages harder for LeVert and the Cavs to come by, too.
One simple fix, as LeVert sees it? Not letting his labors fester mentally.
“Um, not think so much about it,” he said. “Sometimes it’s like that. Long season. Different lineups and things like that. Just try not to put too much on it and get ready for the next game.”
Cleveland was never going to maintain the ridiculous 18-2 pace the team was on entering the All-Star break. But what the Cavs can do better going forward is sustain the newfound offensive identity of high three-point volume and ball and player movement that helped drive that wild success.
Getting Mitchell back, obviously, will make that task far easier. He’s listed as probable to play on Sunday versus the Washington Wizards, a golden opportunity for Cleveland to get back to its winning ways facing arguably the worst team in basketball.
“The ball was a little sticky,” Bickerstaff said after the loss to Philadelphia. “We were trying to play in small spaces and trying to create in spaces that weren’t there. That limited our kick outs and our drives — we only had one 3-pointer in the first half that came after we touched the paint.”
That’s a problem Mitchell can definitely fix going forward. Now that it’s a focus for the Cavs, expect LeVert to try and do the same on Sunday against Washington.