Midway through the season updates: roster changes, stats, player/team achievements, the upcoming All Star Weekend, and more!
Keep up to date with your favorite NBA franchise's news and updates throughout the 2022 season!
Darius Garland on the current state of the Cavaliers:
“ Having Our Own Legacy Without Having Anything With ‘Bron To Do With It, That Would Be Pretty Cool- Cavs latest All Star Darius Garland .”
All Star Break
Some folks new to basketball may not know the significance of the NBA All Star break to the corresponding season. First off it marks the halfway point for the season (just about!). Second it is a weekend long event that caps off with a game showcasing the NBA's current best throughout this point of the season. It is accompanied by many other events like the NBA 3-Point contest, NBA Dunk contest, NBA celebrity All Star game, NBA Rising Stars game and much more! This year it is even more relevant to us with the games being in Cleveland! This is huge for the city, cleveland19.com estimates gains of about $100 million or more into the economy for Cleveland. If having the best basketball players in the world in Cleveland for a weekend doesn't get you excited enough; Cleveland has 4 of their very own participating in the festivities. This is a testament to the hard work and turnaround this team and group of players has done this season! Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen have been named to the All Star game for their first time in their careers! They were voted and picked by a committee of fans, players, and coaches across the league. Joining them is second year player Isaac Okoro, and Rookie of the year standout Evan Mobley playing in the NBA Rising Stars game. Just how it sounds, this game is for the best rookies and second year players across the league. They were specifically voted and picked by the assistant coaches of the league. These four were hand selected by their peers and coaches of the league; this shows the massive respect they have gained as players and individuals, putting Cleveland back on the radar. Cleveland couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to represent this team and city at the All Star Weekend events! The Cavs head into the break at 4th in the Eastern conference( East and West Conferences) at 35-23.
Roster Changes / Injury Updates
From my last blog, we recently acquired shooting guard Caris LeVert from the Indiana Pacers. This pick up boosts our backcourt (point guard and shooting guard) and scoring immensely going into the second half of the season. LeVert is averaging about 19 points per contest this season as a gifted scorer coming off the bench for the Cavaliers in his first three games for us. It will be exciting how J.B. Bickerstaff (head coach) can implement his scoring into our offense heading into the playoffs. There hasn't been a clear update about Lauri Markannen and his high ankle sprain injury, but it seems optimistic he will be back after the week long break. Other than Sexton (out for the season), no other Cavs player is sidelined with an injury.
Head Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff
Of course the team could not be this successful without the leadership and success by head coach J.B Bickerstaff. Bickerstaff has been around the game of basketball since a young age. With his dad coaching in the NBA for years, he has been accustomed to the game. Bernie (his dad) has worked for the Cavaliers since 2013, winning a championship in 2016 as an executive. Having that wining culture and knowledge in your blood has led J.B. to the success we are having this year. Bickerstaff earlier in December agreed to a huge, and well deserved contract extension keeping him as our head coach throughout the 2026-2027 season. Often times you don't see head coaches get a contract extension after going through the hardships of a rebuild. J.B. exceeded expectations and was rewarded with a contract extension, and hopefully a chance at a NBA title. Bickerstaff was awarded Coach of the Month for January leading the Cavaliers to an 11-4 record for the month. This was J.B.'s first Coach of the Month award of his head coaching career, and hopefully it won't be his last!
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