On March 7, Beijing time, the Cavaliers welcomed the challenge of the Celtics at home, and although the Cavaliers narrowly won through overtime, they were suppressed by the Green Army without Tatum and Horford with a full lineup, which undoubtedly sounded the alarm for the subsequent playoff journey.
Even the Celtics, who lack key cores, are struggling to play, and if they encounter a well-rounded Green Army in the playoffs, will the Cavaliers only be beaten?
The Cavaliers have almost locked in a playoff ticket this season, which is a huge improvement for the young Cavaliers who unfortunately missed the playoffs last season.
The introduction of Mitchell has transformed the Cavaliers from a young recruit into a competitive powerhouse in the East, and they no longer need to rely entirely on Garland for offense as they did last season, and whenever Garland is injured, they can only watch the team's record decline.
The knights who "walk on two legs" are more stable than before, but the Markkanen, who was sent away in order to bring in Mitchell, is also a very important puzzle piece for the knights.
Although Markkanen was not visible in the Cavaliers last season, his projection ability and mobility contributed a lot to the Cavaliers' offensive and defensive system, and no one in the current Cavaliers seems to be able to take care of both inside and outside on the defensive end like him, and the offensive end can steadily output three-point shots to help the team pull out effective offensive space.
Okoro, who started in place of Markkanen, has excellent defensive ability, but his 1-of-4 three-pointer has told fans that he cannot replace Markkanen until he has developed a steady shooting ability. As of the loss to the Celtics, Okoro is averaging less than 1 three-pointer per game, how does this level of projection pull space for the Cavaliers?
If the Cavaliers had scored one more three-pointer, the game might have ended as early as regular time, rather than desperately falling into overtime.
And if Gwee doesn't hit 0 of 2 free throws in the last 0.8 seconds, then the loser will become a knight...
Mitchell and Garland are the Cavaliers' most three-pointers per game, but they're more on the ball, and the duo requires others to shoot similar three-point productions to share their worries. And Love, second only to Mitchell and Garland, has been abandoned by the Cavaliers...
Perhaps, the Cavaliers underestimated the value of Markkanen, thinking that Okoro, LeVer, Osman, Dean Wade, Stevens could make up for Markkanen's departure, and even felt that Love could replace him.
But so far, none of these players have lived up to the Cavaliers' expectations, the issue of starting small forwards remains unresolved, they are still looking for a new "Markkanen", and even betting on Danny Green.
The Cavaliers will certainly need Mitchell's blessing to storm the playoffs, but they also need "Markkanen" as a puzzle piece, otherwise the whole system will be stuck in key positions. If there is no small forward with the ability to project and pull as a key point in the middle of the system, how can the Cavaliers connect the backcourt twin guns and the interior twin towers?
In the deciding moment of the game, the Cavaliers' choice to pin Jarrett Allen, the main center who had no range, on the bench had exposed their roster problems.
The Cavaliers are currently fourth in the standings and are still clearly away from the Eastern Conference Final Three. This also seems to show that only when they find a new "Markkanen" and find the key piece of the puzzle that carries on the top and bottom can they truly liberate the power of the double guns in the backcourt and the twin towers on the inside, completely break the barrier between the strong and the excellent, and officially enter the first echelon of the East, and even the league's championship echelon will have a place for knights.