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The Cavaliers intentionally avoided the No. 2 seed by tanking the end of their final game. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps found it “reprehensible.”
On “The Hoop Collective with Brian Windhorst” podcast, Bontemps took issue with Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who pulled most of his regular players while leading the Charlotte Hornets late, presumably to avoid a possible first-round matchup with the Miami Heat or Philadelphia 76ers.
“What the Cavs did was scream to the world that they have absolutely no faith in their team,” Bontemps said. “That they can’t beat Miami, that they can’t beat Philly.”
With 6:39 to play and the Cavaliers winning by six points, Bickerstaff pulled Max Strus from the game and played the remainder of the game with no guards. His ostensible point guard was 6-foot-8 Emoni Bates, a rookie who had seven assists all season going into Sunday. The rest of the lineup was three centers and a power forward. Unsurprisingly, they managed just two points the rest of the way.
At the time, Cleveland had a chance at the No. 2 seed, though the New York Knicks eventually won in overtime to claim second place. The Cavs ended up falling to the No. 4 seed and a matchup with the Orlando Magic, though a win would have gotten them the No. 3 seed.
Bontemps took issue with the message that the strategy sent. Essentially, the Cavaliers were foregoing a chance at a higher seed and home-court advantage in order to get what they thought was a more favorable first-round series. But in doing so, they put themselves directly in the path of the Boston Celtics in the second round, and in effect, said they were afraid to play the seventh- and eighth-place teams in their conference.
But the Cavaliers’ strategy is flawed because it cost them what could have been an even more favorable matchup. If they’d won, they’d be facing the smaller Indiana Pacers, who they defeated on Friday night. They’d have put themselves on the opposite side of the bracket to the Celtics as well.
When the Cavaliers traded future All-Star Lauri Markkanen and multiple first-round picks to add Donovan Mitchell, was their goal really just to win a single first-round series? If so, it’s no surprise that Mitchell is reluctant to sign an extension. How is he supposed to believe in the Cavaliers when they don’t believe in themselves?
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