Ted Crow
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off of a very successful regular season in which they won 64 games and earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but they were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the fourth-seeded Indiana Pacers.
The Cavs failure to make the conference finals as the No. 1 seed triggered some old questions about toughness, both mental and physical which coach Kenny Atkinson will try to get answered in the offseason.
Like it or not, the Pacers ran the Cavs off the court, exposing the gap between the two teams. On one hand, the Pacers played fast and aggressive, while the Cavs abandoned the ball movement that made them the NBA’s top-scoring offense.
In Atkinson’s first year as coach, the Cavs improved dramatically. Look for them to improve again. Even if they don’t win as many games in the regular season, they should make a deeper playoff run.
Read more:
The five keys to Kenny Atkinson’s summer plan for the Cavs
Recent cartoons by Ted Crow:
Browns OTAs started Tuesday with plenty to work on: Crowquill
Let competition for Browns quarterback begin: Crowquill
Crowquill, by artist Ted Crow, appears Wednesdays and Sundays in The Plain Dealer and oncleveland.com.