How far away are Cavs from the NBA Finals? What does Denver teach us? – Terry Pluto’s Scribbles

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my notebook after watching Denver beat Miami 94-89 to win the NBA title in five games:

1. Show of hands please ... how many of you predicted Denver and Miami in the NBA Finals at this point a year ago? Or how about at the start of the 2023 playoffs? I’m still waiting. How about Denver even winning the title?

2. A little history: The Nuggets never even reached the Finals until 2023. They were born in 1967 as the Denver Rockets in the old American Basketball Association. Their name was later changed to the Nuggets. They did reach the ABA Finals in 1976, losing to the New York Nets and Julius Erving. Denver waited 56 years to finally win a title, dating back to its ABA days.

3. Cheap plug: I wrote a book called “Loose Balls” about the old ABA. Lots of cool stuff in there about Denver and all the franchises. The reason the team was originally called the Rockets is because the first owner named it after his Rocket Trucking business.

4. As for Miami, I doubt anyone had the Heat playing at this level – especially after they had to make the playoffs via the play-in route. All of this is a long way of saying, “Who knows what teams will be in the NBA Finals 12 months from now?”

5. That said, watching the Finals, I kept thinking of something several NBA people told me years ago, “The playoffs punish the young.” That means young teams.

6. The Cavs’ starting lineup had an average age of 23 this season. The oldest starter was Donovan Mitchell at the age of 26. Miami’s starters and key reserves and their age: Kyle Lowry (37), Kevin Love (34), Jimmy Butler (33), Caleb Martin (27), Max Strus (27), Gabe Vincent (26) and Bam Adebayo (25).

7. Denver is younger, but not young: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (30), Nikola Jokic (28), Aaron Gordon (27), Bruce Brown (26), Jamal Murray (26), Michael Porter Jr. (24) and Christian Braun (22).

8. These are two physically and mentally tough teams. They are with stable organizations who have had patience with their coaches. Miami’s Erik Spoelstra has been that team’s head coach for 15 years, working for Pat Riley the entire time. Denver’s Michael Malone is in his eighth season as Denver’s head coach.

9. Last season, Denver didn’t have star Jamal Murray and was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. In 2021, the Nuggets (also without Murray) were swept in the second round. But they did have superstar Nikola Jokic both years. It could have been tempting to dump Malone. In fact, Malone didn’t even make the playoffs in his first three seasons with the Nuggets as he was helping to build the team. He did reach the 2020 Western Conference Finals.

10. The NBA thrives on offseason moves and drama: Where is Kyrie Irving going? How about James Harden? Will LeBron James want to leave the Lakers? Meanwhile, excellent coaches are dumped after a playoff disappointment – the same guys who took their teams to the NBA Finals a few years earlier.

11. In the NBA, the prevalent theme is: a) Fire the coach. b) Break up the team. c) Do both. Thankfully, Cavs president Koby Altman doesn’t seem to be falling into that trap after his team was knocked out of the playoffs in the first round by the Knicks.

12. Fans know the Cavs need more outside shooting. Some want the team to add a top small forward. A decent small forward will work. How many stars were on either Finals team? Jokic is the MVP. Murray is an emerging superstar. Porter (when healthy) is very good. But that’s not a perfect roster.

13. In the 20-game playoffs, Murray averaged 26.1 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 guard gave the Nuggets the kind of veteran leadership and explosive scoring the Cavs needed from Donovan Mitchell in the postseason. Both players are 26.

14. Evan Mobley is only 21. At age 21, Jokic was in his second NBA season. He averaged 16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists. He shot .524 from the field – .324 on 3-pointers. In his second season, Mobley averaged 16.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He shot .554 from the field – .216 on 3-pointers. At 21, Denver had no idea what Jokic would become. The same is true in Cleveland with Mobley. Jokic didn’t even make his first playoffs until his fourth NBA season.

15. Look at the Cavs’ core group of Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, Mitchell and Mobley and the lesson from these playoffs is clear – give them time. Add a couple of key veterans coming off the bench. Challenge coach J.B. Bickerstaff to do a better job developing his bench and rotations. But most of all, I have to use the dreaded P-word. Patience is required with the Cavs.

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