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When the NBA finalized plans on a 22-team competitive format to restart the 2019-20 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were among the eight teams excluded after posting the second-worst record in the league.
The Cavaliers were the worst team in the Eastern Conference prior to the season suspension and were well out of playoff contention. That means the organization finished the season by playing in only 65 games, which is, of course, well short of the typical 82-game schedule.
Cavaliers veteran Kevin Love recently said on “The Old Man & the Three” podcast with J.J. Redick that the shortened season was unfortunate, from a basketball perspective, because the younger players on the roster were unable to complete the season and continue to develop.
Love said that he does miss playing and was saddened that his 12th season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also believes the Cavaliers missed out on a valuable opportunity to continue to team build with new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the younger players.
We have young guys like Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Collin Sexton, guys in their first or second year at 19 or 20 years old. … Darius only played four games at Vandy. KPJ was suspended and didn’t play that many games at USC so they didn’t even get to go through the league twice — get to figure different guys out, people didn’t figure them out.
We just got a new coach in J.B. Bickerstaff and we were 5-6 in 11 when J.B. was the coach after the All-Star break so that in itself was tough. We felt like we were building just baby steps in order to get to the bigger and larger steps but then it just ended. It was really tough from a coaching perspective and an overall organizational perspective but especially for our young guys.
You have to go through that, push through a wall in order to get to that next step. I know I certainly did. I had so many failures in my rookie year and my sophomore season. It’s just tough for those guys but everybody included who didn’t make the bubble.
The situation described by Love can also be applied to other teams in the league that were not included in the season restart as players missed out on the opportunity to play and continue their development. The NBA attempted to create a separate bubble environment for those eight teams but the concept ultimately didn’t gain enough traction.
However, the NBA and NBPA announced on Aug. 18 a program that will allow players to engage in voluntary group workouts at their team facilities while residing in a campus-like environment. Players will undergo COVID-19 testing and must stay in private living accommodations, though it is unclear how many will elect to participate.
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