Did the Cleveland Cavaliers make progress this season? Depends how you choose to define it: Chris Fedor – cleveland.com

BROOKLYN -- Five months ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers opened the season with a stunning -- and exciting -- three-game winning streak, carrying momentum from a strong J.B. Bickerstaff-led finish to 2019-20.

On Sunday night, the Cavs ended the season, wrapping a difficult 72-game slog with another double-digit loss and leaving the Barclays Center with countless questions heading into a critical summer.

The Cavs went 22-50. Its the leagues fourth-worst record, tied with Oklahoma City.

The Thunder won just their second game since the start of April on Sunday, beating the unmotivated Los Angeles Clippers in what was essentially a Tank Off -- the Clippers trying to finish on the opposite side of the Lakers bracket and the Thunder wanting better lottery odds.

Cleveland also had the third-worst point differential, net rating and offensive rating. It lost 13 of the final 14 games, many of which were non-competitive laughers.

All those statements are true. But do they provide an accurate picture? Perhaps a better question is this: Does the final record or late-season collapse even matter?

This year was never supposed to be defined by a win-loss record. The Cavs werent ready for that level of judgment, which measures the collective as opposed to the parts. Thats why outside expectations were so low. And despite the team repeatedly crowing about the Play-In Tournament, those dreams unofficially died on April 25, when a loss to the Washington Wizards pushed the Cavs further back in the race and left them limping to the finish line.

That was the undercurrent of 2020-21.

Injuries stopped a lot of things for us this season, Collin Sexton said following Sundays 123-109 loss to the Nets -- a game in which he was ejected following a flagrant foul 2.

Injuries (were) most difficult part, Dean Wade explained. We had so many different lineups. Its been really crazy, especially with people being in and out of lineups, it has been just tough. We never knew other than like three or four games what we look like full strength.

I think the roster shifting was probably the most difficult thing, trying to figure out how to gain some continuity with so many guys being in and out for so many games, Bickerstaff said. You feel like you would start to find something, then youd either add a guy or youd have to subtract another guy. That was probably the most difficult thing. What we did, and I give the guys the credit, they stayed with it no matter the circumstances. I give the guys a ton of credit for helping us get through this, even though it was some adversity and difficult times.

These arent excuses. Its called perspective. We still live in a universe where the how and why matter, right? How could anyone begin to tell the story of this season without starting there?

Kevin Love missed 47 games, bringing his total to 94 out of a possible 219 since signing that lucrative four-year contract extension to be the sturdy veteran charged with anchoring the rebuild.

Larry Nance Jr. was lost for three separate extended stretches, finishing with just 35 games played, the lowest number of his career. Matthew Dellavedova, one of two natural point guards on the roster, played just 13 games. Darius Garland sat out 18, with the Cavs going just 4-14. Isaiah Hartenstein missed 10 of the last 12. Jarrett Allens concussion kept him out of eight games in late March/early April. Even Sexton, an ironman in his first two seasons, was inactive for 13.

That forced Bickerstaff to use around 30 different starting lineups. The expected post-deadline starting quintet -- Garland, Sexton, Isaac Okoro, Love and Allen -- logged just 85 minutes together. The most commonly used grouping was Garland, Sexton, Okoro, Nance and Allen. That fivesome played 141 minutes.

Late Saturday night, as the sun set on a gorgeous New York spring day and building lit up the Manhattan skyline across the river, the Cavs gathered for a final team dinner atop The William Vale in Brooklyn. They werent even full strength for that, with Dellavedova, Hartenstein and Stevens unable to travel due to injury. That helps highlight one of the many obstacles in a season unlike any other.

Injuries werent only a Cleveland issue. It was a leaguewide one. Only some teams are better equipped to deal with them. The Cavs, in Year 3 of a rebuild, arent.

In the end, it all played part in Cleveland tumbling toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Again. It was also the primary reason for that ugly three-week struggle.

But, again, who cares? The final 13 games are not an accurate depiction of who -- or what -- the Cavs were this season; or of who -- or what -- they can be in the future.

What new information was learned while bottom-of-the-roster guys Brodric Thomas, Mfiondu Kabengele, Anderson Varejao and Jeremiah Martin were the primary reserves? None were on the roster at the start. All of them were supposed to be somewhere between 15-18 on the depth chart, not 7-10. So, should a bunch of clunkers with nearly half the roster missing sully well anything the rebuilding Cavs accomplished this season?

The front office made mistakes. Chairman Dan Gilbert will put general manager Koby Altmans resume under the microscope this offseason: Not getting anything for Andre Drummond, dealing away Kevin Porter Jr. and Loves extension. Those are mentioned most frequently -- even though theres logic behind each. Gilbert must determine if changes are required.

Bickerstaff, in his first full season as head coach, has been far from perfect. His lack of third-quarter adjustments came under fire along with some of his substitution patterns and predictable offense.

But there were also steps in the right direction, making it seem like anger is being manufactured.

Let me get this straight: Anger is stemming from a woefully undermanned team getting knocked around at the end of the most bizarre regular season ever, in the third year of a rebuild, with less practice time because of a compressed schedule? Theres disappointment that one of the leagues youngest teams, which had very little on-court veteran support throughout the season, couldnt figure out how to consistently win? In what way was this late stretch unexpected, especially after the Wizards loss that saw Dellavedova, Hartenstein, Nance and Lamar Stevens added to a lengthy injury report that already included Taurean Prince, the teams most consistent reserve, among others?

I guess the overall view depends on ones definition of progress. Isnt three more wins, you know, progress? Digging deeper, what about the individual improvements?

The plan we had in place to help guys get better worked, Bickerstaff said. I think there were some things as a team, through no fault of an individual, we missed out on. But I do think on some individual levels we saw a lot of improvement. Just the lack of consistency in the group, who was on the floor, hurt us and was a lot to overcome.

Should the late-season plummet -- and 22-win season -- take away from Garland morphing into one of the best players from the 2019 draft, rebounding from a rough rookie season?

Should it discount Sextons terrific third year, as he finished with career-bests in points (24.3) and assists (4.4) while ranking 22nd in scoring? There were only 11 other players who averaged 20 or more points and shot better than 50% on 2s and at least 37% on 3s: Jaylen Brown, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, Nikola Jokic, Zach LaVine, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Karl-Anthony Towns. Thats the company Sexton keeps as a scorer. His Year 3 numbers are better than Jamal Murrays and in line with Donovan Mitchells.

Collin Sexton this season put up numbers comparable to some of the league's best players.John Kuntz, cleveland.com

Should it overshadow Okoros late push for an All-Rookie spot, averaging 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in May, plowing through the proverbial rookie wall?

Should it take away from Jarrett Allen, who is far from a finished product at 23 years old, averaging a double-double for the first time in his career? He also had the highest field goal percentage (61%) in franchise history.

Or 24-year-old Wade evolving into a capable rotation piece and fill-in starter, seizing an opportunity because of the rash of injuries? Or Hartenstein looking like keeper? Or Nance shooting the best 3-point percentage of his career, ranking among the league leaders in steals and making the Cavs a respectable defensive team before injuries derailed his season?

Isnt that success?

With Garland, Sexton, Okoro and Allen, the Cavs have a compelling young core. They could always break it up, unloading some of those pieces in search of a help-now blockbuster deal that expedites this process. Or they could keep the four together, believing more time, experience and health will spark a turnaround.

It really was a pleasure to coach this group, Bickerstaff said. We talked about all the ups and downs that weve seen this year and we never had a bad day at work. The guys were always coachable, they were always together, they were always bought in, so I just wanted to thank em. And then also put on their mind how important this summer is. This has to be a summer of grinding, and thats from all levels. Everybody thats involved in this has got to work to be better next year. Thats on me, thats on the front office, thats on the players, thats everybody involved in this thing. Theres no doubt in my mind that the work will get done.

This season had it all. Craziness. Drama. Excitement. Promise. There were times Cleveland flashed its potential. Others when it looked years away. Some hits. Some misses. Steps forward. Steps back. It was, for lack of a better term, very rebuild-y. The wins didnt come. Not yet anyway. There are painful steps. This was a year to take small ones forward and lay a foundation. The Cavs did that. Next year, the expectations rise and the level of evaluation changes.

The offseason is here. There are tough decisions coming. The real work is just getting started.

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Did the Cleveland Cavaliers make progress this season? Depends how you choose to define it: Chris Fedor - cleveland.com