Cup of Cavs

Cup of Cavs for Feb. 10, 2019: The Pacers as a model for the Cavs

On what the Cavs can learn from their Central Division rival.

By Chris Manning Feb 10, 2019, 6:00am CST

NBA: Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards

Well, Saturday’s Cavs game was not fun. At least we call get the day off. Be sure to leave your feedback below or send your comments to christopherwmanning@gmail.com.

Take of the day

As the Cavs look towards their future, the Pacers are model they should follow. It is not the same situation as Cleveland finds itself in, but Indiana moved on from a lost star (Paul George) as well as any franchise could hope to. A big part of that was Victor Oladipo blossoming with the Pacers and Domantas Sabonis being awesome. The Nate McMillan hiring also worked out better than expected.

But also look through their roster. Myles Turner was a late lottery pick. Bojan Bogdanovic was a smart, low-cost free agency signing. Thaddeus Young was acquired in a trade. This wasn’t a roster built around a star — they built up smartly and sustainably and, if Oladipo can come back after his injury, they should be good for a while.

Again, losing LeBron James has played out differently than the Pacers’ loss of George. But if Cleveland is smart, it’ll study Indiana’s success and find things to steal.

Draft watch

As of today, the Cavs have the third-worst record in the NBA. They have a 52.1 percent chance of landing a top-four pick and a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick.

Today’s Tankathon sim gave the Cavs the second overall pick in June’s draft. If this happens, buy your R.J. Barrett jersey: