Cup of Cavs: Cleveland Cavaliers news and links for Friday, February 6

Each year, around this time of winter, a centuries-old adage comes to mind: There’s nothing like the FFofF (First Friday of February) with a nice, warm CofC (Cup of Cavs). And who are you to argue with a piece of history? So get in here and have some, now.

The first sip

Is there a team in the league looking forward to All-Star weekend more than the Cavs?

Put aside that the Cavs have three representatives (Jarrett Allen, I vow to avenge you) across the All-Star and Rising Stars games. And throw away the fact that those two won’t have to travel out of their hometown, too. (...actually, don’t. Those are huge, important reasons. I’m trying to be rhetorical here and build to a point. Please just go with it.)

The Cleveland Cavaliers look exhausted. This week was almost certainly their worst of the year: they sandwiched a hideous win over the Pelicans (eleventh in the West) between losses to two of the three worst teams in the league in the Pistons and Rockets. Darius Garland missed two of those three games with a back injury, and without him, the Cavs’ offense was largely nonexistent. And while Evan Mobley had a career night in Houston, he hasn’t looked quite as imposing recently as he did earlier in the season.

This isn’t DEFCON 1 by any stretch, but consider that the Cavs featured a barren rotation—particularly in the backcourt—with Garland and Ricky Rubio active. The Cavs have blitzed past even the wildest expectations already. The All-Star break might be their first and only chance to pause, if only for a moment.

Read this

Former Cavs coach Bill Fitch passed away on Wednesday

Links of the day

J.B. Bickerstaff just won January Coach of the Month!

THIS WRITER WILL TOLERATE ZERO RUSSELL WESTBROOK SLANDER

This piece on Kyrie Irving trying to find himself