Cleveland Cavaliers Season Report Card

January 26, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) carries the ball past Toronto Raptors center-forward Amir Johnson (15) at the Air Canada Centre. Cleveland defeated Toronto 99-98. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The crew of Jerry Bulone, Zak Kolesar, Trevor Magnotti, Chris Manning and Dan Pilar got together and did some late-night grading. After compiling all of their thoughts on the Cleveland Cavaliers season regarding the offense, defense, bench, coaching staff and leadership, we chose the best answers to provide some full-circle insight on the season. Grades from each Right Down Euclid writer are made available at your disposal. Help us reflect on the season this coming week by checking out how we evaluated the 2012-13 regular season:

Date: April 18, 2013

We at Right Down Euclid certify that the Cleveland Cavaliers are a Central Division team in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association, and have been one of the most frustrating ball clubs to watch throughout the 2012-13 NBA season.

Head Coach: Byron Scott

Owner: Dan Gilbert

Quicken Loans Arena

1 Center Court, Cleveland, OH 44115

Leading Scorer: Kyrie Irving, 22.4 PPG

Leading Rebounder: Tristan Thompson, 9.4 RPG

Leading Passer: Kyrie Irving, 5.9 APG

Shooting Star: Tristan Thompson, 49.0 FG%

From Downtown: Kyrie Irving, 39.6 3P%

Ironmen: Alonzo Gee and Tristan Thompson

 Total Games Won: 24

Total Games Lost: 58Total Division Games Won: 3

Total Division Games Lost: 13 

Grading Scale: A=Excellent, B=Very Good, C=Fair, D=Dreadful, F= Failing

Motto(s): “No (20-point lead) is safe” and “Who needs defense?”

Offense

Jerry Bulone

C-

About a week ago I had the coaching staff’s grade at about a “C” because I thought the staff was doing the best they could with the young talent they had. Then the season ended about as worse as it could. Our head coach started to turn on his players and commented on their lack of effort night in and night out. The one thing Byron Scott had going for him was his relationship with his players. – DP

 Zak Kolesar

C+

Trevor Magnotti

C

Chris Manning

C

Dan Pilar

C

Defense

Jerry Bulone

D

The only things keeping this from being an F were Varejao’s presence in the first half of the season and Alonzo Gee’s on-ball defense. The team gave up 109.3 points/100 possessions (27

th

in the NBA), and Zeller, Waiters and even Irving are all defensive minuses, while Shaun Livingston and Wayne Ellington were absolutely awful defensively. This is the area the Cavs most have to improve for next season. – TM

 Zak Kolesar

D

Trevor Magnotti

D

Chris Manning

D-

Dan Pilar

D-

Bench

Jerry Bulone

D

Even the additions of Speights and Ellington could not save this bench. This is an area of the team that will need to be addressed in the future and it’s even unclear if both of the ex-Grizzlies will be back in Wine and Gold next season. And mainstays like Daniel Gibson are all but certain to leave. It’ll be interesting to see how this team is built come next week. – CM

 Zak Kolesar

D+

Trevor Magnotti

C-

Chris Manning

D+

Dan Pilar

D+

Coaching

Jerry Bulone

D-

I didn’t have to think twice about agreeing with former Coach Scott when he told The Plain Dealer upon being fired that he didn’t get a fair shake at the job. When the team’s main defensive weapon and rebounding machine in Anderson Varejao is missing close to 150 games throughout Scott’s tenure in Cleveland, the team is going to struggle in that department. – ZK

 Zak Kolesar

C+

Trevor Magnotti

C

Chris Manning

C

Dan Pilar

D-

Leadership

Jerry Bulone

B

I actually think Kyrie is a great leader. I also think there is such a thing as too many chiefs and not enough Indians. I think with Kyrie they have a great chief. Again, he is only 20 and already has more game-winning shots than LeBron did in his entire time in Cleveland, and he has proved he can carry the team when it matters most. He will be the only leader we need when he grows as expected, stays healthy and, of course, when the games actually matter. – JB

Zak Kolesar

D

Trevor Magnotti

C+

Chris Manning

F

Dan Pilar

F