How the hiatus affects all 30 NBA teams

Cleveland Cavaliers: Delaying the rebuild’s recent signs of life

They may have owned the worst record in the East at 19-42, but the Cleveland Cavaliers were showing signs of new life under J.B. Bickerstaff, who had replaced the wildly unsuccessful and unpopular John Beilein for the last 11 games.

The stark contrast in the team’s record, point differential, offensive rating, defensive rating and net rating in that span was striking, even factoring in the usual post-firing boost in effort and the small sample size under Bickerstaff:

• Under Beilein: 14-40 record (.259), -8.9 point differential, 106.4 O-rating (24th), 115.1 D-rating (29th), -8.8 Net Rating (30th)
• Under Bickerstaff: 5-6 record (.455), minus-3.1 point differential, 109.9 O-rating (23rd), 113.1 D-Rating (16th), -3.2 Net Rating (22nd)

Sure, the Cavs weren’t a winning team, but they were at least closer to average and were competing on a night-to-night basis, which is all you could ask of a rebuilding franchise. Aside from giving rookie Dylan Windler time to recover from his left tibial stress reaction that sidelined him for the season, it’s unfortunate Cleveland’s first indicators of actual progress will be put on hold for a few months.