3 areas where the Cavaliers should be drastically improved in 2023-24

The Cleveland Cavaliers made the 2023 NBA Playoffs without LeBron James for the first time this century last season but were eliminated in five games in the first round by the New York Knicks. Here's how they'll be better this year.

Apr 21, 2023; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) controls the / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

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2. The Cleveland Cavaliers will have much better depth and versatility for the 2023-24 season

Max Strus and Georges Niang not only provide the Cleveland Cavaliers with better floor spacing, but they also provide them with more depth and overall team versatility. The reason the New York Knicks were able to exploit the Cavaliers' weaknesses so easily in the 2023 playoffs was that the Cavaliers did not have the depth to shake things up.

Their best five-man lineup was Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Caris Levert, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen which posted a net rating of 15.1 in the regular season. After that, two of their three best lineups included swapping in Isaac Okoro for either Garland or Mitchell. The same lineup, but worse, and filled with the same weaknesses.

This left them very vulnerable against good teams who could capitalize on their lack of spacing and stall out their offense, which is exactly what the Knicks did. With Strus and Niang though, the Cavaliers can experiment more. If one of those players alone does not offer enough spacing to free up the offense, they can play them both together and only play one of Mobley or Allen. They could also keep Levert out on the floor to have three players who like to attack off the dribble, use one of Strus or Niang, and have Allen or Mobley protect the rim.

The Cavaliers have more tricks up their sleeve for the 2023-24 NBA season and more ways to beat their opponents. That could be enough to deliver their first non-LeBron James playoff series win since he entered the league.

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