The Portland Trail Blazers' old backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum has unfortunate similarities to the current Cleveland Cavaliers roster. Their offense-minded backcourt has translated into incredible regular-season success, but that formula has continually failed to get over the playoff hump.
For Portland, it was primarily about how much of a defensive liability the talented but undersized duo was. That may have been a different story had Portland surrounded them with the necessary pieces to cover for those weaknesses, but that was never the case.
Meanwhile, Cleveland failed to be considered a genuine contender with the backcourt pairing of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, which was even more undersized. They desperately attempted to raise that ceiling at the trade deadline, acquiring James Harden. But that last-ditch effort was not only trading for someone who has frequently come up short in the postseason, it was also swapping one defensive liability for another. Despite the size upgrade, Harden was frequently targeted by Jalen Brunson in the series sweep at the hands of the New York Knicks.
Following the collapse, the Cavaliers now face a predicament similar to what the Blazers went through: reevaluating their star pairing and considering a retool.
Cavaliers need to learn from Blazers and blow up their star backcourt
In 2022, Portland shipped McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, a first-round pick, and two second-round picks.
Could the Cavaliers make a similar move to shake up their backcourt yet again?
Both things can be true: they can be proud of what they accomplished after a relatively successful season, finally getting over one hump to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. But the way they lost to the Knicks and the easy path out East certainly has to be factored in as well. This team has serious flaws on its roster and would likely be around a seven seed had they played in the Western Conference.
It's a fine line because the Cavaliers suddenly have a closing window with a 36-year-old Harden, entering what could be the final year of his contract, should he decide to pick up his $42 million player option. That, as well as the previously mentioned easy path to the Finals, could make Cleveland feel the urge to take the roster in the other direction, trying to add more upgrades to contend.
But the sooner they realize this isn't close to a contender formula, the better. They'd only be digging themselves a deeper hole.
Cleveland must learn from Portland's mistakes in roster construction and consider how to better assemble this team for postseason success. The Blazers are better off because they finally decided to break up the exciting guard duo.
Lillard has returned since, but this roster is much better equipped to compensate for his defensive limitations. They have the two-way wings and rim protectors required for the physicality of postseason play. Most importantly, Lillard is a bonus at this point, joining what is already a playoff roster.
That's the difference between this version of the Blazers roster with Lillard and the current Cavaliers roster with Harden and Mitchell. And until Cleveland realizes it, they'll never have a high enough ceiling to truly contend.
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