The 2021–22 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 52nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] The regular season for the league began in the month of October and featured the typical 82-game schedule, returning to its typical format. In the previous season, the league started in the month of December and featured only 72 games due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Cavaliers had the third pick in the 2021 NBA draft, and selected Evan Mobley out of the University of Southern California.[2] The NBA announced that the All-Star Game will be played at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, which was held February 20, 2022.[3] The Cavaliers matched their previous win total of 22 on January 7, 2022, improving to 22–17.[4] The Cavaliers clinched their first winning season without LeBron James since 1998 and their first winning season since 2018 with a 107–101 win over the Orlando Magic on March 28, 2022. The Cavaliers qualified for the postseason, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season after losing to both the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament.
| 2021–22 Cleveland Cavaliers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | J. B. Bickerstaff |
| General manager | Mike Gansey |
| President | Koby Altman |
| Owners | Dan Gilbert |
| Arena | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse |
| Results | |
| Record | 44–38 (.537) |
| Place | Division: 3rd (Central) Conference: 8th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Bally Sports Ohio |
| Radio | WTAM · WMMS |
Draft
edit| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College / Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Evan Mobley | PF/C |  United States
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USC (Fr.) |
With their sole selection in the 2021 NBA draft, the Cavaliers selected Evan Mobley from the University of Southern California as the third overall pick.[2][5]
Roster
edit| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Standings
editDivision
edit| Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Milwaukee Bucks | 51 | 31 | .622 | – | 27–14 | 24–17 | 12–4 | 82 |
| x – Chicago Bulls | 46 | 36 | .561 | 5.0 | 27–14 | 19–22 | 10–6 | 82 |
| pi − Cleveland Cavaliers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 7.0 | 25–16 | 19–22 | 10–6 | 82 |
| Indiana Pacers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 26.0 | 16–25 | 9–32 | 2–14 | 82 |
| Detroit Pistons | 23 | 59 | .280 | 28.0 | 13–28 | 10–31 | 6–10 | 82 |
Conference
edit| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c – Miami Heat * | 53 | 29 | .646 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Boston Celtics * | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 3 | y – Milwaukee Bucks * | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Philadelphia 76ers | 51 | 31 | .622 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x – Toronto Raptors | 48 | 34 | .585 | 5.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Chicago Bulls | 46 | 36 | .561 | 7.0 | 82 |
| 7 | x − Brooklyn Nets | 44 | 38 | .537 | 9.0 | 82 |
| 8 | pi − Cleveland Cavaliers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 9.0 | 82 |
| 9 | x − Atlanta Hawks | 43 | 39 | .524 | 10.0 | 82 |
| 10 | pi − Charlotte Hornets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 10.0 | 82 |
| 11 | New York Knicks | 37 | 45 | .451 | 16.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Washington Wizards | 35 | 47 | .427 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Indiana Pacers | 25 | 57 | .305 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Detroit Pistons | 23 | 59 | .280 | 30.0 | 82 |
| 15 | Orlando Magic | 22 | 60 | .268 | 31.0 | 82 |
Game log
editPreseason
edit| 2021 preseason game log Total: 2–3 (Home: 0–2; Road: 2–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 2–3 (home: 0–2; road: 2–1)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
edit| 2021–22 game log Total: 44–38 (Home: 25–17; Road: 19–21) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 3–4 (home: 1–1; road: 2–3)
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November: 8–6 (home: 4–5; road: 4–1)
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December: 9–6 (home: 5–3; road: 4–3)
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January: 11–4 (home: 6–1; road: 5–3)
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February: 5–5 (home: 3–1; road: 2–4)
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March: 6–10 (home: 5–5; road: 1–5)
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April: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Play-in
edit| 2022 play-in game log Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Play-in: 0–2 (home: 0–1; road: 0–1)
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| 2021–22 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season
edit| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Love | 74 | 4 | 22.5 | .430 | .392 | .838 | 7.2 | 2.2 | .4 | .2 | 13.6 |
| Evan Mobley | 69 | 69 | 33.8 | .508 | .250 | .663 | 8.3 | 2.5 | .8 | 1.7 | 15.0 |
| Darius Garland | 68 | 68 | 35.7 | .462 | .383 | .892 | 3.3 | 8.6 | 1.3 | .1 | 21.7 |
| Isaac Okoro | 67 | 61 | 29.6 | .480 | .350 | .768 | 3.0 | 1.8 | .8 | .3 | 8.8 |
| Cedi Osman | 66 | 3 | 22.2 | .432 | .357 | .664 | 2.2 | 2.0 | .8 | .2 | 10.7 |
| Lamar Stevens | 63 | 13 | 16.1 | .489 | .277 | .707 | 2.6 | .7 | .5 | .3 | 6.1 |
| Lauri Markkanen | 61 | 61 | 30.8 | .445 | .358 | .868 | 5.7 | 1.3 | .7 | .5 | 14.8 |
| Jarrett Allen | 56 | 56 | 32.3 | .677 | .100 | .708 | 10.8 | 1.6 | .8 | 1.3 | 16.1 |
| Dean Wade | 51 | 28 | 19.2 | .456 | .359 | .667 | 2.9 | 1.0 | .6 | .1 | 5.3 |
| Dylan Windler | 50 | 0 | 9.2 | .378 | .300 | .833 | 1.8 | .7 | .3 | .1 | 2.2 |
| Brandon Goodwin | 36 | 5 | 13.9 | .416 | .345 | .632 | 1.9 | 2.5 | .7 | .0 | 4.8 |
| Ricky Rubio | 34 | 8 | 28.5 | .363 | .339 | .854 | 4.1 | 6.6 | 1.4 | .2 | 13.1 |
| Ed Davis | 31 | 3 | 6.5 | .688 | .429 | 2.1 | .2 | .1 | .3 | .9 | |
| Kevin Pangos | 24 | 3 | 6.9 | .326 | .231 | .750 | .5 | 1.3 | .1 | .0 | 1.6 |
| Denzel Valentine† | 22 | 0 | 9.3 | .371 | .409 | 1.7 | .5 | .3 | .0 | 2.9 | |
| Rajon Rondo† | 21 | 1 | 19.5 | .429 | .397 | .750 | 2.8 | 4.9 | .9 | .0 | 6.2 |
| Caris LeVert† | 19 | 10 | 29.8 | .435 | .313 | .745 | 3.4 | 3.9 | .8 | .3 | 13.6 |
| Moses Brown† | 14 | 5 | 12.6 | .638 | .552 | 5.3 | .0 | .3 | .5 | 6.4 | |
| RJ Nembhard | 14 | 0 | 4.5 | .333 | .000 | .750 | .5 | .9 | .1 | .0 | 1.1 |
| Collin Sexton | 11 | 11 | 28.7 | .450 | .244 | .744 | 3.3 | 2.1 | .9 | .0 | 16.0 |
| Tacko Fall | 11 | 1 | 5.4 | .417 | .286 | 2.1 | .2 | .0 | .5 | 1.1 | |
| Justin Anderson† | 3 | 0 | 15.7 | .500 | .333 | .750 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .3 | .0 | 4.3 |
| Luke Kornet† | 2 | 0 | 7.5 | .200 | .000 | .667 | 1.5 | .5 | .0 | .5 | 2.0 |
| Trevon Scott | 2 | 0 | 5.5 | .500 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .5 | .5 | 3.0 | |
| Tim Frazier† | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | .500 | .0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 | ||
| Malik Newman | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | .600 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 8.0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Cavaliers only.
Transactions
editTrades
edit| August 3, 2021[7] | To Cleveland Cavaliers Ricky Rubio |
To Minnesota Timberwolves Taurean Prince 2022 WAS second−round pick Cash considerations |
| August 28, 2021[8] | To Cleveland Cavaliers Lauri Markkanen |
To Portland Trail Blazers Larry Nance Jr. |
| To Chicago Bulls Derrick Jones Jr. 2022 POR protected first-round pick 2023 CLE second-round pick | ||
Free agency
editRe-signed
edit| Player | Signed |
|---|---|
| Jarrett Allen[9] | August 6, 2021 |
Additions
edit| Player | Signed | Former team |
|---|---|---|
| Trevon Scott[10] | September 8, 2021 | Salt Lake City Stars |
References
edit- ^ "2021–22 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ a b "Cavaliers Select Evan Mobley with Third Overall Pick in 2021 NBA Draft". Cleveland Cavaliers. NBA.com. July 29, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ "Future locations for NBA All-Star Weekend". NBA.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ "Cavaliers vs. Trail Blazers - Game Summary - January 7, 2022 - ESPN".
- ^ "2021 NBA Draft results: Picks 1-60". National Basketball Association. August 1, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ "Full list of NBA game postponements". NBA.com. December 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ "Cavaliers Acquire Ricky Rubio from the Minnesota Timberwolves". NBA.com. August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ "TRAIL BLAZERS ACQUIRE FORWARD LARRY NANCE JR. IN THREE-TEAM TRADE". NBA.com. August 28, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
- ^ "Cavaliers Sign Jarrett Allen to Multi-Year Extension". NBA.com. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
- ^ Adams, Luke (September 8, 2021). "Cavaliers Sign Tre Scott To Camp Deal". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022.