3 debunked narratives about the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2021-2022

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a few false narratives attached to them this season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have had some pretty interesting narratives attached to them heading from the offseason and into the regular season. Not all of them were truly warranted and that’s what we’re talking about today.

Let’s be very clear, these are not narratives that lasted until the end of the year or even a lot of the season. These may have only been narratives that the team had to deal with at some point be it at the beginning of the season or as it advanced.

While there is some upheaval at the moment due to their decline after the Jarrett Allen injury, the Cavs didn’t fall apart. They lost their best, all-around player, and were hurting because of it. The team, defensively, goes as Allen does and it’s no surprise the defense went from near the top of the league, to not as high, without Allen in the lineup.

So the last few weeks do not disprove these narratives but in fact, embolden them.

These are three narratives that the Cavs rebuked

Andre Drummond was a better defensive player than Jarrett Allen

Well, this proved to be false. Since the Cavs let Drummond go, Drummond has been bouncing around the league, already on his third team while Allen made his way to the All-Star Game. Drummond hasn’t proven to be able to hang on, going from the Lakers to the 76ers and now the Nets.

The Cavs would be worse off without Kevin Porter Jr.

The question of whether or not Kevin Porter Jr. was a good fit with the Cavs went out the window with the soup he threw. Porter has issues, and it’s affecting his play. While he looked to have a solid 2020-2021, Porter fell off in 2021-2022, shooting just 41% from the floor. Porter is also a negative BPM, rocking just a -1.6 for the season. The Cavs clearly have no need for him anymore, not after the way the club performed this season.

Lauri Markkanen’s contract was way too much

Now, this looked to be true heading into the year. Lauri Markkanen spent most of the season under-performing offensively, averaging 17.4 points per game since he came back in February, and hitting 42.3% from three over the same span. These would be career or near-career highs in each category.