Cavs need to evaluate offseason as if they’d lost in second round

It was a frustrating playoff run for the Cavaliers long before they reached the Eastern Conference finals.

They beat a just OK Raptors team that was missing Immanuel Quickley for the entire series and leading scorer Brandon Ingram for Games 6 and 7.

Toronto was the more physical and more determined team. The Cavs were just more talented. More connected? I’m not so sure.

Then came the Pistons. They’re no slouches. They won 60 games and earned the East’s top seed. But most around the league would still tell you Detroit is probably another move and another couple years away.

The Cavs had “been there before.” The Pistons had not. Yet there were stretches when Detroit looked like the hungrier, sharper squad.

Now, this isn’t just to rip the Cavs, who currently trail the East finals to the Knicks by a 3-0 series count. They blasted the Pistons on the road in Game 7. So having a talented and experienced roster counts for something.

But if I’m owner Dan Gilbert, I’m asking, “Why do I have the league’s highest payroll — and why does it still feel like we’re falling short?”

I’d ask, “Why are we struggling this much against teams we should probably be better than? Why have the Knicks completely dictated this series? Why did we blow a 22-point lead with less than eight minutes left?”

Then comes the biggest question: “What needs to change?”

Basically, everyone seemed to believe that if the Cavs didn’t get out of the second round, everything would be on the table.

That potentially included coach Kenny Atkinson’s future. It included possible roster changes involving Evan Mobley or others. It maybe even included revisiting the James Harden experiment altogether.

I’m not saying the Cavs should do any of those things. I’m saying they still need to ask those questions.

No matter how you spin it, they did take another playoff step this season. They reached the conference finals. That matters.

But this series has also revealed the Cavaliers are not particularly close to where they want to be. Not yet.

So yes, everything should be evaluated. And it should be evaluated with the same urgency and honesty that would’ve existed had this season ended a round earlier.