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Through 44 games this season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are standing strong at 28-16, good enough for 5th in the Eastern Conference and 6.5 games back of the first-seeded Boston Celtics. The first half of the season has been dominated by discussions of everything besides the actual product the Cavs are putting out on the court, which has been quite sensational.
Given the Cavs have played the majority of the season without two of their starters, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, the Cavs are 10-2 in January. Their last two wins came over the full-strength Bucks and Clippers, two of the best teams in the NBA, respectively. So what has been the secret sauce for a Cavs team that looked disinterested in winning basketball early on?
Intensity. With Mobley and Garland out of the lineup, the Cavaliers inserted Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro. Both have been phenomenal on the defensive end and have done more than enough to keep the offense afloat. Okoro is an elite defender, who typically tracks the opponent's best offensive weapon. He plays with a junkyard dog mentality, a true ‘slap the court’ type of defender. On the offensive end, Okoro is surrounded by shooters which allows him to slash to the rim and move without the ball in his hands, his strong suit. Wade has been one of the highest-graded perimeter defenders in the whole NBA this year, and he has always been a strong shooter of the deep ball on the offensive end, even dating back to his time at Kansas State.
Head Coach JB Bickerstaff has pulled the right strings throughout the season. After taking some heat following Clevelands’ miserable playoff woes of last year's first round versus the New York Knicks, Bickerstaff has responded by getting the most out of his players and thriving despite the obvious setbacks.
Early in the year, the Cavs lacked inspiration, they looked lazy on defense and in transition and were not shooting at a high enough percentage to make up for it. Bickerstaff implemented a new metric, “suffocate”. This metric tracks three defensive stops in a row; since its implementation, the Cavs have had one of the best defenses in the league.
Jarrett Allen, another Cav who took serious criticism following the playoffs, has been a revelation since Mobley went down. Allen has averaged 18.3 points, 13 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game since Mobley’s injury. His impact this season cannot be understated, as he has been an above-average contributor on both ends of the court. He has cemented his spot as one of the most under-appreciated bigs in the game, and will be pivotal in the success of the Cavs down the line.
The Cavs head into February with one of the best scorers in the NBA, Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is the best player the Cavs have had since the departure of LeBron James. He can score from anywhere on the court, make flashy passes, and the offense can run through him. He shows up in big games, makes the tough shots, and provides a spark when the offense needs it most. Since he arrived in Cleveland, he has been out of the national media scene, but his numbers have continued to deserve more credit. He’s averaging just under 28 points a game, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. He is the key to the Cavs long-term ceiling, and the Cavs seem deadset about keeping him in Cleveland despite the hot-stove trade rumors.
With Mobley returning last night against the Clippers and Garland reportedly very close to his return, can the Cavs keep this rolling? Mobley has always been a phenomenal defender, but he has been extremely inconsistent on the offensive end. Garland is the exact opposite, he has blossomed into a great scorer and is an extremely ball-dominant guard who can make all the passes, but Garland is a poor defender. I will be interested to see how the Cavs defense progresses with Garland replacing Okoro in the starting lineup.
Cleveland needs total buy-in. Can Garland hold his own on defense? It will be hard for the Cavs to hide both Mitchell and Garland on that side of the ball. Can Mobley provide enough offensive presence to not crowd the paint and spread the court? With Tristan Thompson suspended for PEDs (no wonder he looked like Tristan from 5 years ago), will the Cavs go out and find a backup big? Possibly one that could spread the court? The Cavs will look to keep this momentum going into the All-Star break and beyond, as this feels like a make-or-break year with their current core. The Cavs will be an interesting team to watch moving into the late months of the NBA season.
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