Here’s a rundown of how Cleveland has gotten off to an undefeated start.
The holidays are coming up, and thus an enormous amount of stress inevitably follows. Presents to buy, food to prep, plane tickets to book, ways to avoid politics around the dinner table … it’s all a lot.
It’s only due to the mentally draining holidays you’ll be forgiven for not having noticed just how hot the Cleveland Cavaliers are, starting the season 15-0, and currently dominating their competition.
More importantly, outside of sporting the best record in the league, the Cavs are playing a fun brand of ball — one that’s highly recommended if you need a break from all the errands.
Here are 15 notes to get you up to speed on how exactly they’re doing it, what they’ve achieved and, of course, random observations that may or may not matter a month from now.
When the Cavs fired J.B. Bickerstaff during the offseason, cries of “Atkinson!” quickly filled the social media sphere from fans who wanted to see the same roster under new leadership.
Well cried, Cavs fans. Well cried.
Atkinson has expanded the rotation, to avoid overusing his starters, and so far the balance seems to work. A whopping 10 players are receiving over 17 minutes per game, and the team’s best player — Donovan Mitchell — is barely breaking 31.
Atkinson is also emphasizing tempo, as the Cavs now rank seventh in pace, compared to 22nd last season, an inexplicably low number when you consider that Mitchell was joined in the starting unit by Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Max Strus.
The 57-year-old coach appears to have solved the issue of how to connect two dynamic guards, with two dynamic big men, without setting anyone aside.
Right from the start of his career, Evan Mobley was good. He defended well, rebounded at a good rate, and despite not having a reliable outside shot, he still somehow found a way to produce offensively.
For a few years, Mobley remained good, but never really moved past that threshold and into excellent, much to the frustration of everyone around him — and likely himself.
This year, however, he has become excellent.
Mobley’s defense leveled up. He defends the rim, challenges shots, rotates like a mad man, blankets his direct match-up, easily picks up smaller players and does all of that without ever relinquishing his own positioning.
Mobley’s keen understanding of angles and ability to funnel players toward Allen show a defensive IQ that’s sky-high, and he should be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
It’s safe to say that Garland has bounced back after a year with varying degrees of success.
The former All-Star is playing three minutes less per game (30.2) than last year, but averaging three more points (21.4) and is looking noticeably more aggressive and focused.
The interplay between him and Mitchell, which in the past raised questions as to whether the Cavs could really optimize themselves with both, has looked tremendous. Garland’s increased scoring focus has in turn lifted some responsibility off the shoulders of Mitchell, thus saving them both the risk of being over-utilized.
The Cavaliers are off to a historic start to the season. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
Cleveland’s 15-0 start is matched by only three other teams in NBA history: The 1994 Houston Rockets, the 2016 Golden State Warriors and the 1949 Washington Capitols.
That doesn’t mean they’ll automatically make the Finals, but their start allows them to keep their rotation deep, so if they stumble down the line, they can use the fresh legs of the starters to get back on track.
Simply being 15-0, particularly in the East where nobody’s winning, is a huge asset.
Alright, don’t even begin to act like you saw this coming. Drafted 24th overall in 2019, never cementing a role and playing for four teams in a span of six seasons … those are long odds.
Yet, here we are.
Jerome is now a legitimate Sixth Man candidate, averaging 10.7 points and 3.7 assists in just 17.5 minutes. His 6-foot-5, 200-pound size allows him to back up both guard spots and even play the wing when the need arises.
At 27, Jerome probably didn’t foresee a breakout this late into his career, but he has been a major boost to Cleveland’s bench and will now try to spend the rest of the season solidifying himself as a name we’ll get used to for the next 8-10 years.
You’d think, with so many players leveling up, there’d be no room for the always stable Allen, who isn’t flashy and who’ll never have exploding box scores.
Well, you’d think wrong.
Allen remains one of the most consistent centers in the NBA, and it seems like whatever the circumstances are around him, he’ll find a way to put up 14 points, 10 rebounds and elite defense.
This year is no exception. Allen is taking over 65% of his shots within three feet of the basket and is converting at a rate of 76.5%. He’s already had 38 dunks over the first 15 games, and if you think dunk stats don’t matter, think again.
The fact that Allen is constantly ducking into the dunker spot throws off entire defensive back lines. Opposing centers can’t leave him, meaning they’ll have to relinquish midrange shots and floaters instead of rotating out high to meet the likes of Garland and Mitchell.
If open, those looks are like layups for those two. And should centers come out to meet them, that’s an immediate lob to Allen.
It’s simple basketball.
Last year, the Cavs brought in Strus to tie together the backcourt and frontcourt via his 3-point shooting and defensive intensity.
That logic still applies, and yet the Cavs have somehow managed to go undefeated without him for 15 games.
Let’s be honest here. When Strus returns, a lot of Eastern Conference coaches should be worried. Imagine adding a guy who gave you 12/5/4 and 168 triples last year to this core.
Some have decided to push back on Cleveland’s remarkable beginning by arguing the organization has mostly met poor teams, such as the Bulls, Bucks, Raptors, Pistons, Pelicans and Wizards.
That isn’t necessarily wrong, but does it matter?
At the end of the day, teams have one goal when they take the floor, and that’s getting the dub. The Cavaliers have taken the floor 15 times this season and left it victorious 15 times.
If they’re expected to beat lesser competition, which they are, then so far they’ve earned a top grade.
Let’s focus on what they’ve done, as opposed to punishing them for not having met a multitude of real tests yet. That’ll come in due time.
For years, LeVert has been a high-volume bench scorer who’s balanced his game with some playmaking, while offering positional size.
He’s been who he is for a while now, and that’s been fine. But this year, along with seemingly every other Cav, he’s leveled up.
We’re looking at a major efficiency boost (66.3 TS% compared to 52.4% last year), a lowered turnover rate and a 3-point efficiency of 45.8%, which is a career-high by a fair bit.
Is it sustainable? Probably not to this extent, but there is a world wherein he does maintain a higher level of scoring efficiency due to the players around him. Worth keeping an eye on.
Sometimes the Matrix decides to test our belief, such as when it produced Victor Wembanyama and normalized it for us to watch a 7-foot-4 center play like a point guard.
Well, the Matrix is at it again.
The Cavs are currently leading the league in FG% (52.4), 3FG% (41.9), 2FG% (60.1) and eFG% (61.2).
This is either a hot streak like none other, and the Cavs come crashing down when it settles in and normalizes, or it’s a blip we’ll talk about for years given how preposterous it is.
More than likely, this efficiency level will decrease over the coming month, but there’s a real argument to be found that any diminishing of numbers won’t be too aggressive.
The Cavs have found something, and their shared success originates from their collective buy-in. So while the numbers may normalize, it’s reasonable to believe this team will still find itself as one of the most potent offensive teams in the NBA at the end of the season.
On Tuesday, the Cavs will take on the Celtics, in Boston, no less, presenting them with their toughest test yet.
The Celtics remain one of the most potent two-way forces in the NBA, evidenced by the fact that they won the friggin’ title last season and have somehow stayed together.
If the Cavs pull it off and go to 16-0 with a win on the road against the Celtics, it might be time to ask some pretty exciting questions about their future.
For years, his teams have looked at him to score. To play big minutes. To be the star. That responsibility has been accepted, but for Mitchell, it must be nice to shave off some minutes, while seeing his burden lessened.
The 28-year-old is still averaging over 24 points per game and remains one of the toughest shot-makers in the league, so he isn’t sacrificing shots or touches on a per-minute basis.
Instead, his role has been simplified. When he’s in, it’s business as usual. When he’s out, he can relax and trust in his teammates to fill in the void left by him.
Mitchell is, in many ways, enjoying the best of both worlds.
The 6-6 wing was retained over the summer, as his 3&D upside was too intriguing to let go of.
That’s not a bad conclusion by the front office, as Okoro in recent years has improved as a shooter, finding the corners particularly interesting.
This year, his minutes and shots have been slashed, but not to a point where it’s problematic. Okoro seems like a good card to have up the sleeve, as he’ll fly under the radar most of the regular season, and if the injury bug hits in the postseason, you can expect him to extend his minutes, and do so with reliable results.
The best way to build around this particular iteration of the Cavaliers has been by flanking the primary talent with shooting.
This has been achieved. Sam Merrill and Georges Niang were both kept around and find themselves in the rotation, playing off the attention given to the Big Four.
If Craig Porter Jr. and rookie Jaylon Tyson can add to the floor-spacing, Cleveland will have a near endless supply of floor-spacing role players to help keep the court wide for Mitchell and Garland in particular.
The Cavs aren’t going to go undefeated through the regular season. It isn’t happening. They’ll fall, and they’ll stumble. There’s no question this will, eventually, happen.
That will be the main story when it happens, despite the fact that it’s not. The real story will be to see how they pick themselves up, and see if they can refocus themselves back into a new streak, and let a consistent pattern of excellence be their root for the season.
If they can, then they deserve to be catapulted into the conversation with Boston and Oklahoma City.
