The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a historic start in the young NBA season. They are only the six teams in league history to start off the season 13-0 or better, the last being the 2015-2016 Warriors. I was high on Cleveland before the season as a regular season team. I thought they would finish as the three seed in the Eastern Conference ahead of Milwaukee and Philadelphia. My prediction is looking good right now. I would be lying if I said I saw this coming. The Cavs have always been a good defensive team, but this team has made a leap as a potentially an elite offensive team. With this hot start, the question is now is this start legit? Are the Cavaliers good enough to make it to the NBA finals this season?
Before I answer my own question, let’s deep dive into why they are playing so well. The first stat that jumps out is pace. New head coach Kenny Atkinson made it a point of emphasis to his team to play with more tempo. Last year the team was bottom ten in the league in pace. This year the Cavs are ninth in pace. The three point volume is close to similar attempts per game, but the difference is they shot 37% percent from three, and this year they are shooting 41 percent from three, which is leading the NBA. They rank first in the league in effective field goal at 60%, which is an absurd number. They are fourth in drives per game, first in passing out of drives, fifth in forcing turnovers which leads to fast break opportunities, second in offensive rating, second in points per possession out of pick n rolls, and seventh in catch and shoot threes
It is a question whether or not they can continue playing this well offensively throughout the rest of the season and throughout the playoffs?
I do not believe they will continue playing this well offensively for the entire season. Some of it because of hot shooting right now from 3. Having an EFG at 60% is not sustainable. Those are historic numbers. I do not think that they are that good, but I think the offense is real.
Darius Garland looks like Garland again. Last year he dealt with all types of injuries, and he just could never find his rhythm last season. This year he is shooting over 53 percent from the field and close to 45 percent from three. Mobley has been great so far this year. I think one of the adjustments Kenny Atkinson made as the new coach was to make Mobley more of an active participant in games and putting the ball more in his hands. Mobley usage rate is up. He’s bringing the ball up the court making plays, and having plays with him at the elbow. His stats look similar from years past, but he just stands out more. Allen has always been a solid piece for this team. Finally, Mitchell seems more comfortable and confident letting the other players do their thing and let the game come to him instead of forcing the issue. The team has more shooting around their top 4 of the emergence of Sam Merrill, the addition of Ty Jerome, Okoro hitting threes, and returning pieces like Lavert, Niang and Wade.
Can the Cavaliers make the finals this year? Can they compete with Boston? I am going to say yes. Outside of Boston, they are the most complete team in the conference. Milwaukee is a cross off, Philadelphia has health concerns with Embid, and I have real concerns about the Knicks defense with Towns at the 5 and their overall depth. If Cleveland can get the number one seed and potentially have a game 7 at home, they can go to the finals.
This team is legit both offense and defense. They have a core who have played together for at least 3 seasons now, which I think is an underrated advantage to have as a team now. They have a good coach and a good supporting cast around their top 4 guys. The conference was not great. The Celtics are having their own injury issues. We still do not know when Kristaps Porzingis is coming back. They are going to need him against Cleveland to match up with the size of Allen and Mobley. The Cavs are here to stay and possibly poised to make a big run this season Z
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