Cleveland Cavaliers: Evaluating their team halfway through the season

By Hasan | Jan 13, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 8: Cleveland Cavaliers during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 8, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /

4 of 7

CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 17: Dwyane Wade #9 of the Cleveland Cavaliers helps up Derrick Rose #1 during the game against the Boston Celtics on October 17, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Injuries

When looking at the record, the number of injuries the Cavs have faced must also be considered.

The most notable injury this season is, of course, that of Isaiah Thomas. With Isaiah missing 37 games, Derrick Rose missing 34, Shumpert missing 28, Tristan Thompson missing 20 and taking all the changes in personnel into account, this season’s start could be seen as satisfactory.

But LeBron had already missed three games by this point in the season, all three of which the Cavs lost. Kevin Love had missed 5, Kyrie Irving had missed 5 and J.R. Smith had played just 21 games.

This season, LeBron and Crowder are yet to miss a game, with Love and J.R. missing just one game apiece. This lack of rest could perhaps signify that some inevitable losses later on when some of these players are rested.

With the Cavs getting back to full strength now, how strong this team actually is can finally be assessed.