Cavs: 3 stars from back-to-back wins over Atlanta and Denver

The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers won back-to-back games prior to this weekend was the first week of April last season, games 50 and 51 of the 72-game season. Those two wins were over a pair of non-playoff teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. You have to go back into late February to find a multi-game winning streak containing two teams that made last year’s playoffs.

That is what makes the last three days for the Cavs that much more impressive. They not only won two straight games, but they did it against really solid opponents. The Atlanta Hawks made the Eastern Conference Finals last season, while the Denver Nuggets won a series. These are two very good teams, and so for the Cavs to pull out wins against both is an impressive feat.

Who gets the credit for the Cavs’ wins over Denver and Atlanta?

Winning any game in basketball is a team effort, and certainly, a number of players and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff all deserve credit for the pair of victories. Yet we are going to reach across the aisle to another sport to highlight a few players who were the most significant factors in the back-to-back wins.

The tradition in hockey is to hand out three “stars” to a game’s top three performers. The “First Star” goes to the best player, and accordingly, the second and third stars are handed out from there. With this format in mind, which three players deserve stars for their performances across the two wins?

Cavs’ First Star: Jarrett Allen

There were many skeptics of the $100 million contract that Jarrett Allen signed this summer, and four games does not suddenly make that that lucrative deal make sense for the Cavaliers. On the other hand, you couldn’t ask much more of Allen to start the season, as he has been hyper-efficient and active on both ends of the court, including in these two wins.

Allen has somewhat surprisingly led the Cavs in minutes played across the two wins, averaging 34.5 minutes per game. He has put up 20 shots total in the two wins, hitting 15 of them for a 75 percent field goal percentage. He has worked to be in position for lobs and drop-offs, but he has also shown an improved ability to take a dribble or two and open up a look at the basket. His baby jump hook has looked lethal thus far.

On the other end of the court, Allen has been vital to the Cavs’ lockdown defense the past two games. They have held two top-tier offenses under 100 points in both games, including holding the reigning MVP and the Denver Nuggets to just 87 points; a team only did that once all of last year, and they had averaged 106 points coming into the night.

Allen has rotated well on the interior for a defense that has inconsistent options on the perimeter. When Evan Mobley has sagged inside to cover penetration while playing their new 3-2 zone look, Allen has come out to the perimeter to fill in the gap. Finally, his rebounding has been absolutely dominant; he averaged 15 rebounds per game over the two wins. He has been this team’s best player thus far this season and earns the “First Star” of our three-person recognition post.

Cavs’ Second Star: Ricky Rubio

Darius Garland was viewed as a budding star this offseason, one of the league’s prime breakout candidates. He absolutely could still be that guy, but an ankle injury caused him to miss two games, including the win over Atlanta, and limited him offensively against the Nuggets.

Last season that would have likely meant disaster for the Cavs, but this season it simply means more minutes and opportunities for Ricky Rubio. The veteran guard was a low-cost offseason addition and he has stepped up in a major way this season.

His primary role has been directing the offense, and he has done a brilliant job of penetrating the defense and then hitting one of his big men for an open shot. He also pushes ahead of transition, earning easy points for the Cavs. He totaled 16 assists in the two wins and has 36 total in four games, even more impressive given that he came off the bench for two of them. While not every player has appeared in four games, for now Rubio’s assist total is first in the league, and the Cavs are tied for first in team assists.

Rubio hasn’t simply been facilitating, as he has called his own number as well, getting to the rim and finishing with his looping layup to avoid the outstretched arms of defenders. In the Denver game he challenged Nikola Jokic and JaMychal Green inside again and again, and unlike teammate Collin Sexton he avoided blocks by giving his shots enough of a looping approach to get to the glass and drop in. He was even more aggressive against the Hawks, scoring 23 points and going 6-of-8 from inside. Here is a collection of his highlights:

Rubio has chemistry already with Jarrett Allen and can seemingly find him on every drive no matter the number and position of defenders between them. In the Denver game alone he threw three alley oops to Allen, who leads all players in dunks by a mile. Rubio has connected with his teammates, bought into his role, and was a dynamic reason the Cavs have won their last two games.

Cavs’ Third Star: Evan Mobley

With all due respect to Kevin Love for riding some hot shooting to 17 points per game over the two wins, Evan Mobley gets the final spot due to his defense. The rookie has been truly exceptional right from the jump, and he was crucial to the Cavs’ lockdown defense in their two wins.

His ability to move his feet and stay in front of opposing ball-handlers wrecked the Atlanta Hawks, who were unable to exploit him as a mismatch against Trae Young. Multiple times Young came at Mobley, and multiple times he was turned away or even stuffed outright. Mobley continued that trend against the Nuggets, sliding inside and then sprinting back outside without losing his stance.

Mobley has been efficient on offense as well, shooting 55 percent from the field in the two games. In the win over the Hawks he showed his growth just this year, exploding out of the dunker’s spot to catch multiple lob passes, including this dime from Rubio:

Against the Nuggets he had multiple turnovers when he held the ball and tried to survey the court. When he simply goes, his instincts carry him to the right spot. He also has solid passing vision, including hitting Lauri Markkanen for a lop dunk early in the fourth as the Cavs ripped off a 10-0 run to break the game open.

Jarrett Allen, Ricky Rubio and Evan Mobley were all standout players from the Cavs’ two wins, and both earn the “stars” of the weekend. As Cleveland faces four more games on this grueling West Coast road trip, all three will have a chance to make another upset victory.