Ranking the Cavs’ top 5 players so far this season

First off, this season has been incredible. While many of us excepted this team to be better than they were last season, I feel like we all had a little skepticism in our hearts. I mean, it’s been since the 2000-2001 season that the Cleveland Cavaliers have won at least 13 games at the 23-game mark without LeBron James on the roster. What’s even more remarkable is the fact that the Cavs have won this many games while rolling out eight different starting lineups in the first 23 games due to a plethora of injuries.

Not to mention, they are currently on a 4-game win streak after routing the Washington Wizards. A streak in which they have beaten teams by an average margin of 18 points; one of which was a 26-point blowout win in Miami that marked the first time the Cavs have beaten the Heat on the road since the 2009-10 season when LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison were leading the team.

Needless to say, I’m excited.

While this resurgence has made it easier to watch games, it has also made it more difficult to make a list like this one. There are so many players on this team that constantly make their case for the “best player on the team” in any given game. For me, this list changes every week.

However, I think I’m finally settling in on my top five players for the Cavaliers through 23 games.

(Quick disclaimer, I’m leaving Collin Sexton off of this list.)

Ranking the Cavs’ top 5 players so far this season: #5 – Kevin Love

The 33-year-old big man has put a smile on my face this season. Kevin Love looks like he wants to be playing basketball in Cleveland, which is saying a lot considering he was all but gone before the season started.

So far, Kevin Love has played in 15 games and has started in none of them. However, he looks extremely comfortable in his new role. More importantly, he looks happy. Love is averaging 11.3 points per game and 7.6 rebounds off the bench in 20.1 minutes per contest. These numbers aren’t amazing, but this is in large part due to a slow start to the season.

Since missing eight games due to the COVID-19 protocol, Love has come back to the court with a sense of purpose. Over his last eight games active, Love has averaged 12.3 points per game on 46.4 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three. He’s also grabbed 7.9 rebounds per game in just 19.7 minutes. His efficiency should not be overlooked. This is incredible production considering the small amount of minutes he plays.

But, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. If you watch the games, you can see the impact Love has on his teammates while in the huddles. You can tell why having a savvy veteran presence is so important. You can tell why having a member of the 2016 NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers on the roster is so crucial to the growth of the young players, especially Darius Garland, too.

Love’s place on the roster bares more than just basketball production. He is an integral piece to the locker room. So while having having Love on the court is important, having him in the locker room and in the huddles is even more crucial.

Ranking the Cavs’ top 5 players so far this season: #4 – Ricky Rubio

Similar to Love, Ricky Rubio makes an impact on and off the court. By now, you can probably tell that intangibles are important to me.

Through 23 games, Rubio has averaged 13.5 points per game, 6.3 assists and 4 rebounds in 29.2 minutes off the bench. In addition, the Spanish point guard leads the team in steals with 1.2 per game. Also like Love, Rubio looks comfortable in his role coming off the bench. But unlike Love, Rubio serves as the teams sixth man for the most part, providing a more appealing role.

Rubio is the floor general that the Cavs needed for the second unit over the last couple of years. He makes the team go when Darius Garland sits down for a breather. His playmaking skills and overall experience in the league helps create more scoring opportunities for players who lack the skill to create their own.

Without Rubio, I’m not sure we see the meteoric rise of Cedi Osman, or the resurgence of Kevin Love. Besides Garland, there is no player I want the ball in the hands of more than Ricky Rubio.

His efficiency has dropped significantly since the start of the season, but that was inevitable. I mean, we couldn’t have expected him to score 37 points while knocking down eight threes on 89 percent shooting every night like he did at the New York Knicks in November.

The truth is, he’s never been an efficient scorer. His career average from the field is 38.9 percent. Luckily for the Cavs, his scoring efficiency isn’t why they traded for him. They acquired the 31-year-old for his ability to make plays, play scrappy defense and lead the bench unit.

But, it doesn’t hurt that he apparently has the ability to turn into Steph Curry once or twice a month.

Ranking the Cavs’ top 5 players so far this season: #3 – Evan Mobley

There is a very strong case for Evan Mobley to be at the top of this list. He has everything a team would want in a player at this point in their career. He can score, defend and even make plays at a high level despite standing at 7-feet tall.

Through the first quarter of his rookie season, Mobley has averaged 14.1 points per game, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three on 2 attempts per game.

These are impressive numbers for a 20-year-old rookie with plenty of room to develop. However, they don’t even begin to paint the entire picture. Mobley has been a defensive phenom, it’s just a bonus that he can score at a fairly high rate.

Mobley leads all rookies with 1.9 blocks per game but, forget rookies. Evan Mobley ranks seventh in the entire NBA in blocks per game. He also ranks eighth in defensive rating, 11th in defensive win shares and 12th in defensive box plus-minus, per Basketball Reference. He’s a huge reason why the Cavs currently rank second in the NBA in defensive efficiency as a team.

The numbers are fantastic, so let’s look at some more.

Evan Mobley suffered a right elbow strain on Nov. 11. He was expected to miss 2-4 weeks, which would have resulted in the rookie sitting out 8-to-10 games. Mobley ended up missing just 4 games, coming back against the Orlando Magic in what proved to be the spark of the teams current 4-game winning streak.

When Evan Mobley is on the court, the Cavs are 13-6. This also means that the Cavs are 0-4 when he sits out. Therefore, Mobley is the definition of valuable. But, let me stop myself from diving into the “future MVP” talk and just focus on campaigning for the USC product to make his first All-Star appearance.

Mobley is in the drivers seat for the Rookie of the Year honors and he has solidified himself as a corner piece for the Cavaliers going forward.

Ranking the Cavs’ top 5 players so far this season: #2 – Jarrett Allen

Like Mobley, Jarrett Allen is deserving of the #1 spot on this list. His impact on this team is tremendous and he has a very real shot at becoming the first All-Star to represent the Cavaliers not named LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love since Mo Williams in 2009.

While some players need some explaining to defend their spot on this list due to mediocre numbers, that is certainly not the case for Allen.

The big man has been dominating the league so far this season. Allen is averaging 16.9 points per game and 11.4 rebounds while shooting 71.1 percent from the field. All of which are career-highs. (Hey Brooklyn Nets, thank you.)

Jarrett Allen is not only making waves within Cleveland, he’s also making a name for himself as an NBA star. He currently ranks third in the NBA in field goal percentage, seventh in rebounds per game and 12th in the all-important statistic that is PER (Player Efficiency Rating), per Basketball Reference.

What’s more amazing are his recent performances over the last five games. He is putting up 23.8 points per game and 12 rebounds per game while shooting 80.3 percent from the field. Allen has scored at least 15 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and shot 70 percent from the field in each of his last five games. Who was the last player to accomplish this feat? That would be one Wilt Chamberlain in March of 1968, as noted by Justin Kubatko, Basketball Reference’s founder.

Legendary? Yeah, I think so too.

Aside from the numbers, Allen is also known for being a frequent recipient of alley-oop passes from Darius Garland. The Cavs lead the NBA in dunks, and this connection is the biggest reason why.

Jarrett Allen has been terrorizing teams, and he has shown no signs of slowing down. When Allen was included in the three-team trade that landed him in Cleveland, I was expecting him to be a good player, but I never would have expected this.

Again, thank you Brooklyn and thank you, Houston Rockets. You are greatly appreciated.

Ranking the Cavs’ top 5 players so far this season: #1 – Darius Garland

Ah yes, Darius Garland. The player that was deemed by many as the “worst player in the NBA” just two seasons ago. Well Darius, in the words of Paul Rudd, look at us.

With averages of 19.1 points per game, 7.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 46.7 percent shooting from the field, Garland is hitting career-highs in all of those categories. Through 21 games, he leads the team in points per game, assists per game and threes made. He seems to be making the leap that we thought he was capable of coming into the season.

Collin Sexton is unfortunately not able to share the court with him due to a season-ending meniscus tear that he suffered in November. However, since Sexton has been sidelined, Garland’s production has climbed tremendously given the extra ball-handling opportunities.

In the 12 games of Sexton’s absence, Garland has averaged 21.9 points per game and 7.1 assists on 46.3 percent from the field. The 21-year-old point guard has stepped up in wake of the unfortunate situation at hand.

In the Cavaliers last win against the Wizards, Garland scored 32 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed 8 rebounds while shooting 11-for-17 from the field and 5-for-6 from deep. He became the third player in Cavs history to record a line of at least 30 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists before the age of 22. The others? LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

While it hurts to see Sexton on the sideline, I can’t help but marvel at the resilience of Garland and the rest of the team as setbacks continue to come. The third-year player has made exceptional improvements from an already great season last year. He has proven to be more aggressive and more willing to take control of the offense when he needs to. His teammates rely on him to put them in scoring positions, while leaning on him to carry them through clutch situations.

Darius Garland is the outright leader of this Cavs team that most of us consider to be the best since LeBron was drafted. He puts the team in a position to win night in and night out. Without Garland, this season would look a whole lot different.