The Cleveland Cavaliers are more than a ‘feel-good story’

When the Cleveland Cavaliers landed the third overall pick in this past year’s NBA Draft and were able to land Evan Mobley, there seemed to be a sense of optimism that he could be the piece to kickstart the Cavaliers rebuild finally.

While there were some expectations, they were pretty limited. After all, the Cavaliers had gone just 60-159 in the three seasons since LeBron James left for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cleveland would drop their first two games but then won nine of their next 12 games to reach 9-5. Then injuries and adversity struck, including Collin Sexton being lost for the year, and the Cavaliers dropped five straight. It appeared the Wine and Gold’s early-season success wasn’t going to be sustainable.

But since late November they have won nine of their last 11 games and appear to be well on track to compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

While the Cavs have certainly excited their fan base, the national media appears late to the party. A particular tweet from the SportsCenter account caught my eye the other day, which posed the question, “Are the Cavs the feel-good story of the NBA so far?”

To me, this comes off as a back-handed compliment. Calling the Cavs a “feel-good story” to me implies that they are just a one-year wonder. However, it appears that Cleveland is building something much more sustainable and should be in the playoff mix for the foreseeable future as long as they stay mostly healthy.

Here’s why that is the case for the Cavs, who are putting it all together.

First and foremost, Mobley has lived up to the hype thus far. In 25 games, the rookie averages nearly 14 points per contest while grabbing 8.3 rebounds per game and blocking about two shots (1.8) per game.

Mobley is also doing an excellent job of contesting shots from inside and beyond the arc. Mobley is contesting 9.1 shots from 2-point territory and 4.1 three-point shots per game. Only two players in the NBA average more three-point contests per game than Mobley, who leads the league still in contested shots per contest overall, per NBA.com’s hustle data.

As a side note, hopefully Mobley gets himself 100 percent right and doesn’t have hip soreness linger too much more, given what he’s done for this team. Of course, Mobley isn’t doing it all by himself, though.

Another big man, Jarrett Allen, is a vital piece of the Wine and Gold’s success. When Cleveland acquired him last season as part of the James Harden deal, it seemed like a low-risk move as the Brooklyn Nets needed to shed some salary.

Fast forward a year later, and that trade looks like a genius move. Allen, who signed a five-year, $100 million extension this offseason, is living up to that deal. Allen is scoring nearly 17 points per game for the season while grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking over a shot per contest.

Allen has made a case for being an All-Star of late, though, as in the last 10 games, he is averaging 19.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 71 percent from the floor.

The big man tandem of Mobley and Allen is shaping up to be one of the tops in the NBA, and with both of them still young, they could wreak havoc on the league for many years to come.

While the Cavaliers have their dynamic duo down low, the emergence of point guard Darius Garland into a true playmaker is another reason for the Cavaliers’ success, especially over the past 10 games.

Darius is shooting 47.5 percent from beyond the arc and is scoring nearly 20 points per game. But what is arguably most impressive is Garland’s improving court vision and passing. He has been dishing out about eight assists over the last 10 games.

Garland being a viable threat from long-range and also becoming an improved passer makes him that much tougher to defend. If teams pressure Garland, he’ll hit one of the bigs for a lob, but if they back off, he’ll make them pay from beyond the arc.

While Garland, Allen, and Mobley are three critical factors to the Cavaliers’ emergence, other players are also stepping up. Ricky Rubio is an excellent backup point guard, and he, along with Kevin Love, brings a much-needed veteran presence to the locker room.

Speaking of Love, he is connecting on 53.3 percent of his three-point shots over the last 10 games, and has made a huge difference off the bench. Lauri Markkanen is averaging 13.4 points and is hitting 39 percent from beyond the arc.

Isaac Okoro also looks to be taking a step forward in his development, as he is putting up 16.6 points per game and is connecting on 55.6 percent of his three-point attempts during Cleveland’s five-game win streak. With Okoro already being a reliable defender, being a viable threat from beyond the arc will only make the Cavaliers tougher; of course, it has been five games.

And what’s really unfortunate for Okoro is how he entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols on Thursday, so we’ll see how long he’s out for and whether or not other Cavs players are placed into those in days/weeks to come. But his recent play has been very encouraging.

Now, in fairness, the Cavaliers’ schedule of late hasn’t been the most brutal stretch of games. Both the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat were down key players in their matchup against Cleveland. Even though the Houston Rockets are one of the bottom teams in the league, they were without their top young players, and the Sacramento Kings were on the second night of a back-to-back and off a tough loss, whereas the Cavs cruised the night before.

However, Cleveland would not step up and take care of business in years past, but they are this season. Cleveland is winning the games they are supposed to win, which is a step in the right direction for an up-and-coming team.

For example, over their past 10 games, Cleveland’s plus-minus (+15.0) ranks third among all teams, behind only the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz.

While tougher games and their West Coast road trip lie ahead, the Cavaliers are building something sustainable and are far more than simply a “feel-good” story.