What the Cleveland Cavaliers are doing this season is simply fantastic. If you’ve been a fan of this team over the years, riding the highs and lows with and without a one LeBron James or even been a fan going further back, like me, when the team was running out mediocre teams year in and year out before we were saved by the King, then this season has been by far a thrilling experience.
How many miserable seasons have we all tried to watch in cheering on our club because they had “Cleveland” written across their jerseys and you wanted them to represent the best of our city?
When James helped lead the charge and grab that elusive title in 2016 it felt like a dream come true. After the last four seasons since it was back to the drawing board and the city, and the team were simply trying to move on from what was lost when James went to California.
That’s why the momentum that these new Cavaliers are creating, seemingly on the fly, is why this whole experience has been sensational. We look forward to watching this team play.
Now on Saturday night, when the team was struggling against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last game of a six-game road trip, it looked like this team, that had just gone 4-1 on the trip and had pulled off three wins in a row, had simply run out of gas. Down18 points, with half of the third quarter gone, things seemed bleak. But the young players started making a hoop here and hoop there, their point guard Darius Garland awoke and finished with 27 points and a career-high 18 assists, and wouldn’t you know it, the team mounted one of their best comebacks of the season winning 107-102 going away.
There are so many reasons for all of this happening this season, none bigger and taller than the rookie post player Evan Mobley. But then you also add in other post players Jarrett Allen, who records a double-double practically every night, Lauri Markkanen who hit a huge three-pointer late in the Thunder win, Garland’s spectacular play and throw in well-aged and yet young in spirit and talented Kevin Love knocking down a three-point shot at any moment, and this story can’t get much better.
Let’s try to knock down a few three-pointers ourselves now and discuss some “big questions” with this current hot streak.
#1: Can the Cavs keep up the winning streak?
The team stands at 26-18 right now, good for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. There’s only a two-and-a-half-game difference between first place and the Cavs team. They have a home game against the Brooklyn Nets Monday back at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Nets sit in second place in the conference, but they received some bad news Sunday when they learned that their biggest star, Kevin Durant, would be sidelined four to six weeks with a sprained MCL.
The Cavs have lost to the Nets twice this season. The last was a nailbiter in downtown Cleveland where the Nets escaped with a win 117-112. In this upcoming battle, it’ll be important to keep the high-powered Nets in check. The Cavaliers have to concentrate on their defense, which at times can still be lax, especially out on the perimeter, where a player like Brooklyn’s James Harden could have a field day.
The Wine and Gold then travel over to Chicago on Wednesday to face the first-place Bulls. The Cavs already beat the “Windy City” team back in early December where they crushed them 115-92, but Chicago was very shorthanded. So, these next two games would be two more wins and statements to the rest of the league that the Cavs are here to stay.
The following three games then are back at home where the Cavs have the Thunder, the New York Knicks, and the 2021 NBA champs Milwaukee Bucks coming back to town. Cleveland has beaten all three teams this season.
#2: Is Evan Mobley the difference-maker this season?
One can certainly make an argument that Mobley is certainly the difference-maker. But before we look a bit closer at that idea let’s, not for a second, not think that the play of Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen aren’t almost as important to this story.
The reason for suggesting that Mobley is that difference-maker is because the team has added an additional force in the middle of the team that can play both ends of the floor with almost equal amounts of skill. It’s almost frightening because this young Cavalier is just a kid still and he’s dominating and learning the game of the NBA at record speed.
The offense of Mobley is growing with every game. The aggressiveness and his ability to sense when to try and hit the outside jumper from the elbow or baseline or drive to the rim with purpose is really a gift to Cleveland that keeps on giving.
He’s currently averaging 15 points and eight rebounds on the season. His consistency has been noted. He hasn’t had a single-digit scoring game going back to Dec. 13. The offense is nice but it’s his defense that keeps making drafting him the best move the Cavaliers have made in decades.
He’s only had six games this season when he didn’t block a shot. He creates fear in the opponents when they try and drive into the lane. They’re met by a Mobley wall along with a Jarrett Allen wall. There is no way over the walls and the Cavaliers are winning because of it.
#3: Why does the Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff not play Dean Wade?
It simply doesn’t make sense to anyone with a high basketball IQ that the Cavs forward Dean Wade isn’t seeing the court much these days. It’s a crime and Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is guilty as charged.
We’re not here to say Wade should be in the starting lineup, though he has started 16 games for the team, but to have him keeping the bench warm is ridiculous. Wade doesn’t score in bunches. He’s only averaging five points and three rebounds, but his defense has been key in getting this team to where they are now.
After getting good minutes off the bench, usually the first player off the bench or starting 16 previous games, Wade has been delegated to giving high fives when the players come off the court and that’s just not right. He’s probably the team’s best defender. The team is scoring without him and that’s fine now, but that desire to ignore the importance of defense by Bickerstaff will likely bite him in the rear in the near future.
When the Cavs were down 18 points to the Thunder, I couldn’t help but know that that wouldn’t have been the case if Wade was on the floor. A player like Lauri Markkanen is a good offensive threat because he’s a 7-foot post player that can bring down a thunderous dunk to beat the San Antonio Spurs the other night or hit a big three-pointer to close out the Thunder. However, when he’s not saving the day, his defense especially on guarding the perimeter is so bad that that’s a reason why the team gets down by 18 points, to begin with.
Subbing Wade in for Markkanen makes too much sense for Bickerstaff to comprehend. Maybe, I’m the only sportswriter in town that can see this, but I’m here to provide clarity.
Giving Wade 15-20 minutes in a bench role would only help solidify this team’s chances as they move forward. If the Cavaliers want to go farther in the postseason, then Bickerstaff needs to recognize Wade’s benefit to the team.