How the Cleveland Cavaliers have climbed to #3 in the East

Looking at the Eastern Conference standings, there is an obvious standout amongst the teams. No, not the lack of Atlanta Hawks representation, but the Cleveland Cavaliers being the third-best team in the East.

This is an unexpected pleasure for many, as they were supposed to be a lottery team. Not just any lottery team though, one riddled with injuries. Including Collin Sexton going down with a torn meniscus, Ricky Rubio tearing his ACL, and a plethora of minor injuries.

How has Cleveland managed to turn incredibly dire odds into a team seemingly with championship aspirations?

During his postgame interview following their signature win against the Milwaukee Bucks with Bally Sports Ohio sideline reporter Serena Winters, Kevin Love had this to say about his squad, which was very telling about the overall mindset of the team.

This is backed up by the fact that the Cavaliers are ranked seventh in the league in assists per game, an important metric in seeing how diverse a team’s offense is.

Not only are the Cavaliers top ten in assists per game, but they also have eight different players averaging over ten points per game. Normally fans are impressed when a team has seven players score double digits in a singular game, not to mention the entire season.

This balanced approach from the Cavs has allowed them to persevere through injury and COVID-19 protocols absences as they come. That’s kept their offensive numbers from dipping too far.

The offense is definitely not the driving force for this Cleveland team, though.

Powered by the star-studded frontcourt, the Cavaliers have pushed themselves into having the third-best defense in the NBA, in regards to defensive rating. This is largely due to Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley both making a case for the All-Defensive teams.

Mobley has even been among “The Next Five” in the Defensive Player of the Year Ladder in its last return for January.

The Cavs have also been experimenting with a big man lineup. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been starting 7-footer Lauri Markkanen at the small forward, making him the third player of that height in the starting five.

Granted, Markkanen recently sustained a high ankle sprain and it is reportedly expected to be for seemingly at least two weeks, as of earlier this week. But the philosophy of starting three bigs has paid dividends throughout the season, and should again when Markkanen is back in-rhythm.

This causes teams to rely on their ability to shoot much more often, allowing undersized point guard Darius Garland to shine on that end as well. This also causes teams offenses to fall apart because three-point shots are much less consistent than layups.

Though they may be mostly young and inexperienced, the Cavaliers have a balanced approach to winning games. They have earned the third seed, and they are hungry for more. This team in Cleveland is absolutely looking to make some noise in the postseason.