Going on the road can sometimes nurture the soul and give you a new perspective on things. In the case of the Cleveland Cavaliers, they are standing at 7-1 on the season but getting to travel to California and face off against some of the greatest players in the NBA can be looked at as a real treat.
Cleveland started their road trip first in Detroit on Friday night against the Pistons. Playing without Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, who were questionable coming into that one, the team still managed to beat up the Pistons 112-88, so it was a good beginning. The Cavs now travel to play the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, who are trying to escape from their horrendous start. The Lakers have a player named LeBron James and that will be interesting to see how the night plays out.
James was the Cavalier franchise for years and helped the organization capture its only NBA title in 2016. Now Cleveland has a new group of young and talented youth, led by their new star Donovan Mitchell, so these games out in sunny California will be fun to witness.
There have been outstanding performances by several Cavs players so far this season. Let’s take a look at a few players whose stock is rising with every made basket and another impressive defensive stop.
Cavs Stock Up: Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell has come onto this Cavs team swinging. To say he’s been awesome so far is an understatement. I’ve heard that word awesome more than once in describing the newly acquired Mitchell, who’s been nothing short of spectacular in helping his team get to 7-1 and the talk of the Eastern Conference.
He’s scored more than 30 points in five of the first seven games and carried this group when they needed him most. In the recent New York Knicks game this past weekend, the Cavs were down by nine points entering the fourth quarter, but behind some impressive play by many, Mitchell led the way in the team’s great come-from-behind win.
We knew that having Mitchell joining this upstart Cavalier squad would be a benefit to the team, but we didn’t necessarily think he’d make such an impressive impact so quickly.
The Cavs were fun to watch last season and now it’s even been better. Odds are growing much higher that the team will make it to the playoffs this season after missing out by a few games a year ago and much of that prediction has to do with Mitchell joining the Cleveland roster.