If you’re a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers, you’ve probably felt like you’ve been in a dream as the team has been on an amazing win streak that now has them at 7-1 on the season. The young and energetic Cavs are on the road now and are California dreamin’ (gotta love that song by The Mamas & the Papas) as they get ready to take on four teams in the great state of California.
It starts with Cleveland taking on the Los Angeles Lakers, the same Lakers that are struggling mightily right now despite having the great LeBron James on the roster. James had been the backbone of former Cavalier teams of the past. Meanwhile, the young Cleveland team now has a new leader in Donovan Mitchell. He has been on an amazing tear to start the season and looks as though he could continue that impressive start with this next big game against LA, if he’s back.
Mitchell and Donovan Garland took the night off against the Detroit Pistons Friday night to nurse some minor injuries. It would be expected that Mitchell at least returns and more than likely Garland too in this star-studded matchup on Sunday. Both are questionable, currently.
There are many things to be watching for and this next series of games through California. The Cavs wrap up the trip against the Golden State Warriors, a team that has a long history of playing former Cleveland teams in championship series’.
The Warriors still have the old nemesis like Stephen Curry and Draymond Green so it will be a battle to close out the road trip despite the Warriors’ 3-7 record.
Let’s now take a look at three things to be watching for as the Cavs progress through this next group of games.
No. 1: Donovan Mitchell continuing his stellar play, upon his return
Mitchell has instantly become the new star of the Cavalier team. Cleveland had a good team last year. It was and still is a makeup of a very young group of players including Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
But, despite their efforts last season, they didn’t have that one guy that could put them on their back and carry them in games. That is what we’ve seen now with Mitchell, who has been outstanding with his all-out efforts.
He has scored more than 30 points in all of his games, outside of two of them. In the recent battle against the New York Knicks, when the team was down by nine going into the fourth quarter, Mitchell helped “will” the Cavs back into the game and win going away. It’s those types of moments that should be fun to watch as the season speeds along.
So now Mitchell and the Cavs hit the California highways. Who will guard Mitchell for example from the Lakers team Sunday? Will James or Russell Westbrook at times be matched up on him, or mostly Patrick Beverley?
The Lakers are struggling and coming to the game with only a 2-6 record. They just lost to the Utah Jazz, who have two former Cleveland players, in Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton that just joined them because of the Mitchell trade earlier in the offseason. These two former Cavs helped the Jazz get by the Lakers Friday night. We’ll have to see if Mitchell is back, regarding an ankle sprain, of course; he’s again currently questionable.
At this point in this young season, it really probably doesn’t matter who guards Mitchell because he’s going to get his shots and points on the night. But, nonetheless, having the opportunity to watch Mitchell work his magic on this trip is worth the price of admission.
No. 2: The Cavs’ competition
It’s a bit of a surprise when you take a look at the records of these upcoming teams that the Cavs are playing out West. Three out of the four teams have losing records at this very early stage of the season. That likely will change as the season progresses but at this time that’s where we’re at. Can Cleveland continue their winning streak and take advantage of these teams right now that are struggling?
The Lakers are a mess and LeBron James is contributing to that. He’s averaging his standard 24 points a game, but his shooting percentages are a lot less especially on the three-point shot. His shooting average is at 43% and his shots at three-pointers are a dismal 20%. And when you look at the numbers more closely, his minutes are still some of the highest he’s had in his career. James is starting to show his age and that has something to do with why the Lakers are where they’re at and struggling.
The Cavs play the LA Clippers the next evening on Monday, and they are the only winning team at the moment that the Cavs are scheduled to play. They have a 5-4 record as we speak.
The next two contests are against the lowly Sacramento Kings and then the Warriors at the end of the week next Friday. The Kings have their typical sub-.500 record and show no signs of challenging teams this season. The Warriors, in a bit of a surprise, are also at a dismal 3-7 record.
Cleveland certainly could take advantage of all of this and come away continuing on their amazing win streak. The Cavaliers have only had winning streaks like this when LeBron used to play for them. The last time was during the 2017-18 season when they won 13 games in a row. This Wine and Gold squad is riding high on a seven-game win streak.
It’s tough to win on the road, but this trip for Cleveland could put them in the driver’s seat early on in the year if they can sweep California.
No. 3: Cavs’ teamwork
We’ll finish with this topic of teamwork for the Cavaliers. It’s really what has separated this basketball team from most in the NBA for the past two seasons, well, including the beginning of this one.
When you watch basketball at its best it’s all about teamwork. If the team is working as one rather than five individuals on the court, then that team is going to win a lot of basketball games. This is obviously what we’ve seen from the Cavs since last year.
That was again on full display in the team‘s most recent win against the Pistons on Friday night. The Cavs were without Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland (knee sprain) due to some minor injuries and yet the team rolled over the Pistons by a mark of 112 – 88. The game was never in question and several players who typically don’t play and ride the bench most games got some additional playing time in this one.
There was some discussion after the game about how veteran Kevin Love was close to a triple-double and had a discussion with Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff about staying on the floor and trying to complete the accomplishment. However, Love declined to go back on the court so to give his teammates more time to play together.
#Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff admitted postgame that he knew how close Kevin Love was to a triple-double. The two had a conversation about keeping Love on the court a little longer but Love told him to do right by the game and take him out to give the other guys a chance.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) November 5, 2022
It’s these kinds of moments that separate this group from so many others and it’s why the Cavs are so fun to watch, and this fan base is excited about the possibilities.
There hasn’t been this much excitement with the Wine and Gold for all the right reasons in a very long time and Cleveland is about to burst from joy if they keep on winning in California.