The Cleveland Cavaliers have had something of an up-and-down season thus far. Eight straight wins are bracketed on either side by five losses. The Cavs who dominated their opponents for two weeks now look a little shakier, and what we thought we knew about them is called a little into question.
That’s the difficult part of evaluating a team in the early part of the season. Every single game is magnified because of the small sample size on hand. One blowout win or loss can have a big effect on a team’s underlying metrics, and trends that appear now could be gone in a few weeks as things continue to balance out.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have had an up-and-down year thus far. Let’s play Buy or Sell with some early-season trends to predict if they will continue.
On a macro level, the Cavs still look like a dominant team. They have had four straight losses, yes, but they were in all four games until the final minute. They are ranked in the top-3 in both offense and defense. This is a team that should still be counted among the best in the Eastern Conference, if not the entire league.
What about some other early-season trends? Are they indicative of what to expect moving forward, or are they a fluke that will disappear as the season goes on? Let’s look at three interesting trends and play “Buy or Sell” on whether they will continue.