Buy or Sell 3 trends from Cleveland Cavaliers this season

Buy or Sell 3 trends from Cleveland Cavaliers: Scoring diversity

Trend: 3 players who have scored 40-plus points this season

The Cleveland Cavaliers start three impact scorers on the perimeter, players who can explode for a huge scoring binge at any time. Donovan Mitchell is among the league leaders in points per game, Darius Garland became the first player (by about an hour) to hit 50 points this season, and Caris LeVert dropped 41 points in an overtime win over the Boston Celtics earlier this season.

That gives the Cavs three players who have hit the 40-point mark this season, the only such team that can make that claim. In fact, only one team has had even two such players, with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers each getting there.

Last season three teams had at least three players get to 40 points. The Milwaukee Bucks predictably were one, with Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton joining Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Los Angeles Lakers got there when Malik Monk and Talen Horton-Tucker went crazy in meaningless games in the final week of the season to join LeBron James. Amazingly, the league leader in this category was the New York Knicks, who saw a whopping five players hit the 40-point mark: Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier and Obi Toppin.

Will the Cavs lead the league in this category? They certainly have a head start with three players already there. It would be surprising if Garland and Mitchell do not get back there, but it would be equally surprising if anyone else on the team reaches 40. Kevin Love doesn’t play enough minutes, Evan Mobley isn’t there as a scorer and no one else on the team would seem to have that potential within them.

Therefore, will the rest of the league hang back and let the Cavs win with three? Probably not. A number of teams have at least three players who could pop off for 40 on any given night, from Embiid/Maxey/James Harden on the 76ers, to Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown/Malcolm Brogdon on the Celtics, the Bucks trio, the Warriors, the Nuggets, etc. That doesn’t even count the random pop-offs that occur, often late in the season. The league is scoring at such a high level, and with so many talented offensive players, that it’s very likely the Cavs get passed in this stat.

Still, it’s a strength of this Cavs team that they have that scoring redundancy; if one player is having an off night, there are others ready to step up. That should help the Cavs with consistency throughout the season. It just might not be enough to win this fairly obscure category.

Verdict: Sell