The Cleveland Cavaliers are having an excellent season. Their beatdown Monday of the Utah Jazz built their winning streak to four games, continuing to cement their spot at the top of the Eastern Conference. They are performing at the top end of preseason expectations and truly look like a contender despite their collective inexperience.
It’s simplest to look at the Cavs’ team as a whole and declare they are all killing it, and it’s certainly fun to do so, but that’s not a very nuanced way to evaluate the season. Individual players are helping and hurting the Cavs in very different ways, and when placed together the story of the season comes to light.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing well – which players deserve awards?
With the first third of the season now in the rearview mirror let’s hand out some awards to the various members of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Let’s pick five to highlight the very best, and in one case the very worst, of the season thus far.
For everyone else, feel free to come up with an award for each remaining player — a “most games missed” for Ricky Rubio, a “most mascots disparaged” for Robin Lopez, and so forth. We’ll start with the best player on the Cavs this year: who has been the MVP?
Handing out Cavaliers awards: MVP – Donovan Mitchell
This was a relatively easy award to hand out, as Donovan Mitchell has clearly been the team’s best player. He is averaging 29.3 points per game, a top-10 number leaguewide and by far the best number on the team. He’s shooting 43.1 percent on a whopping 9.1 3-point attempts per game, a true modern weapon and a player who is nearly impossible to stop.
Mitchell has also increased his defensive effort since joining the Cavs, and as such his overall impact has been elite. Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) ranks Mitchell 11th in the league overall and fifth in offense. He has been far and away the Cavs’ best player and wins the “MVP” award.
Most Disappointing – Isaac Okoro
Many all-in-one player metrics feature both a per-minute evaluation and a volume-based one; you want to identify who the best players have been, but availability also matters in evaluating which players have provided the most value. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, who has taken it away the most.
Isaac Okoro, in just his third season in the NBA after going fifth overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, has been incredibly bad to start the year. His defense has been fine, but his offense has been bottom-of-the-league bad. In fact, of all players who have logged at least 250 minutes this season, Okoro is tied with Charlotte’s James Bouknight for the worst offensive EPM in the league. EPM estimates that the Cavs would have been better putting a street free agent into the lineup rather than Isaac Okoro.
The ship is sailing past the point of no return for Okoro. His teammates seem to love him, and he tries hard on defense, but his reluctance to shoot from last season has turned into an outright fear of it, and their offense is strangled by having him on the court. When Ricky Rubio returns it should be the end of Okoro’s rotation minutes.
Handing out Cavaliers awards: Most Surprising – Lamar Stevens
Coming into the season the Cavaliers’ rotation seemed mostly set. The four stars plus Caris LeVert were in line to start, with Kevin Love, Dean Wade and Raul Neto getting minutes off the bench. Cedi Osman seemed likely to have a role too, and Robin Lopez was the emergency option at center. That left Lamar Stevens on the outside looking in.
It didn’t stay that way, as Stevens’ defense and relentless energy have earned him not just a spot in the rotation but in the starting lineup. He’s averaging a career-high in minutes, points and rebounds and has likely extended his NBA career by multiple seasons. From out of the rotation to the starting lineup, the OG Junkyard Dog earns “Most Surprising.”
Best Coaching Decision: Moving Caris LeVert to the bench
When Darius Garland went down with an eye injury in the Cavaliers’ first game of the season, Caris LeVert was a boon to have in the starting lineup alongside Donovan Mitchell. That starting lineup of Mitchell, LeVert, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen had a 23.6 net rating in 123 minutes.
Yet when Garland came back, it was clear that LeVert’s strengths were redundant with Mitchell and Garland both on the court. It was a bold move to shift LeVert to the Sixth Man role and elevate Lamar Stevens to the starting lineup, but it has been a successful one. LeVert is gaining synergy with the bench players and the rotation is more balanced.
Handing out Cavaliers awards: Best Defender – Jarrett Allen
The Cleveland Cavaliers have the league’s best defense, and that reality is not driven by a single player. The entire team is playing hard, the coaching staff has prioritized defenders in the rotation (Isaac Okoro and Lamar Stevens getting plenty of minutes) and Evan Mobley is truly a phenom defensively.
That all being the case, Jarrett Allen has been the Cavs’ best defender. He has a massive frame and elite strength while staying nimble on his feet. He is one of the league’s best rim protectors but isn’t consigned to the paint, with an underrated ability to defend in space. Allen’s versatility to close out and cut off opponents on the perimeter is key to the Cavs’ defensive scheme; he’s not Kawhi Leonard out there, but compared to other 7-footers he is special.
The Cavs are equipped to take down other “big” teams like the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies, and they can hang with perimeter-oriented teams like the Dallas Mavericks or Indiana Pacers. Allen is key to this, not being played off the court no matter the attack they face.
There are many more awards that could be handed out because the start of the season has been special for the Cavs. Before too long the Cavaliers will pass the halfway mark and be racing toward the playoffs, where these players and more will get to test their mettle when it truly matters.