Entering play today, the Cleveland Cavaliers sit at 30-21, which is good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
However, since the start of 2023, the Cavaliers have traded wins and losses, going 7-7 so far this month while navigating several injuries.
But when the Cavaliers are 100 percent, they have proven just how dangerous of a team they can be several times.
While ultimately, the Wine and Gold will win and lose as a team, there have been some instances of game-changing performances by several members of the Cavaliers so far this season.
We’ll start first with Cleveland’s fourth-year point guard Darius Garland.
Garland’s eruption
As crazy as this is to say, Garland is flying largely under the radar this season. The obvious answer to why that is happening is because Donovan Mitchell was added in the offseason.
Garland is averaging a career-best 22 points per game and is averaging 8.1 assists per game, which currently ranks fifth in the entire league.
While Garland has taken his play to another level this month, averaging nearly 24 points and nine assists per game, his best performance came earlier in the season.
On a Sunday evening at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Cavaliers faced off against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cleveland came into the matchup unbeaten at home but was coming off a West Coast road trip and was also without Donovan Mitchell.
Garland had to shoulder a lot of the offensive load that night, but going into the fourth quarter, Cleveland found themselves down 20 points.
Entering the final 12 minutes, Garland did everything he could to bring Cleveland back. He played all 12 minutes, shot 8-of-16 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc for 27 points.
Despite the Cavaliers coming up short in their comeback effort, seeing Garland’s will to lead his team back was encouraging. It was almost a reminder of what he could do on the offensive end of the floor.
The frontcourt at their best
Next, we’ll take a look at the Wine and Gold’s stellar frontcourt duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
First, looking at Mobley. The second-year big man has recently taken another leap in his on-court production, and in his last eight games, he is putting up 20 points, nine rebounds, and one block per game.
Mobley is displaying offensive versatility, and we all know what he brings to the table on the defensive end. The best display of this recent uptick in production was a game earlier this month against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Like Garland’s game, this game was a home game where the Cavaliers were without Mitchell, and they would need to get offensive output elsewhere.
Mobley started slow, scoring just four points in the opening quarter, but then scored 14 points in the second quarter to give him 18 at the half. Mobley helped close the game and give the Cavs the win by again scoring 14 points, this time in the fourth quarter.
All of Mobley’s baskets were two-point shots, and 16 of his 19 makes came from inside the paint. This is a rare feat in today’s NBA, but Mobley proved he could do significant damage on offense. In fairness, Milwaukee was without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton (like much of the year), but the offensive repertoire of Mobley was on full-display in a career night for him.
As for Allen, there is not one particular game that truly stands out from the rest, but Allen has been a double-double machine, especially early this season. There was his 18-point, 16-rebound effort against Orlando in late October, and then there was the 14-point, 14-rebound game against Boston in overtime at home.
Overall, Allen’s 19 double-doubles are the best on the team and rank in the top 20 in the league. Allen’s best trait is that while he is not flashy, he is consistent and does that job with pride.
Donovan Mitchell’s 71 points
Now Donovan Mitchell’s top performance is an obvious one. It is his 71-point masterpiece against the Bulls in the Cavaliers first game of 2023.
Not much needs to be said that hasn’t already been detailed. Mitchell that night only had 16 points in the first half, and the Cavs were down 18 points.
Mitchell upped his game in the third quarter, pouring in 24 points, including 12-of-12 from the foul line. Mitchell followed that up with 18 more points in the fourth quarter, none more dramatic than his intentional missed free throw putback to tie the game. The league’s Two Minute Report did state that there was a lane violation on Mitchell’s shot, but that still doesn’t diminish the game for him, and realistically, there’s missed calls all the time throughout games.
In the overtime period, Mitchell outscored the Bulls by himself 13-4 and put the cherry on top of his magnificent performance with his final two points coming at the foul line with the crowd chanting “MVP, MVP!”
When the Cavs made the trade for Mitchell, they surely had visions of him with many spectacular performances, but even they couldn’t have envisioned this level of performance.
The bench guys/role players
Lastly, let’s touch on some of the Cavaliers role/bench players. First, there is Caris LeVert. His 41-point performance on the road in Boston was quite memorable. He and Mitchell became the second Cavaliers duo to top 40 points in a game.
LeVert has been hot and cold when it comes to scoring all season, frustrating fans along the way. LeVert has 11 games of 20+ points but also has 17 games of nine points or less. But those efforts, as he had in Boston, are what the Cavs need more often if they are to make a deep run in the playoffs.
As for Isaac Okoro, his three-point shot emerged in January, and he is hitting 50 percent. This includes a performance in Memphis where Okoro scored a season-high 17 points where he connected on 4-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.
Lamar Stevens is another role player that has stepped up for Cleveland. Stevens’ impact doesn’t always show up in the traditional box score, as he and Okoro are often tasked with guarding the other team’s best wing player.
Overall, Cleveland’s roster is full of players capable of performing at a high level on any night. Still, the Cavs’ best strength is their ability to play as a team and use their individual strengths to form a team with great chemistry.
With just over 30 games left until the end of the regular season, Cleveland still has time to get healthy, build on their chemistry and get ready for the postseason, where they will need the best efforts from all the players mentioned above if they are to make any noise this spring.