Currently, the Cleveland Cavaliers are 38-22, and sitting at fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers have won seven straight contests, and following an up-and-down January with some head-scratching losses, they’re finding their way toward the All-Star break.
For much of the season, though, the Cavs have proven themselves as one of the teams on the rise in the East, and as the club has gotten healthy, they look to be a force. What’s been the calling card for the Cavaliers when they’ve been at their best has been strong defensive play, too, as Cleveland is first in the NBA in defensive rating, and that will continue to be crucial for them.
For the team overall, it’s been encouraging to see them hit their stride as they head toward the closing stretch of the season, and they’re finding ways to win.
This Cavs team has to keep proving themselves, but they’re assuredly heading in the right direction, and following their last win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, legendary head coach Gregg Popovich praised these Cavs and J.B. Bickerstaff postgame. This came courtesy of Bally Sports Southwest.
The Cavs didn’t play their best on Monday night, but that praise from Popovich was nice to hear heading toward the playoff push.
At the outset of the above clip, Popovich stated the following about the Cavaliers, and Bickerstaff.
"“We played a hell of a team. Coach Bickerstaff does a great job with those guys. They execute, they’re aggressive, and really play some good, solid defense, which is really going to serve them well in the playoffs.”"
The Cavs didn’t play their best in that Spurs game, and the contest was tighter than it should’ve been in the second half and in the early stages of the fourth quarter. But when they needed to, their defense was still effective enough, and Cleveland was able to make timely baskets. Donovan Mitchell was able to score 41 points in the contest, too, and he was six-of-13 from three; he was getting whatever he wanted throughout the game.
As Popovich expressed, this teams’ calling card is their defense, though, and Cleveland’s No. 1 defense is often what has driven this group. Popovich’s championship teams with the Spurs over the years have largely been defensive-oriented clubs, too, and him reaping praise on Bickerstaff and the Cavs’ unit there was something that definitely jumped out.
It’s apparent that, generally, this Cavaliers team, despite their youth, is a club that’s a confident, talented bunch and with veteran leaders such as Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love and feasibly the recently-signed Danny Green, fans should be hopeful about what’s to come.
Granted, this iteration of Cavaliers are unproven in a playoff setting, but with how this team can guard, and with their ability to both ignite big runs and comeback if they have to, they should be a group set to hit the gas heading toward the postseason.
As Popovich’s comments essentially reiterated, these Cavs are a team that is on the rise, and they’re clearly a hungry squad that’s hitting their stride at the right time. It’ll be fascinating to see how they perform post-All-Star break; in fairness, a very forgiving post-All-Star schedule shouldn’t hurt. Regardless, this surging group is stacking wins at the right time.