The Big Picture: Cavs cruising into first playoff berth in five years

Consistency matters

Consistency has to be practiced and learned by a basketball team, and the Cavaliers have been improving in this area all season long. They have not been getting down early in games and having to struggle to fight back, like they have in the past, and they are learning how to play better from the start, generally.

While there are some moments where there are struggles, Cleveland is typically staying in games and competing. As I mentioned before, a year ago, the Cavs were really struggling to win games down the stretch. Having Donovan Mitchell this year and the other core of players learning how to keep their composure better is very valuable.

Case in point is Garland, who, while he still tries to launch three-point shots from a distance that are out of range, he doesn’t do that quite as often anymore. The team is learning how to play better with one another all the time.

Evan Mobley is another player that is coming on strong all the time. He’s only in his second year, but he has made the biggest difference for this Wine and Gold squad and has them where they are now. Cleveland now has an established big man with a skill set that is only getting better with every dribble.

While a year ago, Mobley had stretches where he might not score in double digits or get as many rebounds as we thought he would, this year, especially in the last 20 games, he has been outstanding where he’s consistently scoring close to 20 points and pulling down 10 rebounds a night.

All these factors are building this team into something special, and the rest of the NBA knows it. We’ll have to see how far they go this year, but regardless of where they end up landing, they will continue to get better, so stay tuned.