Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 players to watch in November

A month into the 2023-24 NBA season the status of the Cleveland Cavaliers has been questionable. Sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 3-5, this Cavs team looks a little lackluster.

Cleveland was without their starting point guard and center for a few games throughout October. Not having Darius Garland or Jarrett Allen in the lineup impeded their competitiveness, leading to some frustrating losses.

As November begins though, Cleveland looks like they might be shaking off the rust and clicking more as a whole. Currently, for this month, the Cavs have a record of 2-2. Two wins came from beating the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, along with the Golden State Warriors home at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The first loss of this month was against the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the NBA’s brand new In-Season Tournament; the second came on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Halloween night saw the Cavs fall to the Knicks at home, but Cleveland took the dub in New York the following day. With a score of 95-89, the Cavs just squeezed the win out. Donovan Mitchell’s 30 points and Caris LeVert’s 19 were key factors. Evan Mobley’s 14 points and 8 rebounds helped as well.

Cleveland’s first In-Season Tournament game did not go how the team had hoped. Coming up short to the Pacers, 121-116, the Cavs were led in scoring again by Mitchell with 38 points. Mobley managed a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Darius Garland did his job at point guard with 14 points and six assists.

Most recently, the Cavs were able to beat the Warriors at home 115-104. Cleveland’s starting five were operating effectively. Garland put up 24 points, along with 7 assists. His partner in the backcourt, Mitchell scored a total of 31 points, with 7 assists as well. Cleveland’s frontcourt showed up too. Evan Mobley scored a total of 13 points and 16 rebounds, while Jarrett Allen totaled 12 points and 9 rebounds. The newest member to the roster and starting lineup, Max Strus, finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Fans know that the NBA is a long season. A lot of basketball is played throughout the year, so trying to make sense of teams’ records this early on does not do much good. At the end of the day, the regular season only matters so much that the Cavs make the playoffs. Last year Cleveland fell to New York in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs.

This year, the focus is on getting back and moving forward. There are fifteen games throughout November. With three games already done, the Cavs have twelve more games this month. Throughout those twelve games, there are three specific players this contributor believes deserve some extra attention.

This article will break down those three players and why Cavs fans should be giving them some extra focus this month. All stats are accurate through Wednesday morning. Starting off, let’s put the attention on one of Cleveland’s starters.