Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Ty Jerome — those three players were masterful last season at driving inside, collapsing defenses, and helping the Cleveland Cavaliers offense thrive in the process. Their team is suited to do that once more after the NBA trade deadline.
Last year's 64-win campaign was fueled by an elite offense. The Cavs ranked first overall in the league for offensive rating (121.0) during Kenny Atkinson's debut season in Cleveland. Ty Jerome's departure and Darius Garland's injury troubles slowed down that success this year.
In 2024-25 the Cavs ranked sixth in drives per game. They dropped down to the bottom half of the NBA this season, diminishing the quality of their shots and overall offense in the process.
However, after two masterful trades — one to acquire James Harden and the other to snag Dennis Schroder — the Cavaliers once again have three guards capable of carrying out a strategy that made them so successful last season. It's going to go a long way.
Cavaliers offense can masterfully execute the drive-and-kick once more
As much as some of the players may want to put last year behind them, and focus on this season, this is an important conversation to have. Putting pressure on the defense by driving inside helped the Cavaliers open up a ton of quality 3-point opportunities in 2024-25.
That allowed them to stroke it from beyond the arc, connecting on 38.3 percent of their 41.5 attempts per game, ranking second in the NBA. The Cavaliers have been climbing those charts again this season, but their slow start in that department largely stemmed from settling for mediocre looks instead of fighting for great ones like they proved capable of in the previous season.
This is one of the departments that should be massively aided by Harden and Schroder.
Despite his advanced age, Harden still ranks in the top-10 individual players across the NBA when it comes to drives per game. His mark of 14.6 ties him with Jalen Brunson for ninth in the league.
Schroder is no slouch either. The former Sacramento Kings guard is averaging 10.0 in the drives per game category. That is more than Jerome (8.4) posted last season by comparison.
The Cavs offense has been much improved since their early-season struggles. They have climbed all the way back up to sixth in offensive rating (117.2). Having Mitchell, Harden, and Schroder replicating what worked so well in Atkinson's first year in Cleveland should only bump them upward even more.