The Cleveland Cavaliers peaked early last season. They started 17-1 in 2024-25 and everyone was immediately screaming for a championship that never came close to arriving in Cleveland. This year has been different — in good ways and in bad.
The Cavaliers have gotten off to a 25-20 start through their first 45 games. They were 34-9 in 2024-25, by comparison. The messaging that has continued throughout has been that of patience. Donovan Mitchell has preached it. Darius Garland has too.
It has just been a constant kicking of the can down the road. Past the midway point of January should be the time of the NBA calendar when the Cavaliers are starting to mold into the group they expect to be for the rest of the year. However, once again, the message continues to be about peaking later. This time, it was Larry Nance Jr. delivering that sentiment.
"The best teams don't peak in January," Nance said. "The best teams peak in April, the best teams peak in June, the best teams in March. That's what we're aiming for."
Larry Nance Jr. talking about peaking later glosses over Cavaliers’ issues all season
In a vacuum, Nance has a point. A championship contender does want to hit their stride later in the year. It's happened before, and one does not have to look farther than last year's Indiana Pacers to find proof.
Even so, the comments just feel completely dismissive of the season the Cavaliers have endured to this point. Nance mentioned young guys, new guys, and other similar components as areas that need figuring it out. That is an oddly-placed assessment, considering their young guys have been the ones holding the team up when other players have completely shown a lack of care and effort.
There is only so much wiggle room left for comments like Nance's to keep holding real weight. Quite frankly, the argument for them being past expiration is already there. The Cavaliers should be in prove-it mode now.
The Cavs are still just skating by. A 6-4 record in their last 10 games, including a particularly embarrassing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, does not instill the type of confidence that Nance was carrying with his words.
Championship teams build championship habits. It's hard to look at the Cavaliers and see the foundation in that regard, and it's baffling to keep pretending like everyone should be calm as a cucumber about it all.