On a personal level, one of the biggest gripes with watching the Cleveland Cavaliers offense throughout the early parts of the season — when the struggles were endless — was seeing a missing element from what made the unit great in the 64-win campaign. Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Ty Jerome thrived in 2024-25 pressuring on drives to open up the Cavs' perimeter play.
With Jerome, who averaged 8.4 drives per game last season, having departed for the Memphis Grizzlies, a big chunk of that pressure was gone. With Garland popping in and out of the lineup, his offense could not always be accounted for. Then, there was Lonzo Ball.
Ball was brought in to be the replacement for Jerome and that very clearly did not work out. This department where the former Cavs guard shined was one that his successor was a virtual non-factor in. Lonzo averaged 1.5 drives per game. It was not the sole source of the offense's stagnation, but it was certainly a contributing factor.
Dennis Schroder has no such problems. The new arrival from Sacramento has thrived in that aforementioned area all season. In nine games, Schroder has even outdone what Ball managed to accomplish during his 35 appearances for the Cavaliers.
Dennis Schroder's aggressive attack changes the Cavaliers offense completely
Throughout 2025-26 thus far, Schroder has averaged 9.7 drives per game. That ranks 58th in the entire NBA (which is higher than that number may initially have you think). That mark has dipped a touch with the Cavaliers, dropping to 8.0 per game so far, but still remains mostly strong.
In the nine games Schroder has played for the Cavs, he has 72 total drives. Ball had 52 during his time in Cleveland, which was nearly four times the amount of appearances in wine and gold.
During those last nine games of the season for the Cavaliers, they are posting an offensive rating of 122.3. That is second in the league, only trailing the San Antonio Spurs (123.7). They also have an overall net rating of 11.8, which is also second in the NBA behind the Spurs during that stretch.
Naturally, this does not just come down to Schroder. The Cavaliers also added James Harden, who ranks just outside of the top-10 in the category. That is part of the point, though.
The Cavaliers have gone back to a three-headed monster with Mitchell, Harden, and Schroder, similar to what they had with Mitchell, Garland, and Jerome. The formula is locked and loaded once more in Cleveland. The results are already overwhelmingly positive.