When it comes to the balance of power in the NBA this season, it is abundantly clear that the Cleveland Cavaliers have put themselves into an elite category. An old rule proposed by legendary coach Phil Jackson said this: a team can truly be considered a top-level championship contender if they reach the threshold of 40 wins before suffering 20 losses.
It is a difficult benchmark to reach, and the Cavs did it without much trouble at all. They are likely to soon earn their 60th win before getting their 20th loss. The only other two teams in the association to join the "40 before 20" club are the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics. That cements these three squads as arguably the biggest threats to take home a title this season.
As of this writing, Cleveland is sitting at a record of 54-10, putting them on pace to win 68 games and finish with an overall record of 68-14 by the end of the regular season. This is of course a borderline mind-blowing achievement, but let's use some numbers to put into perspective just how staggering their dominance has been.
Cavs' 68-win pace puts them in elite category
If we look at NBA history, only six (!) teams in the storied history of the league have ever won 68 games in an 82-game regular season. The Cavaliers still have to reach that record, of course. But should they remain on their current trajectory and actually achieve that number, they would become part of this highly elite group.
Here's where it gets fun for Cavs fans: of those six teams in history to get to 68 wins, four of them went on to win an NBA championship. The squads in this group that won it all were the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, and the 1996-97 Bulls. The two 68-win teams that did not win a title? The 1972-73 Boston Celtics, and none other than the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors.
The last line of the previous paragraph is sure to spark some exciting memories for fans in Cleveland, as the Cavaliers obviously prevented that Golden State team from becoming arguably the greatest team in NBA history when they defeated them in the 2016 Finals. But the bigger message here is that the Cavs are clearly in excellent company.
Should they finish with at least 68 wins, history suggests they would have at least a two-thirds chance of winning a championship. It feels safe to say that anyone in Northeast Ohio would gladly take those odds.