Who is the best duo on the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Tracking dynamic duos is one of the best parts of following basketball. NBA history is littered with them: Shaq and Kobe. Michael and Scottie. Magic and Kareem. Many of the best teams of all time featured a pair of stars dominating the league.
Some great teams were built differently, however. Some had a centerpiece star and supporting pieces around him. Others featured a trio, from the "Big 3" in Boston to the LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love triumvirate that led the Cavaliers to four Finals and secured the 2016 title.
This year the Cleveland Cavaliers have expanded the definition even further with four players who are all legitimate All-Star candidates. Donovan Mitchell is widely considered to be the team's best player, but Evan Mobley is having a more impactful two-way season and Darius Garland has leveled up as a scorer. Jarrett Allen may be fourth in the pecking order but he has an All-Star case himself.
Who is the best duo on the Cavaliers? Often the star pairing is considered to be the best offensive scoring threats, so that would suggest Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Together they are averaging 44 points per game and pushing the conversation of whether they deserve to fill both of the All-Star Starter spots at guard.
How the Cavaliers see their stars, however, is operating in two pairs. They start and end games largely with their four stars all together, but they spend even more time running two different groups. Evan Mobley and Mitchell are the two best players in terms of impact, but Garland and Allen have logged the most minutes together at 957. In terms of pure net rating, the best star pairing on the team is Mobley and Garland at +15.2.
Who is the best duo on the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Mobley and Allen dominated for the Cavaliers
On Wednesday night the answer to that question was perhaps not what you would expect. As Donovan Mitchell struggled against the best defense in the league, and Garland needed someone to step up, it was the two big men, the Twin Towers, who obliterated the best team in the Western Conference.
Jarrett Allen hammered home 25 points on 9-for-11 shooting against the Thunder, adding seven offensive rebounds and 11 total. What's more, he was a hub for the offense, totaling six assists, his most in a game this season.
Allen wasn't alone, either. Evan Mobley was battering the Thunder's defenders whenever Isaiah Hartenstein was defending Allen. The fourth-year big man had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, tied for the team lead. Both Mobley and Allen were two-way forces and led the team to victory.
In fact, their combined dominance was so unique that it hadn't been done since LeBron James was in town. The last time two Cavaliers teammates both had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists?
It was LeBron and Dwyane Wade, during their brief run of play together in Cleveland after winning two titles in Miami, who completely dominated in the same game. Anytime you match a feat last accomplished by the GOAT, King James himself, it's impressive. But for that to be Allen and Mobley - not Mitchell and Mobley, or Mitchell and Garland - is all the more impressive.
The last two big men to put up such a stat line? David Robinson and Tim Duncan on the San Antonio Spurs. This kind of two-way output does not come along all that often. The Cavaliers have an overflow of star talent, and it means anyone can step up and lead the team to a victory.
Mobley had another 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists the following night in a win over the Toronto Raptors. Allen missed just one shot en route to 18 points, 15 rebounds and three assists. The Twin Towers continue to dominate.
Who is the best duo on the Cleveland Cavaliers. It all depends on the night, because anyone can step up on this team. That's a fact that should terrify the rest of the NBA.