Being balanced on both ends of the basketball court does not always guarantee a championship, but it can usually be a pretty good indicator of who will hoist that year's Larry O'Brien Trophy. More often than not, it does turn out to be the case.
Six of the last 10 NBA champions have posted both an offensive and defensive rating that ranked in the top 10 during the regular season. The four exceptions were the 2023 Denver Nuggets, 2022 Golden State Warriors, 2020 Los Angeles Lakers, and 2018 Warriors.
It is worth noting that of those four teams, two of them really found that balance in the NBA Playoffs. The 2018 Warriors were first in both categories during the postseason, solving their defense. The 2023 Denver Nuggets were first in offense, and fourth in defense, cleaning up the latter as well.
The 2022 Warriors and 2020 Lakers were both just outside the top five in one of the two categories during the NBA Playoffs. It's not an exact science here, but there are clues to be found in the formula. That is a formula the Cleveland Cavaliers are still working to solve.
Cavaliers offense is struggling to keep pace this season
With so many injuries and moving parts, the recipe for offensive success has not been finalized in Cleveland just yet. The Cavaliers rank 13th in the NBA with an offensive rating of 115.6.
The good news is the ground to make up is not huge. The added piece of positivity would be that Cleveland's driving force offensively, Darius Garland, is back and getting himself up to speed after battling toe troubles.
The Cavaliers have gotten a clear boost from their star point guard in the five games he's been available for. Garland leads the team in individual offensive rating, with a mark of 127.9. That number easily clears any of his teammates who have gotten significant run with the squad.
To continue the good news, the Cavaliers do have a top-10 group on the other end. They currently rank eighth in defensive rating, posting 111.7.
As the headline would suggest, Cleveland does have some catching up to do here. The Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors have each delivered on both sides of the basketball court thus far in 2025-26.
The Pistons rank eighth on offense and fifth on defense. Meanwhile, the Raptors possess the seven-best offensive rating, and the fourth-best defensive rating.
These are all still early samples sizes of this NBA season. There is plenty of time for change overall. Even so, the Cavaliers should not lose track of a key battle they are currently losing to their East rivals.