Lets review why the Cleveland Cavaliers can win the whole thing this spring. The Cavaliers are no fluke, beating up an Eastern Conference weaker than the West. They have star power in the backcourt (Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland) and frontcourt (Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen). They can go 10 deep, and that’s not counting Max Strus, an elite role player who has missed most of the season because of an ankle injury. They have the second-best point differential in the league behind Oklahoma City. Their coach, Kenny Atkinson, has been waiting for a chance to prove himself since being unceremoniously ousted by the Brooklyn Nets during the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving failed experiment. Add in a great postseason home-court advantage thanks to an electric fan base, and the road to the Finals in the East could go through Cleveland.
The Cavs match up well with potential conference opponents. They pass the ball with purpose and intensity. It’s expected that everyone is moving on offense. Cleveland can overwhelm teams simply by making extra passes. This last win against the Lakers shows exactly how the Cavs can prevail against star power.
The Cavs have gotten off to a smoking-hot start to the season. Only four teams in NBA history have posted a better record through 35 games than the Cavaliers: Golden State (33-2) in 2015-16, Philadelphia (32-3) in 1966-67, the Los Angeles Lakers (32-3) in 1971-72 and Chicago (32-3) in 1995-96. Cleveland has not lost since Dec. 8 at Miami. Its lone home defeat was on Nov. 27 against Atlanta. All victories in this 10-game winning streak were by double-digit margins. This is a franchise record.
The Cavaliers have the league’s best record heading into the new year and they look poised for a deep run in the East. They look like they have everything they need: a prolific star scorer, a high-scoring backcourt, incredible size and length, veteran shooters and defense. Donovan Mitchell has proven he can get hot in the playoffs when healthy. Though all the talk entering the season revolved around the Celtics, Knicks and Sixers, the Cavs are building a cushion atop the East standings and have shown little signs of slowing down.
The best news out of Cleveland is how the Stars are doing team-first balling. When Jarrett Allen heads for the bench to facilitate Cleveland’s small-ball lineup, there’s no complaints. Issac Orkoro isn’t raising a fuss about bouncing from starter to bench and back again. Max Strus isn’t publicly campaigning for a starting role. The players doing the heavy lifting for Cleveland are working together.
This isn’t the Shaq and Kobe Lakers.
So what are reasonable expectations for this year’s edition of the Cleveland Cavaliers??? Who is going to stop them??? The only things that should are injuries and the Cavs themselves. The least they should do is an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. The best they should do is a championship. It’s not out of proportion to say it’s a championship or bust season in Cleveland. This is a talented well-coached team. The sky is the limit.
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