The Cleveland Cavaliers have been on a mission so far this season.
Despite losing two key players to season-ending injuries (Colin Sexton & Ricky Rubio) they continue to grind out wins. Seeing how well Cleveland has played this year has been one of the biggest surprises so far.
Looking at this team before the season you could probably imagine them floating around the 7-10 seed.
Well, they are currently the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference, ahead of teams like the Nets, the Sixers, and they are coming off of a blow-out win versus the Bucks. Who would have thought?!
With that being said, the Eastern Conference is pretty tight 1 through 8 and there is still a long ways to go.
Right now, only 6 games separate the one seed and eighth seed.
All of the teams in the middle are within 1-2 games of each other.
It’s exciting that the league is pretty even nowadays. Yea, maybe there are a few teams that will most likely win it all… but there are certainly a lot of really strong teams now and the Cleveland Cavaliers are one of them.
How the Cavaliers turned it around
In the Post-Lebron-era, the Cavaliers had officially become one of the worst teams in the entire league. For the past 3 seasons, they have been at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and haven’t won more than 25 games.
Cleveland experienced the joy of competing against the Warriors for a while, but once LeBron moved on, it was over for them for the time being.
The rebuild had officially begun.
Fast forward four years and the Cavaliers are back on track. They’ve gone from the 13 seed in the East last year to the 3 seed this season.
In just one off-season, the Cavs managed to make some significant additions and overall improvements to their roster as well as the coaching staff and it has put them back in a position for success.
Rookie Evan Mobley
Finishing as a bottom dweller of the East earned the Cavs the #3 pick in last year’s draft & they made the perfect selection.
Evan Mobley was my favorite player in this past year’s draft class and he has not disappointed. Mobley is the leading candidate for rookie of the year and is 100% the future of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Evan Mobley’s game has transitioned well from his sole year at USC and he seems more NBA ready than any of the other rooks.
There were some question marks surrounding this selection because they already had 7-footer Jarrett Allen, but the Twin Towers In Cleveland have come together nicely. It’s not often that two 7-footers start alongside each other, especially in today’s game, but it has turned out to be a recipe for success.
The two most prominent 7-foot duos that come to mind are Hakeem/Ralph Sampson & Tim Duncan/David Robinson.
As young as these two are they have the potential to become something special together.
The two bigs average over 3 blocks per game and intimidate defenders from approaching the paint. They are constantly pressuring teams on the offensive glass and over-powering them inside. Jarrett Allen had a game earlier this season when he had 5 dunks in one quarter…
What has surprised me most about this duo is their passing ability. They work very well inside together. They are patient and understand how to turn and face and seek out their options. They tend to find each other on a lob or two each game.
Mobley has already shown flashes of potential to develop his ball-handling and playmaking skills as the years go by. For a 20-year-old rookie, His skill-cap is endless. He can be as great as he wants to become.
Some nice transition handling and playmaking from Evan Mobley pic.twitter.com/Txql2F5MzN
— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) October 10, 2021
Mobley is averaging 15 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.7 BPG.
Kevin Love’s new role with the Cavs
For the past 3-4 seasons, Kevin Love was left on an island in Cleveland and was forced to be something that he’s not.
His career was already on a downturn due to injuries and age, but he was placed into a situation of having to be a part of a rebuild while simultaneously being expected to be the K Love from his T Wolves days.
At this stage in his career, this did not seem to be something Kevin Love was interested in at first and it looked like he could have potentially been traded for a while, but I don’t think any teams could risk taking him with the contract he was on.
Anyways, he stuck it out in Cleveland for a few salty years and he couldn’t be happier.
Kevin Love speaks about it all in this clip from JJ Redicks podcast “The Old Man & the Three“. He discusses what it’s been like the past few years for the Cavs and how it has all come together this season for both himself and the team. At one point he mentions that “this is the most fun I’ve had playing basketball since winning the championship.”
Love has now been placed in a spot that is ideal at this point in his career where he can be a leader as well as accepting a role off the bench for a competing playoff team. He says in the clip, “All these guys want to do is win, they want to be lead, and they want to do something special.”
Kevin Love is making a huge impact off the bench for the Cavs this season and is averaging an efficient 12.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 2.5 APG.
Darius Garland leading the charge
Darius Garland has lifted himself into a much more complete point guard in his third season. He is on pace for a career year with the Cavs.
At the level Garland has been playing, he’s even made his way into the all-star conversation.
Garland is gaining major respect from stars throughout the league. “Darius Garland should be in the All-Star Game,” Jazz guard and All-Star Donovan Mitchell said after the Cavs win over Utah during their 5-1 road trip in January.
“What he’s doing is next-level.”
Darius Garland has taken on the role of floor general for this Cavs team. He has been the ultimate playmaker, averaging a career-high 8.2 APG (#7 in the league). His two bigs down low have helped a lot with this, as well as having others who can spread the floor such as Lauri Markannen, Kevin Love, and Cedi Osman.
💥 EVAN MOBLEY 💥
Darius Garland sets up the @cavs rookie for the huge and-1 flush!
Q2 action on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/L8Rrlv9ZoR pic.twitter.com/UtfoMg08UP
— NBA (@NBA) January 27, 2022
He really has the ability to do it all.
Whether it be a crossover into a step-back three, combining his body control and finesse to finish inside, or deciding between hitting the smooth floater or lobbing it inside to one of his bigs.
Darius Garland (@dariusgarland22 ) been producing! Last 5 games ➡️ 24.8 pts, 12.2 asts, 4.2 rebs. Tonight Garland finished with 23 pts and 11 asts 📈 @nba #dariusgarland #clevelandcavs pic.twitter.com/DcynvsjWZ1
— Swish Cultures (@swishcultures_) January 23, 2022
Garland has not only become a better facilitator, but an even better scorer. He’s averaging a career-high 19.7 PPG on the year and shooting more efficiently across the board.
Darius Garland has established himself as one of the most talented young guards in the league and won’t be under the radar for much longer.
I would consider him to be the most important player on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lauri Markkanen settling in Cleveland
Lauri Markkanen began his career with the Chicago Bulls back in 2017. He had a great rookie season and an even better sophomore year. He averaged 18.7 PPG and 9 RPG in only his second year in the NBA.
The future was looking bright for Markkanen and the Bulls early on, but it quickly fell apart.
Between injuries, roster changes, and coaching changes – Markkanen just could not discover a role with Chicago.
He dropped off pretty badly in his third year which is uncommon after a player puts up the type of numbers that he did. Lauri felt he wasn’t being utilized to the best of his abilities and he wanted to move on to a new organization.
By his fifth season, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It seemed he would most likely be taking on a role coming off the bench, but he ended up earning a full-time starting spot.
The Cavs have opted to play Lauri at the small-forward position and start him alongside Twin Towers Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen… that’s right – three 7-footers in the Cavs starting lineup. They have coined it the “Tower City” Lineup.
This is extremely uncommon in today’s game and really just in general. I can’t think of another team in recent memory that has ever started three giants like this.
Lauri Markkanen is having a respectable season statistically averaging 13.6 PPG and 5.6 RPG. But most importantly, he’s stayed relatively healthy all year.
The Cavs are 8-2 in their last 10 games and look to continue to surge up the ranks.
