The challenges are coming for the NBA-best Cavaliers
FOR 24 MINUTES, the Golden State Warriors had hung with the NBA’s best team.
It was Dec. 30 inside San Francisco’s Chase Center, and after a meandering opening half for the Warriors and the then-27-4 Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State cut its deficit to five points with an and-1 by forward Trayce Jackson-Davis on the opening possession of the third quarter.
Eight minutes later, the Warriors found themselves down 26, the victim of a 34-13 barrage full of 3-pointers — the same kind of third-quarter haymaker that had defined their dynastic run.
Roughly 90 minutes before the game, Steve Kerr sat in front of his team’s blue lectern, as he has throughout his Hall-of-Fame run as the coach of the four-time champion Warriors.
He said he could see the parallels being drawn between the Cavaliers, now coached by Kerr’s former assistant Kenny Atkinson, and his Warriors teams of the past. Cleveland, like those Golden State teams, features a dynamic All-Star backcourt in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, a versatile, defensive standout power forward in Evan Mobley, a veteran anchor at center in Jarrett Allen and a deep supporting cast capable of overwhelming teams in waves over the course of 48 minutes.
“I think the biggest thing [my first year] was just having to convince the guys that we didn’t have to go through the usual process of heartbreak for three years that most NBA championship teams seem to have to go through,” Kerr said of his first season at the helm in 2014-15, when Golden State stormed the league with 66 wins and the franchise’s first of four titles in an eight-year span.
For the 31-4 Cavaliers, who Wednesday host the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), the biggest remaining question among league insiders is whether they can level up to championship contender status — or whether there is more growing left to be done for Mitchell, Mobley, Garland and the rest of Cleveland’s young roster.
“We’re playing good basketball,” Mitchell told ESPN, “but can we be this team consistently? Can we be this team when we lose two or three in a row? Can we be this team in the dog days right before the All-Star break?
“How long can we sustain? That’s the challenge.”
SHORTLY AFTER ATKINSON was hired this summer, he and Mitchell met for the first time — the standard meet-and-greet between coach and star to initiate their relationship. But almost immediately, the topic shifted to Mobley.
“‘How does this team make the next step?'” Atkinson told ESPN of his conversation with Mitchell. “‘No. 1,’ he said, ‘You don’t know how good Evan is.’ And then he said, ‘We have to empower him.'”
The Cavaliers signed Mobley to a max contract extension this summer — a sign of the franchise’s unbending faith that he would continue to develop into the cornerstone Cleveland envisioned when he was taken with the third draft pick in 2021. But for Mobley to achieve those lofty ambitions, more was required. Atkinson and Mitchell knew it.
In his first three seasons, Mobley had earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s best and most versatile defenders, with him and Allen as the foundation of what has consistently been one of the league’s best defensive teams despite Mitchell and Garland, two smaller, offensive-minded guards, starting in the backcourt. Cleveland has a 104.8 defensive rating with Mobley on the court — good for second in the league behind Oklahoma City — that drops to 112.8 when he’s on the bench.
But Mobley’s offensive numbers had stagnated. That’s why Mitchell made it a point, both in the summer and entering the season, to try to empower his young co-stars to expand their games.
“I think that’s been my main focus,” Mitchell said. “I’m allowing myself to take a step back. I know where I can plug and play. …
“So, for me, that’s what’s going to take us to the next level — [Darius], Evan, those guys continuing to take that next step.”
They have and opposing teams have taken notice. Coaches and scouts across the NBA have praised Atkinson for leaning into the strengths of his roster and for implementing a fast, freewheeling style that generates quality shots. The Cavaliers are sixth in pace after finishing last season 22nd.
“It’s exactly the way Kenny wants to play,” a scout said. “The speed with which they play is so advantageous for Mobley and Garland, and it also helps cover up deficiencies for other players. … They’ve simplified things from last year.”
Last year, Mobley rarely handled the ball in the Cavs’ more methodical, half-court scheme under previous coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who was fired after Cleveland’s second-round loss to the Boston Celtics. This year, there is no hesitation asking Mobley to lead in transition and be involved more in half-court sets. He’s also taking his highest percentage of shots at the rim (49%) of his career, cutting down on floaters and showcasing a new level of aggressiveness on drives.
“I just think you’ve tapped into a whole different type of basketball,” Cavaliers forward Georges Niang told ESPN. “Last year, Evan was going to the corner. Now, he’s top of the key, his usage rate is up and he’s punishing switches where you can’t just roll a guy onto him and have the paint crowded.”
For Atkinson, the explanation is even simpler:
“He’s starting to believe how good he is.”
DESPITE THE EVIDENCE that suggests Cleveland is a legitimate title contender, skepticism remains across the league about whether it is good enough to break through in the playoffs.
Coaches and scouts point to the Cavs’ depth and frenetic pace — clear strengths in the regular season — as potential disadvantages during the postseason.
“I think they’re a really good regular-season team, but when the game slows down and is more targeted, I have some concerns,” an assistant coach who faced Cleveland recently said. “Can Donovan and Darius make a bunch of shots when that happens? That’ll be the biggest question.”
Another lingering question? Mobley’s shooting. He has upped his 3-point attempts from just over one per game to nearly three and is shooting 41.8% from deep. But until there is a sustained sample size of him being a real threat from the perimeter, teams won’t be afraid to force him to shoot.
“Mobley’s shooting is better,” said another assistant coach who saw Cleveland recently, “but not good enough.”
“I think a lot of the questions have to do with if the Mobley [numbers are] real, as far as the shooting,” the scout said. “I don’t think it is. But, if it is, that’s a huge deal.”
Scouts and coaches also pointed to the potential defensive limitations of the Mitchell-Garland backcourt, which teams will target more consistently across a seven-game playoff series. One common reference was to Mitchell’s former team, the Utah Jazz, which had a defense built around perennial Defensive Player of the Year favorite Rudy Gobert walling off the paint — like Allen and Mobley do for Cleveland — to make up for that group’s perimeter deficiencies.
Those Jazz teams never made it out of the second round. Cleveland will look to avoid a similar fate when they head into the playoffs staring down opponents such Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in Boston, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns in New York, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard in Milwaukee.
Atkinson admitted he doesn’t expect the outside criticism about his team to change until the postseason — like those early Warriors teams, which were equally doubted through that first championship season until they beat the LeBron James-led Cavs to claim the title.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, Cleveland has played the NBA’s easiest schedule to date. But the Cavaliers are not just beating those teams, they’re clobbering them, as proven by their plus-11.5 net rating. That number would be the third highest over the past decade, behind only this year’s Thunder team (12.1) and last year’s NBA champion Celtics (11.7).
Wednesday begins a tougher path. In the coming weeks, Cleveland will have another meeting with Oklahoma City, two against the Houston Rockets and another showdown with the Celtics, all opportunities for this group to continue proving it belongs where its record says it already resides: among the league’s inner-circle of title contenders.
“Anytime you play the elite teams that we’re going to start playing,” Atkinson said, “what is the feedback from that?
“We haven’t had a ton of those games. We’re going to be tested.”
Source: espn.com