With 21 games left in the regular season, the 38-23 Cavs are the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference and should make the playoffs for the time since 2018 and for the time without LeBron James since 1998.
One of the biggest reasons for Cleveland’s success is the addition of four-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who Cleveland acquired in the offseason from the Jazz. This season, Mitchell is averaging a career-high 27.3 points per game.
For Cleveland, they can score, but it’s all about defense. The Cavs are the number one rated defensive team in the NBA, and that’s one of the biggest things that stands out for Mitchell.
“I think the biggest thing is, first of all, our defensive effort,” he said Saturday. “You know, obviously, we have talent to score offensively, but defensively I think it will be our staple. It’s something we will continue to build upon as a group. Like I said, we have guys that haven’t been to the playoffs, and I don’t think that will matter. I think we have a group of guys that really continue to put the work in. So when the time comes, we’ll be ready to go. I’m excited to see what we have going forward.
As we look at the standings, things are bunched up in both conferences, and there are no clear-cut favorites at this point, which Mitchell discussed.
“I think the last few years it’s been (that way),” he said. “I would say really after COVID until now; I think there’s been a lot of — really, outside of Golden State, has really been the only consistent (contender) outside of Cleveland when Bron was here. I think there’s a lot of different things that can happen. Knock on wood for everybody in here, but there’s injuries. Health is a big factor. There’s luck. There’s seeding. There’s who you go get. You look at the West; you may run into the Lakers first round. In the East, you have a lot of talented teams at the 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 spots. There’s no guarantees. You have to go out there and take everything. You have to earn it and work for it and be ready when your bell is called.”
The Cavs are definitely in the mix and will be tough out for any team in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland has a young team, and at age 26, Mitchell is the oldest starter for the Cavs, but they have vets in Danny Green and Ricky Rubio. According to Mitchell, he likes the mix of young and old on this team.
“Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro are really the three out of our starting group, our core group that haven’t been(playoffs),” he said. “With the vets that we have, the guys that we have supporting, I think it’s a great mixture, for sure.”
Can they win a title this season? Probably not, which is not a bad thing. No matter what happens this year, Cleveland’s future is super bright.
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