Here’s the stat that should make Cavaliers fans the most optimistic: Each of the other three teams that started at least 15-0 made the NBA Finals that season. Only one team in NBA history — the 73-win 2015-16 Golden State Warriors — started a season with a longer winning streak than these Cavaliers.
Tonight, that streak may be broken by the one team in the East that looks like it could break the trend of history and keep the Cavaliers from the Finals: The Boston Celtics.
Cleveland at Boston is the biggest game on the schedule so far this season – and this is a critical NBA Cup game (one Boston needs to win to have a chance to advance out of the playoffs, and one Cleveland needs to keep pace with Atlanta in the East Group 3). There’s a lot to this game—it’s time to discuss it.
Are the Knights for real?
Yes.
Variations of “Are the Cavs real?” is the question I’ve gotten the most this season — in sports talk radio and broadcast appearances, as well as from casual hoops fans and friends — and my answer is the same: This is no fluke.
While these Cavaliers have bought into new coach Kenny Atkinson’s system in a way we haven’t seen in Cleveland in recent years, remember, the Cavs have been good for a few years. Cleveland finished fourth in the East each of the last two seasons — with a top-six defense — despite injuries and an old-school, sometimes stagnant offense.
The questions coming into the season were how good they could be if healthy, if their defense continued to play well, and if new coach Kenny Atkinson put some speed and movement into the offense.
Turns out, very good.
Under Atkinson, the Cavaliers have the best offense in the league, with a key part of that being the team shooting an arguably unsustainable 41.9% on 3-pointers. Darius Garland is having a rebound season and has found a fit next to the team’s leading scorer, Donovan Mitchell (something that was never smooth sailing in previous seasons).
However, the biggest change in Cleveland’s offense is big man Evan Mobley taking a step forward – he’s become an offensive starter. He grabs the rebound and pushes the speed up the court himself, and in the half court is the ball handler in some reverse pick-and-rolls at night (where one of the guards sets the pick). His scoring stats are up a bit this season (18.1 points per game), but dive into the tracking numbers and it’s clear that he has the ball in his hands a lot more and drives a lot more often. He is an aggressive initiator in the offense that opened up everything for his teammates. His step forward changed the offense and made the Cavaliers a force.
Boston is poised to end the Cavs streak Tuesday night
The Boston Celtics are still the team to beat in the East – they have a brand new banner in the rafters to prove it. The Celtics are 11-3 with the No. 2 offense and the No. 10 defense in the NBA coming into the game, winning games despite Kristaps Porzingis yet to play a game and Jaylen Brown missing part of the season due to injury.
However, the defending champions looked flat for parts of the season. Outside of destroying the Knicks opening night and a few flashes, the Celtics often played like a team with a championship hangover. A team looking for motivation.
They have it on Tuesday night.
Although it’s a little early in the season for a message game, this one has the feel of it – the Celtics want to remind everyone that the road to the Larry O’Brien Trophy goes through Boston. These are the defending NBA champions with their best seven players in the rotation behind (still waiting for Porzingis).
Boston, with Tatum and Brown (and Derrick White), matches up well with Cleveland’s backcourt, which will put even more pressure on Mobley to have a big game as an offensive creator and difference maker (Mobley will likely see Tatum on him for long stretches. the game).
This is a huge NBA Cup game.
For the Celtics, this is a must win. Going into the NBA Cup, the expectation was that Boston or Cleveland would win Group C and the others would advance as a wild card, but then Boston was upset by Atlanta in their NBA Cup opener. The only way Boston has to advance out of group play is to win out and in the process pick up a blowout win or two to boost its point differential (a key tie in the NBA Cup). Fall to 0-2 with a loss to Cleveland and their NBA Cup hopes are dashed.
Cleveland is 1-0 in bowl play, and a win over Boston sets up a clash with 2-0 Atlanta to decide the group (with the loser reduced to fighting for the wild card spot).
It all makes this a must-see early-season game.
One where the Cavaliers have a chance to make history while the Celtics can remind everyone of the history they made last June.
