Eight-and-a-half years.
That’s how long it’s been since the Cleveland Cavaliers last won the NBA Finals. And here we are, in the Fall of 2024, where a completely different Cavs team (except Tristan Thompson) with a completely different identity has a chance to bring home the second championship in franchise history.
Good ol’ nostalgia
The last time this team won a championship (in 2016), it was led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time and the greatest ball handler of all time, respectively, brought a championship home to Cleveland.
They were coached by Tyronn Lue and were a top-heavy, older team. The depth fell dramatically after James, Irving, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, and Tristan Thompson. James and Irving averaged over 50% of the team’s scoring in that year’s finals.
Younger & Deeper
This time around, the Cavs are embracing the youth movement. The Cavs’ best player, Donovan Mitchell, is a 28-year-old shooting guard, and the team’s core is young. Darius Garland is 25, Evan Mobley is 23, Jarrett Allen is 26, and Caris LeVert is 30. The team is also characterized by depth. 10 players are averaging over 18 minutes a game. Compared to the 2016 Cavs’ iso-ball, slow-paced style, this team likes to play much faster with quickness and athleticism. They’re currently 6th in the league in pace of play, as opposed to 27th in 2016.
The team has had a similar core for the past few years. But through minor roster improvements like adding Georges Niang in 2023, and letting the young players develop and mature, the Cavs have significantly improved. They are more ready now than they have ever been since LeBron’s departure to compete for a championship (as shown by their league-leading 18-3 record).
Strength of Schedule will be the real test
It’s still early in the season, and a lot could happen— from roster moves to injuries. In addition, the Cavs’ strength of schedule so far ranks 29th in the league, which means only one team has had an easier schedule so far. However, the Cavs have already knocked off the Warriors (4th in the Western Conference), Knicks (4th in the Eastern Conference), Magic (3rd in the Eastern Conference) and the defending champion Celtics (2nd in the Eastern Conference) this season.
They also almost defeated the defending champion Boston Celtics (who eliminated them last year in five games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals) in their first loss this season on November 19th. While moral victories don’t mean anything on paper, they lost by only three despite Darius Garland being 3/21 from the field that game.
They then proved again that they could hang with the best by avenging that loss on December 1st, defeating the Celtics 115-111 behind another superhuman performance by Donovan Mitchell. This time around, Darius Garland was 5/12 from the field. If the Cavs maintain this level of performance, don’t be surprised to see them hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy for the second time in franchise history.
Leave a comment