Magnificent transformation of Cleveland. How did an NBA club rise to second place in the East in a month?
Nikita Biryukov February 6, 2024, 11:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The Cavaliers are playing better for the first time without LeBron James!
The regular season of the National Basketball Association continues to delight fans of the orange ball game with interesting matchups every day. In their last match, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings, and not only defeated them, but literally crushed their opponents with a score of 136:110. This victory was the team’s 14th in the last 15 games of the regular season. Simply an incredible transformation compared to the start of the 2023/2024 season.
NBA – regular season
February 6, 2024, Tuesday. 03:00 Moscow time
Cleveland Knights
cleveland
Kings of Sacramento
Sacrament
Cleveland Cavaliers: Mitchell – 29, Stras – 22, Allen – 19, LeVert – 17, Mobley – 11, Garland – 11, Okoro – 10, Merrill – 9, Wade – 6, Niang – 2, Porter, Jones
Sacramento Kings: Barnes – 22, Fox – 19, Monk – 18, Sabonis – 12, Haerter – 10, Murray – 10, Lyles – 7, Duarte – 5, Edwards – 5, Mitchell – 2, McGee, Jones, Ellis, Lazy
What happened at the beginning? Cleveland approached the start of the regular season with all the leaders on the roster, but the team still could not show a clear performance. The team’s coach, JB Bickerstaff, clearly did not prepare his players in the best way for the start of the NBA season. This is also evidenced by six defeats in 10 games at the start. Then things got a little better for the Ohio Club, but Cleveland still couldn’t even get into the top 4, where Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia were firmly established and one team alternated: Orlando, Miami “or any other.
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So what was the transformation like throughout the season? It all started in the new year 2024. The team lost only 2 of 16 games between January 1 and February 6. At the same time, at first Cleveland was helped to accelerate by an easy schedule (two games with Washington and one game with San Antonio and Brooklyn), not the strongest teams. By the way, during this period the club initially played without two leaders – Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, who were recovering from injuries. Now both have returned to action and are helping the Cavaliers show themselves better and better in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland’s remarkable regular season run couldn’t have been accomplished without a significant improvement in the team’s play, and it happened on the defensive end. Even last season, throughout the championship, the Cavaliers alternated with Miami among the best NBA clubs that concede the fewest points. Then, things finally looked up for Cleveland on defense: the top-3 finish in the NBA is 109.7 points. It was thanks to the play in its own half of the field that Bickerstaff’s team managed to take fourth place in the Eastern Conference last season.
Cleveland Knights – Sacramento Kings
Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images
When we talk about Cleveland’s turnaround, we can’t help but mention Donovan Mitchell. The guard influences the team’s offense and defense by being very effective in field goals while he works in his own field in each game. Mitchell is averaging 28.5 points in his last 16 regular season games, making a positive impact on all aspects of the Ohio club’s game.
First of all, when we talk about Cleveland, LeBron James comes to mind, but now, with the help of Mitchell, the club’s best achievement without LeBron in the lineup is established. The team is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 32-16. This is the best win-loss ratio in Cleveland history (66.7% wins) since James was in the NBA without playing for the Ohio club. This fact only reinforces the idea that the Cavaliers are now unrealistically good and in just a month have become a top team. I wonder if the team can maintain its form until the playoffs to avoid repeating last year’s surprise with the New York Knicks in the first round.
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