The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Tuesday on a six-game winning streak, taking a 19-20 record and turning it into a 25-20 mark that has them approaching the Chicago Bulls for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Although they are still a whopping 12 games out of first place in the Eastern Conference – if you can believe that – they are finally starting to look like a dominant, cohesive unit. It’s taken them a long time to get here but this roster has come together and is looking like the team many of us thought we’d see.
Here’s why they are clicking right now.
LeBron Looks Like LeBron Again
This is the fundamental reason for the Cavs’ resurgence and their transformation into a team with swagger. LeBron has to lead for this team to be great and to carry itself like the Eastern Conference champion it can still be. He has to be the player who pulls his teammates along – not necessarily in terms of having to do all the work, but in terms of doing the most meaningful work, scoring the biggest baskets, setting the right example and refusing to lose games to mediocre teams.
LeBron has stepped forward with multiple games of more than 30 points during this six-game stretch. And in the games where he hasn’t scored 30, he has been efficient, handing out nine assists on one night and collecting four steals on defense. He is shooting at a fairly high percentage in these games (close to 50 percent) and seems to have explosiveness in his legs, a welcome product of his extended injury break. It was wise for LeBron to not overextend himself during the regular season at the expense of a few games. After taking a midseason rest, he now looks fresh and Cleveland is reaping the benefits of that decision.
New Pieces Are Contributing
It is true that J.R. Smith might ultimately be a negative for the Cavaliers given that he can shoot teams out of games and take possessions that should be going to other players (chiefly LeBron). However, Smith is contributing to this rise by the Cavs, scoring 20 against Chicago a week ago and 14 in a win over Oklahoma City this past Sunday. He’s an active scorer who is currently taking away the scoring burden from other role players.
The other piece who is making his presence felt as a newcomer in Cleveland is Timofey Mozgov, sent from the Denver Nuggets in a trade. Mozgov has already produced a couple of double-doubles, dropping 15 points and 15 rebounds against Chicago last week. He also came up with a 14-point, 10-rebound game later in the week. He’s giving this team active defense and plenty of rebounding and proved his physicality too on Sunday when he mixed it up with Kendrick Perkins and drew a technical foul. Coach David Blatt worked with Mozgov when he coached the Russian team and now he seems to be pushing the right buttons again to get the most out of him.
While many people scoffed at the Cavs trading a pair of first-rounders for him, he’s been a great addition along with Smith. While these moves were originally labeled as desperation heaves, they now look like they are paying dividends.
Kyrie Irving Is Making Better Decisions
Irving still needs to play better defense but you’ll note that Cleveland has scored at least 106 points in all six wins during this streak. The Cavaliers are better on offense and are fulfilling their potential at long last because Irving is learning how to play the position better. He’s played multiple games during this stretch in which he’s committed only one turnover while handing out 5.3 assists per game. He had a great game against the Bulls, giving up just one turnover while dishing out 12 dimes, which shows that he’s starting to find his groove. That’s the kind of player who will make this team and this offense run smoothly.
