Watch out Eastern Conference, here come the Cavs.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are on a roll. This week, 3 games, 3 wins. In January, the Cavs are 7-1 and winners of 7 straight games. Let that sink in. Despite missing Evan Mobley and Darius Garland since mid-December, the boys have put themselves back in contention for a top 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. How, you say? Well, to put it simply, defense and rebounding. The Cavs are also taking advantage of favorable January opponents, but you can only play the games that are on the schedule.
Next week, the Wine & Gold play 3 more games against Eastern Conference opponents, but if this week is any indication, it shouldn’t be a problem. But before all that, let’s recap the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Cavs week #12.
The Good
Spida: In the last 3 games, Donovan Mitchell averaged 36.7 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, and 6.7 assists per game (not including the Atlanta game). He also has been shooting 54% from the field and 40% from 3-point range. The Point Mitchell experiment seems to be working. With Darius Garland coming back soon, the ball-handling duties are presumably going back to DG, but that is an issue for another day.
The Bad
Rivals getting upgrades: If you haven’t heard, Pascal Siakam was traded from Toronto to the rival Pacers. The two-time All-Star will bolster the offensive prowess of Indiana, but hopefully, their dreadful defense will keep them in the Play-in spots. Two weeks before that, the Knicks acquired OG Anunoby from Toronto as well. Both of these trades show that there is a race for the #4 seed and home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference. The question becomes, will the Cavs make a move before the trade deadline?
The Ugly
All-Star voting: As of today, Donovan Mitchell is 4th in voting for Eastern Conference guards. As for other Cavs… nothing. Jarrett Allen has been one of the best big men in the Eastern Conference for the last 8 weeks. Yet, he has not been getting any love for All-Star voting. He’s not even in the top 10 for Frontcourt players. Let’s hope the coaches in the NBA can add JA to the Eastern Conference reserves for ASG Indy.
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