CLEVELAND, Ohio — NBA commissioner Adam Silver will award a trophy next week, but basketball’s best team can’t win it. Weird, right?
The Cleveland Cavaliers (21-4), the story of this season’s first two months, are watching from home during the NBA Cup quarterfinals. Two group stage losses kept the Cavs from advancing, and this all sounds silly until you realize how serious basketball business is conducted.
Look, I’m the last person to tell you this made-up tournament means anything. Last year’s winner — the L.A. Lakers — got swept in Round 1 of the playoffs. And two of last year’s group stage losers — the Mavericks and Timberwolves — made the conference finals. But amid Cleveland’s awesome start, their four-day hiatus this week re-hashes a sobering NBA perspective:
A few bad games can ruin a good season.
Who am I telling? Cleveland fans can speak from experience after five playoff games against the Knicks ruined 51 regular season wins two years ago. And the Cavs changed coaches despite 48 more victories, plus a playoff series win in 2023-24.
The good news, through 25 games, is that new coach Kenny Atkinson has proven himself a perfect fit for the Cavs’ bigger vision. Fourth-year center Evan Mobley (career-high 18.3 points per game) walks another step closer to stardom every night. Former All-Star guard Darius Garland (20.5 points, 6.5 assists, career-low 2.3 turnovers per game) looks more like himself this year. Crucially, the Cavs’ offensive rating with Mobley and fellow center Jarrett Allen on the court together (121.7 points per 100 possessions) would rank first in the league over a full season (Cleveland ranks second overall).
But as we know, 25 regular-season games proves nothing without playoff success. It should be noted that Cleveland owns the third-weakest strength of schedule to this point in the season. It should concern fans that the Cavs’ 3-point defense ranks 24th in the league. And we should remember that Atkinson has not yet encountered the biggest problems he was hired to fix.
The 2022-23 Cavs had a top 10 offense ... until the postseason, where they ranked last. Last year’s team ranked top five in offensive rating during their scorching winter stretch ... but 14th out of 16 teams during the playoffs. Atkinson has unlocked the best regular-season version of this roster, and he deserves coach of the year consideration as a result.
Beyond that, though? We can’t say much until the spring.
I don’t mean to discredit the Cavs’ early-season accomplishments. From Mobley’s emergence to Garland’s resurgence, and from two-big success to 12-man depth, this team is checking several important playoff boxes during the regular season. Fans should enjoy the winning product because NBA nihilism is no fun.
But a dose of reality is required to win big, and we’re speaking from experience again. The Knicks’ playoff loss hurt fans and embarrassed players. Firing a successful coach made this front office feel uncomfortable. But both difficult conversations made the Cavs a better team.
Let’s remember those lessons at 21-4 with no team closer than two wins behind. Let’s recall it again once Silver hands somebody else the NBA Cup while Cleveland watches from home next week. And let’s keep the NBA’s cruel reality in mind as the Cavs chase a higher standard.
The best team through 25 games — or even 82 — wins nothing. Losing the wrong couple games sends you home.