Donovan Mitchell Was a Big Bet for the Cavaliers. This Is Why It Is Effective.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were possibly the NBA’s most improved club the previous campaign. Cleveland improved to 44-38, the second-largest season-to-season improvement in winning percentage behind the Minnesota Timberwolves, after going just 22-50 during the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season. Additionally, the Cavs outperformed the competition in terms of progress per possession, as evidenced by a 10.8-point surge in their net rating, which was 2.7 points higher per 100 possessions than any other team.
lthough that hasn’t fully manifested itself in FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR-based prediction model (we still call for Cleveland to fall just shy of 50 wins), the Cavs currently have the NBA’s fourth-best record (16-9), with the point differential of an 18-7 team, and they’re one of just four teams ranked inside the top 10 on both offense and defense.2 Let’s dig into what’s driving that success, as well as some things that could tip the scales toward the Cavs leveling up even further.
It may come as a surprise given that observers had the greatest doubts about the defensive end of the court following the Mitchell deal, but the Cavaliers’ defence is currently the strongest in basketball. Throughout his first three NBA seasons, Garland was a terrible defender, and Mitchell had significantly regressed in that regard. Given that neither of the players is rated as taller than 6-foot-1, Cleveland usually has a significant size disadvantage in the backcourt.
