With their win over Orlando on Tuesday, the Cavaliers are now 48-10 on the season, matching their 2023/24 season win total with 24 games still left to play, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required). However, that wasn’t a milestone that the team and head coach Kenny Atkinson felt was worth celebrating.
“In our locker room, amongst us, no one is talking about our record,” Atkinson said after the victory, per Fedor. “Focused on trying to prepare for these playoffs. Championship mentality.”
As Fedor writes, it took the Cavaliers seven hard-fought games to sneak by the Magic in the first round of last spring’s playoffs. Their 122-82 beat-down of the Magic in Orlando on Tuesday night served as a reminder of how far the Cavs have come in less than a year and how much higher their expectations are now.
“We’re not going to talk around it. We want to win a championship,” guard Ty Jerome said. “That’s our goal. If that’s not your goal, why come to training camp? I don’t think there’s any added pressure. A lot of good teams in this league. One day at a time. Continue to do what we do.
“… We have a special group,” Jerome continued. “This is my fourth team, and you don’t find this often in the NBA. We all have individual goals, but winning is at the forefront of our mind and we all want to see each other succeed. We are genuinely happy for each other. You don’t find that a lot in the NBA. Just not taking that for granted. It’s special. Don’t want it to pass you by.”
Here’s more on the Cavaliers, whose current eight-game winning streak is just their third-longest of the season:
- Among Eastern Conference rivals, the Celtics are the biggest obstacle in the way of a Cavaliers title. Cleveland is 1-2 against the defending champs so far this season and is looking forward to the fourth and final regular season matchup between the two teams on Friday in Boston, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “We still have to prove we can beat them, beat them at their place,” Atkinson said. “I think we go in there, kind of guns blazing, go for the win, whatever it takes, throw everything at them. And then after that game, we can kind of step back and say, ‘Hey, what can we do in the playoffs?'”
- Darius Garland, who has missed Cleveland’s past two games due to a left hip contusion, is aiming to back in the lineup on Friday vs. the Celtics, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link).
- While Javonte Green likely won’t play a major role in the playoffs for the Cavaliers, adding him on the buyout market is part of the team’s broader effort to “stockpile wings,” Vardon writes for The Athletic. As Vardon writes, it’s rare for a championship team to start two smaller guards like Garland and Donovan Mitchell, but the Cavs’ plethora of wings helps the team protect its smaller backcourt, especially during the minutes when just one of Garland or Mitchell is on the floor.
Cleveland is not that close to the Celtics yet. Maybe one more year of seasoning.
That Celtics back court runs circles around the Cavs guards, and I’m not a huge fan of Jarrett Allen either. I could be wrong but when push comes to shove, He just seems like he will think of himself first before considering the team needs.
But.., the pick up of Hunter is huge. Definitely closes the gap a little.
Cavs are the most balance team in the NBA. Since Kenny is their coach I wouldn’t say inexperience will be a factor. If both teams are healthy it will be a great series.
I gotta say, I’ve been a fan of the Celtics for a LONG time and I gotta say I wish I had your confidence. Cleveland is tough.
Should be a fantastic game on Friday night. I’ll definitely tune in. Mental psyche aside, Cleveland needs this game more than Boston. Boston’s been coasting all season while Cleveland is playing with hunger and cohesiveness. Home court for Boston won’t matter since they KNOW they can and have beaten Cleveland in Rocket Arena. It’ll come down to the stars as it typically does in most sports. Tatum/Brown versus Mitchell and Garland (if he’s cleared to play).
FWIW, I got Boston Friday night, but it’ll be a competitive game the entire 48 mins.
The Boston vs Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals is far, far from a certainty. If Mitchell Robinson is healthy, the whole dynamic changes for the Knicks defensively. If Jalen Suggs comes back healthy, the whole dynamic changes again for Orlando, especially defensively. Orlando looked like a potential Conference finalist before Banchero, Wagner and then Suggs went out. A healthy Giannis has Milwaukee looking very much like a potential conference finalist. Bobby Portis comes back with 5 games left in the season. Do you think Portis will be motivated???? Lillard and AJ Green are capable of winning a game or two with three’s. Cleveland will have a very, very hard time surviving a battle with Milwaukee and Giannis in the 2nd round. I wouldn’t look forward to playing any of these guys in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Playoff basketball and Regular Season basketball are not the same.
You said ALL of last year the Celtics weren’t gonna win. You said they were going to lose every single playoff series they were in.
It was funny AF.
Thanks for your analysis.