With everyone in northeast Ohio caught up in the Browns’ playoff chase, something else has slipped under the radar for sports fans here.
No, not the constant crying of having no money by the Indians’ ownership. But our basketball team has gotten off to a 3-0 start, the first time that has happened since they were the defending NBA champions.
We realize the 76ers did not have all star center Joel Embiid, and the Pistons and Hornets are not in the mix to make a deep playoff run, but still after viewing teams that had little or no direction since LeBron James departed via free agency, it is nice to see a plan and some wins.
The wine and gold are third in the NBA in scoring and lead the league in three point percentage and is third in overall shooting percentage. Can that continue? It’s probably doubtful. But they also lead the league in assists thus far, and after watching a lot of dribbling the past few years, watching this group share the basketball is quite refreshing.
There has also been improvement on the defensive end, which J.B. Bickerstaff promised. Cleveland is 7th in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage after three games. Last season, they finished dead last.
It’s also great to see big people in the lineup and those guys are defending the basket. The Cavs are 21st in blocked shots right now, and while that doesn’t seem to be great, it is an improvement over being last, which is where they were in 2019-20.
We have pointed out the lack of size on the roster since James departed, and while we would still like to see more, it is nice to see Andre Drummond, Larry Nance Jr., and Javale McGee out there challenging opponents driving to the basket.
The young players are getting better too. Collin Sexton is averaging 27.0 points per game on just 18 shots. He’s second on the team in getting to the foul line. He’s not taking that many three point shots.
Now, we know he will not continue to shoot 59% from the floor, but he has continued to play like he did after Bickerstaff took over.
We heard Darius Garland was a star in the fall camp, but didn’t play very well in the exhibition season. But he is off to a great start, scored 19 points and dishing out 8 assists per contest. Again, we don’t think he is going to shoot 50% from beyond the arc like he is right now.
Cedi Osman has adapted to his bench role, playing some of the best basketball of his young career. He’s scoring 15.7 points a night in just 22 minutes of play.
Again, back to the big men. Kevin Love missed pretty much two of the three games, but the bigs still have been outstanding.
Drummond is scoring 20.3 points and grabbing 14.7 boards and forcing turnovers defensively. He has 1.7 blocks and 2.7 steals per game. And he leads the team in getting to the line with 18 free throw attempts.
Nance is playing his typical all around game. He almost had a triple-double on Opening Night, and is averaging 8.7 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists a game. He is probably the best pure passer on the team.
The veteran, McGee, is playing just 17 minutes a game, but is making a huge impact, getting 10 points, five boards, and a blocked shot per game.
Look, the Cavs are shooting very, very well, and that’s not likely to continue. However, the improvement in the young players and the philosophy set down by Bickerstaff, especially on the defensive end shouldn’t change.
This team is better than projected, that’s for sure, and no one should complain about that. Unless you are one of the “we have to tank” brigade.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 