The Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 131-122 on Nov. 6, en route to a 9-0 start, with Donovan Mitchell leading the way for Cleveland with a 29-point effort. Jarrett Allen also had a good showing with a 14-rebound-16-point double double.
This start is the best start in Cleveland Cavaliers history, eclipsing the 8-0 start set by the 1976-77 squad led by Austin Carr. Although the Cavs were supposed to be among the best teams of the east this year, this start was in a lot of ways, quite unexpected.
The Cavaliers went on to further their franchise-best start to 11-0 with a blowout win over Golden State on Nov. 8 and a close win over Brooklyn on Nov. 9 and furthered it to 12-0 with another close win over Chicago on Nov. 11.
This win made them just the 8th team in the NBA’s 78-season history to have a 12-0 starting record, and this also means they have the best start since the Warriors’s Incredible 24-0 start at the beginning of the 2015-16 NBA season, which really says something about their success.
In addition, according to ESPN, five out of the seven teams that went at least 12-0 to start their respective seasons reached the NBA Finals. Should the Cavaliers reach the finals, this would be their first-ever finals appearance without LeBron, and they would have a chance to win their second title in franchise history.
Cleveland’s “Core Four” comprising Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, which runs by a very unique two-guard-two-big set up, has been an absolute juggernaut on both sides of the floor this year. They’ve been able to come through in every single situation they’ve been in this year, ranging from the biggest victories to the slimmest of margins, and even late come-from-behind wins when it looks as if the Cavs will finally be silenced.
According to Cavs fansite fearthesword.com, Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson usually has the Cavaliers playing in one of two different configurations: either all four of the Core Four are on the floor, or two of them are. They usually start and finish their games with the Core Four on the court, unless the game is already out-of-reach and decided.
This Core Four accounts for over a quarter of their possessions, excluding garbage time. This recipe has been instrumental in their performance so far, since it helps evenly distribute the minutes to all that make a strong impact on the game. Cleveland also has one of the best benches in the entire league, with notable players such as Ty Jerome, Caris Levert and Georges Niang.
“It’s definitely pleasantly surprising,” Cavs fan Alex Bravo said on Nov. 14 “However, I don’t think it’ll last much longer. Our schedule has been relatively weak aside from the Warriors. I think it will end within the next three games.”
Bravo’s prediction about the Cavs winning streak turned out to be true. The Cavaliers went on to beat Chicago and Charlotte, but then finally lost their 16th game of the season at Boston. Regardless, they have already achieved way more than anyone would expect.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics aren’t far behind the Cavs, with a 17-4 record at publication. They’re coming off a NBA finals victory from last season, and they are considered by many to be one of the best teams in the league. Boston will definitely be Cleveland’s biggest challenge so far this season, and most definitely will be their greatest challenge come playoff time.
At publication, the Cavs are 18-3 after two losses to Atlanta, but they will face off again against the reigning-champion Boston Celtics in Cleveland on Dec. 1. This will be their opportunity to redeem themselves from their loss against Boston last Tuesday.
Bravo predicts that the Cavs will face a tough matchup against Boston in the playoffs.
“It would be very close,” he said. “But as long as everyone’s healthy for us, I think we’ll have a very competitive series against Boston, and we will win in 6 or 7 games.”
With this historic Cavs start, it sure does seem like a championship-or-bust season.
