Cavaliers notch another win with rally vs. Nets, but a difficult stretch looms

New York Times

12-03-2025

CLEVELAND — During All-Star weekend in San Francisco, I approached a Cleveland Cavaliers executive to congratulate him on what was already a tremendous, historic regular season for his team.
We were at a gathering of hundreds of people in a hotel ballroom. There were rows of food along the walls and in the middle of the floor, with gourmet coffee bars and whole stations devoted to Ghiradelli chocolates against the walls. I was headed for the breakfast sausage and biscuits when I spotted the Cavs exec, we stopped, shook hands, and I said things like 'hell of a season so far' and ' seems like a great trade for De'Andre Hunter,' you know, sweet nothings that also happened to be true.
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The executive, who I won't name because neither he nor I expected there would be quotes from the conversation, thanked me and was otherwise gracious in his response, but did happen to say that cautious optimism was the order of the day.
'Always keep in mind the basketball gods can get you,' he mentioned as we parted ways. It struck me when he said it at the time, and I couldn't quite place why — you know, the way a statement or sentence stops you in your tracks and makes you think?
Well, the Cavs haven't lost since. Yet another dazzling victory was forged Tuesday night, this time overcoming an 18-point deficit in the third quarter with three key players out to beat the Brooklyn Nets, 109-104. That's 15 consecutive wins for Cleveland, for the second time this SEASON! Only five other teams in NBA history have compiled separate winning streaks of at least 15 games in the same year.
Almost as an aside, the Cavs have won 19 of their last 20 and, at 55-10 with 17 games to go, 70 wins is not out of the question.
As they continued to pile up the wins, put distance between themselves and the Boston Celtics, and, heck, beat the Celtics in Boston, sitting at these games I've realized what it was about the 'basketball gods' that turned a light on for me.
Up until now, the basketball gods have largely left the Cavs alone. There haven't been any truly serious problems, no major injuries to any key players (I HATE to say that, worrying about a jinx, but it's a fact), no troubling losing streaks, and, as far as we know, not one whiff of tension in the locker room or issues between a coach and a player.
'There hasn't been anything close to like (a) crisis, or, 'man we've gotta change things up,'' Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said, before adding, 'every test that's been put in front of us, I think we've done a darn … what are we batting, 98 percent, right? A few stumbles. We're going through it.'
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Look, the Cavs have, to a large degree, earned the harmony they've enjoyed this season. There was a three-game losing streak toward the end of January, and before that, they had a brief period of three losses in five games, but starting the season 15-0, like Cleveland did, and beating both the Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, like the Cavs did, muted any alarms that may have sounded during those few bumps in the road.
Donovan Mitchell has put the team before his own personal statistics and given Evan Mobley room to flourish. And by the way, Darius Garland is again comfortable playing alongside Mitchell in Cleveland's offense. Atkinson has the trust of his players not only for the schemes, but his managing of the rotation. No player is overused and at least 10 players see significant minutes every night.
Injuries, well, no one can control those, and yes Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro, two bench players, have missed longer stretches this season.
Anyway, what I am getting at is, just about every team, every year, goes through something difficult. Just think about the last, I don't know, six Cavs teams that were really good. Dating back to 2014, when LeBron James took two weeks off just to get away from David Blatt, to the following year, when they won it all, but not until they fired Blatt even though they were in first place in the East at 30-11. The third year of the second LeBron era there were large periods of coasting and inattention on defense, and in the final year, Koby Altman needed to trade half the roster at the deadline (there was a ton of stuff that went wrong that season).
The past two years, in this new era of good Cavs basketball, the organization has dealt with major tension in the locker room between players and then-head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, significant injuries to Garland, Mobley and Jarrett Allen, a bad knee for Mitchell, and post-All-Star slides that tested fans' patience and the team's mettle.
Those episodes were frustrating at the time, but they also built character.
'This team went through it last year, that Orlando series, Game 7,' Atkinson said. 'It's not like we are a green team, a team without experience. We have a ton of experience. We've had huge games this year, we'll continue to have huge games.
'You don't know until you're in the thick of it,' Atkinson continued. 'It's deeper in the playoffs and you gotta get big wins on the road. Down the road we'll see how we respond. I'm very confident in this team's mental toughness.'
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If those basketball gods are going to come calling during the regular season, keep an eye on the next two weeks. The win over the Nets was characteristic of the Cavs' season, but for three quarters it did not look like things would go that way.
On Friday, Cleveland plays at Memphis, a team that will be looking for revenge. Then, there's a 1 p.m. home game Sunday against Orlando, followed by a trip out West that starts Tuesday at the Intuit Dome against the Clippers. There's a game the next night in Sacramento. The travel, the rapid fire of the games, and the opponents — after an abnormally successful, but nevertheless long season — could stand as a significant test.
Mitchell didn't play Tuesday with what the Cavs called left groin soreness. If you were just checking the internet and saw Mitchell was out against Brooklyn, a team that is not likely going to reach the postseason, and you add that to Cleveland's lead in the East, you might've chalked this up as a rest situation.
But Atkinson said Mitchell tweaked his groin during Friday's win over Charlotte, and after struggling to shoot (4-for-15) in the win Sunday against Milwaukee, Mitchell was added to the injury report Tuesday afternoon and ultimately held out.
All 30 NBA teams have fewer than 20 games left this season.
We bring you back to the blackboard with grades for the NBA season's third quarter ⤵️https://t.co/IS0IKu1h7I
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 11, 2025
'Definitely not a huge deal,' Atkinson said. 'We are on the side of caution.'
Let's take Mitchell's absence, for now, as a precautionary measure. But we know how serious groin injuries can turn — just ask the Lakers with LeBron.
I was going to point out some health concerns with Allen and Garland, and then of course they both went crazy against the Nets.
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Allen has a right hand injury, suffered last month against the Knicks. There are shots he takes left-handed now because of the pain. But with Mitchell, Hunter (sick) and Ty Jerome (rest) out on Tuesday, Allen went off for 23 points, 13 rebounds — and shot 9-for-11 from the foul line (all right-handed).
Garland was also injured that night against the Knicks, even missed a couple games afterwards, with a sore hip. He hadn't shot well since, and at one point against Brooklyn was 2-of-11 in the game. So, naturally, he scored 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, finished 11-for-24 shooting, with eight assists, again with those other key scorers out … well, how can we say there is cause for concern now?
If the Cavs sail through this next little stretch as they have through every other one this season, there will be a real discussion to be had about becoming the third team in NBA history to compile 70 wins. Would that pursuit of greatness, or, a subsequent little downturn in March or early April, prepare them for what we're all waiting for — a knock-down, drag out Eastern Conference finals against Boston the second half of May?
Perhaps that part is up to the gods.