One loss can’t dim Cavs' blazing start
- col-aaron-dorksen
- November 20, 2024
- 76
A few thoughts from the week in sports …
The Cleveland Cavaliers are no fluke!
The Cavs’ franchise-best 15-0 start to a season was snapped in a 120-117 loss at the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics on Nov. 19, but man, oh man, did Cleveland fight.
Despite Boston seemingly making 3-pointers look like layups — 14-for-22 in the first half — and building a 21-point lead, the Cavs never folded.
Cleveland’s 15-0 start to the season matched the 1993-94 Houston Rockets and 1948-49 Washington Capitals for the second best starts in league history. Only the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (24-0), who lost to the Cavs in the NBA Finals, got out of the gate hotter.
The Cavs battled the Celtics tooth and nail despite guard Darius Garland shooting a woeful 3-for-21 from the floor and finishing with eight points.
Right now Boston is simply a better team. They move the ball with incredible speed and accuracy and always seem to find the open man. The Celtics also play great defense.
The Celtics connected on 22 three-pointers in the game, and most of those shots followed assists to wide-open players who had their feet set and delivered catch-and-shoot trifectas.
Too many of the Cavs’ triple tries resulted after tougher-to-convert dribble moves. Boston has the best collection of perimeter defenders in the league and makes it extremely tough to get open 3-point looks.
If the teams meet again in the playoffs, that will continue to be an issue for Garland and Donovan Mitchell unless first-year coach Kenny Atkinson can draw up some new schemes.
Kenny’s a key
Sometimes a change of leadership helps, but it’s been a lot more than that with Atkinson. Even though JB Bickerstaff was widely regarded as a good guy, the Cavs are playing with renewed energy and a much more modern, up-tempo approach.
The Cavs have most of the same players who were under the tutelage of Bickerstaff, fired after a second-round playoff exit last season.
What I’ve witnessed from watching games and from reports I’ve read, Atkinson has vastly sped up the team’s pace and plays a lot more guys.
Atkinson believes the team has a deep bench, and over the course of a long season, they’ll benefit from developing more depth. Mitchell bought in, even though his minutes will go down some, and everyone else has followed suit.
Cleveland entered the Celtics game ranked No. 1 in the league in offense. They were third in 3-pointers attempted and first in 3-point percentage.
That means the Cavs are looking to move the ball quickly and take the first good shot. After that, they’re crashing the boards.
It’s a lot different than Bickerstaff’s methodical, close-spaced, low-speed scheme of past years when Mitchell and Garland did far too much dribbling.
Additionally, Atkinson has successfully challenged Mobley to step up his game offensively, as a scorer and passer. Jarrett Allen continues to thrive as a reliable double-double man in the middle.
Role players like Caris Lavert, Ty Jerome, Georges Niang, Sam Merrill, Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade have been given more freedom and responded. This should help keep the Core Four — Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen — fresher for the playoffs.
The 7-foot twin towers Mobley and Allen have upped their games even more. Mobley has been called a “unicorn” since entering the league because there are few, if any, players with a similar all-around skillset.
Entering the season, I thought the Cavaliers probably looked like a second-round playoff team at best. My expectations have clearly changed. Atkinson has Cleveland in the fast lane to make a serious charge in the Eastern Conference.
However, the East is super tough. Make no mistake: the Knicks, 76ers, Magic and Bucks also could get hot and challenge the Celtics and Cavs.
The Cavs are certainly a team worth checking out, even if you have not followed the NBA much in recent years. They share the basketball, play hard all the time and have fun doing it.
Parting shots
The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight was about as unworthy of the hype as anything I’ve watched since Geraldo Rivera went into Al Capone’s vault looking for treasure in a 1986 program that drew 30 million viewers.
I still remember watching that show as a teenager for more than an hour, hoping to see something really cool.
All the red-faced Rivera found was some trash and a few empty bottles.
Paul’s win over the 58-year-old Tyson in an eight-round decision provided about as much drama as Rivera’s search. It was the least action I’ve ever seen in a main-event boxing match.
I think almost all of us wanted Iron Mike to win, but it was quickly evident Father Time wasn’t going to let that happen. Good for Tyson to complete the eight-round dance card at age 58, but I’m certain Paul took it easy on him by not pummeling him in the later rounds.
Paul admitted as much, telling reporters he “didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.”
The duo glazed each other with compliments after the bout and then laughed all the way to the bank. Paul reportedly made $40 million, and Tyson pocketed $20 million.
It was the most-streamed global sporting event ever, with 65 million live concurrent streams and 108 million total live viewers around the world, according to a Netflix release.
Katie Taylor’s controversial undercard win over Amanda Serrano was a fantastic fight. It averaged 74 million live global viewers, the most-watched professional women’s sporting event ever in the U.S. with 47 million viewers, the company said.
—Congrats to Division VI Dalton and Div. VII Hillsdale on advancing to football regional finals on Nov. 22. The No. 2-seeded Falcons, who completed two Hail Mary TD passes to defeat Malvern 50-48, will face No. 9 Cuyahoga Heights at Orrville.
No. 6 Dalton, which defeated New Middletown Springfield 25-0, will take on No. 1 Kirtland at North Royalton.