There is no team to stop Cleveland’s rise.
The Cleveland Cavaliers won 136-110 against the Sacramento Kings in the 2023-2024 NBA regular season game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio on the 6th (Korea time).
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The victory pushed Cleveland to the second place in the Eastern Conference after winning six consecutive games.
The Eastern Conference has been a two-way race between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics throughout this season. There is a crack in this structure. Boston is still the No. 1 player in the NBA, and Cleveland broke this structure while Milwaukee recently slowed down.
Cleveland is the strongest in the NBA at this point in time, not only with six straight wins but also 15 wins in its last 16 games.
What is surprising is that during the upturn, two main players of the team left. Darius Garland, the main point guard, and Evan Mobley, the key big man, left due to injuries. The two players recently announced their return, and Cleveland’s power has become stronger.
Donovan Mitchell is the biggest contributor to Cleveland’s rise. Mitchell has been dominating throughout the season.
Mitchell, who averaged 28.2 points and 6.4 assists this season, has continued his steady performance throughout the season, unlike his backcourt partner Garland who has fluctuated. Without Mitchell, Cleveland would have never been able to achieve good performance.
Mitchell has been leading Cleveland’s offense throughout the game, displaying selfless offense that not only scores his own goals but also allows teammates to play. Of course, Mitchell is on his own during clutch time. Cleveland is like giving Mitchell the ball in a clutch situation and leaving everything to him.
If there is Mitchell on the outside, there is Jarrett Allen under the basket. Allen is a pillar that keeps Mobley firmly under the basket both when he leaves due to injury and when he plays together.
Allen is averaging a double-double this season with 15.5 points and 10.7 rebounds, and his fielding success rate has reached a whopping 64.6 percent. Allen’s real value lies in defense, not offense. It relieves Mobley’s physical burden in defense and covers Garland and Mitchell’s defense.
Max Struss, a former player of the team, is also a big hit. Struss, who played for the Miami Heat and became one of the NBA’s top three-point shooter, moved to another team last summer by signing a four-year, 64 million-dollar contract with Cleveland.
Cleveland continues to play a steady role as a three-point shooter similar to Miami. Unlike Miami, where Duncan Robinson existed, Cleveland was a team without a clear three-point shooter. He is performing similarly to his performance in Miami, but he is bound to be even more valuable in Cleveland.
The leadership of JB Bickerstaff is also important. Bickerstaff was constantly criticized by fans. In the last season, he was helplessly eliminated by the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, sparking public criticism.
However, this season is different. Coach Bickerstaff actively used bench resources to play depth basketball, which became the driving force behind Cleveland’s rise. He also made use of promising players such as Sam Merrill and Craig Porter Jr. No Cleveland fans would criticize Bickerstaff this season.
마카오토토도메인 The hottest NBA team at the moment is Cleveland. The key is how far this rise can continue.