Today the Cavaliers beat the Clippers 92-79. After two straight losses in the opening season, the Cavaliers have recently won three straight games and won back-to-back victories over the Hawks, Nuggets and Clippers. Today, the Cavaliers' defensive efficiency ranks in the middle of the league, and their offensive efficiency is approaching the top 10. Why did the Cavaliers, who have not even been able to touch the playoffs since James's second departure, be reborn this season?
In this offseason, the Cavaliers showed no signs of rising. They passed by the winner and chose the controversial Evan Mobley in the 3rd overall pick, while exchanging Rubio and sending Nance Jr. in a three-way deal in exchange for Markkanen. At the same time, the Cavaliers also renewed Jarrett Allen's contract.
At the time, none of these operations made much of a splash, and the focus was on whether the Knights would send Sexton and Love. There are even rumors that Sexton is too independent, has been isolated in the team, and has provoked the little Nance who has left Portland to come out to refute the rumors.
In the first two games of the season, the Cavaliers suffered a losing streak, and at that time, the industry also scoffed at the three high starts discharged by coach Bikstaff Jr. But looking back now, the secret of the knight's rise is hidden in the operations of this summer.
The first is Mobley. His performance since the beginning of the season has been well received. In his first four games, he averaged 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 2 blocks per game, shooting 55 percent from the field. He also ranked third in the NBA's official rookie list for the season.
This is followed by Rubio. In fact, after leaving the Jazz, Rubio once faded out of sight, but he made a strong comeback this season, and even played the best season of his NBA career at the age of 31.
In the first four games, Rubio averaged 14.3 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 42.6% from the field and 39.1% from three-point range. His scoring, total shooting percentage, three-point shooting percentage and average three-point shooting per game (5.8) all set career records, and his assists per game were the second highest in his career. In addition, so far this season, Rubio's efficiency value, true shooting rate and usage rate are also career highs.
Point guards like Rubio have always played well, and the beneficiaries are often the big ones on the team, and Allen has to eat and drink this season. In the first four games of the season, Allen averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, and to the surprise of the audience, Allen's shooting rate was as high as 83.8%, a career high. Of course, such results cannot be sustained, but Allen's career-high shooting rate this season is predictable.
Of course, the credit cannot be fully shared on Rubio, and Garland cannot be ignored. Earlier, when the news came out that the Cavaliers were dissatisfied with Sexton, there were rumors that Garland had won the most widespread recognition in the team, and everyone liked to cooperate with Garland, who was not greedy in playing.
So far this season, Garland has averaged just 11 points per game, and his shooting percentage has fallen below 40%, but fortunately, his number of shots has also decreased, so the impact is not large. But at the same time, his average assists per game soared from 6.1 last season to 9.5. Although the sample is too small, having two offensive engines, Garland and Rubio, is a major advantage for the Cavaliers today.
Then look at Sexton, a player who nearly drowned in the fans' spit in the offseason. So far this season, Sexton has added three-point shots and reduced two-point shots, while efficiency remains maintained, with a career-high 57.5 percent true shooting percentage.
Finally, let's talk about Lofford. It can be believed that if it were not for the difficulty of shooting, the Knight would have said goodbye to Love long ago. So far this season, Luck's offensive efficiency is still not good, counting today's game, his three-point shooting is only 3 of 15 shooting, averaging 10.8 points per game is also a career low. But for the Cavaliers, it is already rare that Luck can be willing to serve as a substitute and have no complaints about the average playing time per game that has dropped to the lowest level of his career.
Even if three-pointers are still a problem, and even though Markkanen hasn't found a crosshair yet, the Cavaliers can already sacrifice 10 players for this season (counting Osman and O'Corro). The 10 men averaged more than 15 minutes per game and were distinctive and did their jobs. With such a competitive roster, it's no surprise that the Cavaliers have improved this season.
Many teams have played eye-catching performances this season. But the rise of warriors, bulls and wasps is more or less expected, and the sudden rise of knights gives people a big surprise. (Supine Braces/Hairy)