The Cleveland Cavaliers have a long way to go to win their first NBA championship with somebody other than LeBron James leading them.
But anybody doubting them as legitimate title contenders this season should reference Friday’s dominance at American Airlines Center.
Granted, it was against the Mavericks missing their superstar backcourt of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, but the Cavaliers looked like the team with the best record in the NBA as they took charge early and cruised to a 134-122 victory.
It pushes the Mavericks’ losing streak to four games while the Cavaliers now have won their last nine and own a 30-4 ledger. Only the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (32-2) have had a better record after 34 games than the Cavaliers this season, although several other teams also have been 30-4.
The best news for the Mavericks is that help is on the way. They will get Naji Marshall back on Monday at Memphis as Friday’s game was the last of a four-game NBA suspension for his role in the Phoenix fracas last week.
‘We got off to a good start and the turnovers there, they go on a 20-0 run, but the group stayed together, kept fighting,” coach Jason Kidd said. “The group played hard. I thought Q (Quentin Grimes) was good, so a lot of positive things to build on. We know that we get Marshall back so we get a little healthier there and we have to go find a way to win in Memphis.”
The Cavaliers gave a great example of why they are where they are in the standings. They scored 20 points in a row bridging the first and second quarters and really never looked back as Evan Mobley paced them with 34 points and 10 rebounds.
The Mavericks, after trailing by 27 in the third quarter, made several cursory runs at Cleveland, but never got the margin below 10 points until the deep reserves displayed a lot of hustle in the final minutes.
The Mavericks were able to hang relatively close thanks to Brandon Williams, one of their players on a two-way contract, who showed great energy during his 20 minutes, in which he had 13 points. Also Grimes was strong offensively with 26 points and Jaden Hardy had 17.
But the firepower overall just wasn’t there. When Caris LeVert made an over the shoulder drive and converted a three-point play, the Cavs’ lead was back to 116-97 with 8:20 to go. Grimes started his NBA career in the Eastern Conference and said the Cavaliers have a different look to them now.
“They’re playing a lot faster,” he said. “Being in New York the last three years, and playing against them, they’re a lot faster, there’s not a lot of (isolation) ball with them. There’s not a lot of selfish play over there. They all can shoot, drive and pass. When the whole team is pretty unselfish, it makes them a tough guard out there, for sure.”
So the Mavericks fell to 20-15 and of those 35 games, here’s the rundown of games that players have missed:
Dončić, 13 games; Irving, 5; Naji Marshall, 9; Dereck Lively II, 8; P.J. Washington, 7; Klay Thompson, 5; Maxi Kleber, 12.
“It’s tough,” Grimes said. “We know how good we are at full strength. We just got to hold it down however long Luka’s out or Kai’s out. We get Naji back, so that will be a big help. We just got to come together everytime on the court.”
A large portion of those games missed came because of the bug that has been biting just about everybody in the locker room.
“It’s tough. It’s in the locker room,” Kidd said. “ Some of the coaches are dealing with it, too.
“So it’s just part of the time of year. People are getting sick and we’re spending a lot of time with one another on the plane or at practice. All you can do is try to prevent it, stay away from each other as much as possible, but unfortunately on the road, we’re on that plane and spending a lot of time together.”
Other than the COVID-19 season of 2020-21, nobody could remember a season that has been peppered with so many games lost to illness.
Irving was out with the sickness against the Cavaliers, the latest victim of whatever it is that’s gone viral in a bad way.
And of course, the assorted injuries, like Dončić’s left calf strain, are things that only the hoop gods can control.
While the Mavericks were fighting long odds against the Cavaliers because of their shorthanded state, things were just swell until the Cavaliers scored 15 points in a row to close out the first quarter to go up 32-21.
That run didn’t officially end until the Cavaliers scored the first five points in the second quarter to make it 37-21 before Jaden Hardy made one of two free throws.
By then, the life had been sucked out of AAC. The Cavaliers have the No. 1 offensive rating in the NBA and are in the top 10 defensively. So coming back from a big deficit against them is a major challenge.
The Cavaliers, indeed, look like title contenders.
“The ball movement – they kind of remind you of Boston and Memphis,” Kidd said. “No one’s holding onto it. They drive it. If someone steps into help, they’re letting it go and the next guy is open to shoot a three. They’re offense is No. 1 in the league for a reason.”
X: @ESefko
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