Dribbles: Unbeaten Cavs Show LeBron, Lakers Who’s New King Of Cleveland Basketball

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 134-110 hammer job of the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. …

1. Well, that was easy. Definitely the Cavs’ easiest win of the season and probably easier than even they expected.

2. But make no mistake, the Cavs turned this into nearly 48 minutes of garbage time by playing hard, playing smart, moving the ball and getting after it defensively. They did it right and they made the Lakers miserable — with LA’s lone hope being to receive a little help from the refs.

3. This marked LeBron James‘ lone visit of the season, and from the looks of things, he couldn’t wait to get out of town. By the middle of the third quarter, LeBron looked as if he’d had enough. By a little past the middle of the fourth, Bronny James checked in for only the second time this season.

4. Nothing against Bronny, but the fact he played five minutes shows you what a blowout this was. Until Wednesday, he had played a mere three minutes on the season.

5. More important than any of that to the Cavs? They did their thing in what is always the most-covered game of the year. So often, though, everyone is talking about LeBron. The Cavaliers turned the conversation to themselves, and when it comes to blowouts like this, it’s hard to know where to begin.

6. How about with Jarrett Allen? He was tasked with defending Lakers star Anthony Davis and man, Allen flat-out got it done. Davis is an All-Star, so you’re never going to shut him down. But Allen seemed to make him miserable most of the night. As for Allen, all he did was erupt for 20 points and a massive 17 rebounds, as well as two highlight-worthy swats.

7. The only big change the Cavs made, of course, is new coach Kenny Atkinson. I can tell you he’s had plenty to do with this start. And that doesn’t take an “insider” perspective. I’ve just witnessed enough NBA coaching to know, and all you have to do is watch his team. This is a different, more energetic, highly inspired group.

8. Anyway, back to Allen. “All the coaches were just talking about him in the locker room,” Atkinson said during his postgame press conference. “Jarrett Allen, man.”

9. That really does about sum it up. His play in the early season is just sort of leaving everyone speechless.

10. That said, the Cavs are now 5-0 because the contributions are coming from everywhere. On this night, Donovan Mitchell came out on fire, quickly silencing anyone who may have been in attendance solely to root for LeBron. Mitchell finished with 24 points. Then Evan Mobley erupted for 17 in the fourth to slam the door, scoring a team-high 25. Darius Garland added 12 points and 10 assists, seemingly hitting a shot every time the Lakers had dreams of making a run.

11. Not enough can be said about Caris LeVert and the bench bunch, either. LeVert (16 points, six assists) has been sort of the unsung hero in this successful start, getting buckets without forcing anything and making strong decisions with the ball. Atkinson also offered high praise for LeVert’s defense.

12. But wait. There’s more. Sam Merrill, Georges Niang, Ty Jerome (14 points) and Isaac Okoro are all staying within themselves. Same goes for fill-in starter Dean Wade.

13. As Allen said, “That’s just some good basketball out there.” 

14. Before the game, Atkinson said he suspected the Cavs wouldn’t keep shooting so well. After the game, I jokingly mentioned that he was wrong. The Cavs finished 57.7% from the field (56-of-97). They also took 20 more shots than the Lakers overall. Atkinson smiled and chalked at least part of it up to the entire cast returning from last season, citing “a certain comfort level” with one another.

15. Mitchell added that there’s no great secret to the Cavaliers’ fast start. “Just continuing to be who we are,” he said.

16. James led the Lakers (3-2) with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting. But the Cavs also frustrated him into six turnovers. After being called for traveling early in the fourth quarter, LeBron stormed to the bench, seemingly making the executive decision to check himself out.

17. By the way, Mobley started incredibly slowly, and last year, a game like this may have resulted in him disappearing altogether. Instead, he was more aggressive than ever in the second half, just as he was in the last game, a road win over the Knicks. In this one, he finished a sizzling 12-of-16 shooting. So combined, Mobley and Allen were 21-of-28 from the floor. You simply cannot beat that.

18. And that’s just the offense. The defense hasn’t missed a beat from last season — thanks, again, in large part to Mobley and Allen. Atkinson just came out and said that those two cover everyone else’s defensive mistakes.

19. I’ve been doing this for so long that I remember when Bronny was 5 or 6 years old and running around the locker room during LeBron’s first stop in Cleveland. LeBron would sometimes ask Bronny to grab him a Gatorade out of the cooler, and sometimes, Bronny couldn’t muster enough strength to get the door open. So to see him score the first basket of his NBA career in Cleveland was pretty cool.

20. All in all, the Cavaliers have a lot about which to be optimistic. This is the way a team with all of its returning talent should look — connected. It’s a long season. There are still 77 games to go. Orlando is in town on Friday, so it’s not like it will suddenly get easier. But so far, so great, as the Cavs are making it easy on themselves, playing the right way and getting the oh-so-fun results.

• More Cavaliers | All coverage from Hoops Wire