NBA Insider Makes Strong Case For Cavs In Playoffs

After a banner regular season, the Cavaliers have begun a week of preparing for the real thing. The NBA playoffs begin Sunday at Rocket Arena.

Cleveland does so after winning 60+ games for just the third time in franchise history. The Cavs (64-18) have been around since 1970. This is also the first time they’ve done it without LeBron James.

They’ve done it with a first-year coach in Kenny Atkinson and a roster that’s largely the same as last season. The result has been the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage throughout the entire Eastern Conference playoffs. Win every home game, and you’re going to the NBA Finals.

“We’re grittier than I thought in the beginning,” Atkinson said. “There’s the rhetoric that we’re skilled and move the ball and play good offense, and that’s good, but we have a toughness about us. That’s where I’ve turned with this team. You don’t get 64 wins without being tough and showing our grit.”

Add it all up, and NBA writer Shaun Powell of the league’s official website likes their chances. He cites the play of familiar names — Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome and others.

“Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell are each other’s biggest fans,” Powell wrote. “And you can tell, because in close fourth quarters, they trust each other with the ball. That’s a level of respect that give the Cavs options in such occasions.

“In the playoffs, opposing teams must pick their poison, because while many players shy away from those situations, Mitchell and Garland gravitate toward them. They want the ball. But they’re willing to share it, too.”

Then there’s Mobley, who’s having a career season. He was already elite defensively. Offensively, he’s taken his game to another level.

“Evan Mobley, on some nights, can be the Cavs’ most important player,” Powell wrote. “His defense is elite; the ability to guard three positions and make stops on the perimeter is what sets him apart from others his size, tools that could see him winning the league’s top defensive award.”

As Mobley himself said, “Guys my size, my agility, my wingspan, you don’t really see that. There’s nobody close to that … people don’t even go up against me.”

He’s the perfect complement to Mitchell and Garland.

“He’s also a better offensive threat (18 ppg), someone who earned his way into getting plenty of touches on a team already boasting Garland and Mitchell,” Powell wrote. “At 55% shooting, Mobley prevents opposing defenses from doubling up those guards.”

Powell went on to mention the February trade for Hunter, the versatility and defense he offers, as well as the likes of Jerome and other rotational pieces that all just seem to fit.

“The talent level is obvious,” Atkinson said. “Now, do they have the belief at a championship level? Do you really believe you can beat Boston? Do you really believe you can beat Indiana? Do you really believe you can be a conference finalist?

“That’s a first step. We can only answer that when we’re faced with it. That’s probably the lingering question. As far as talent, chemistry, deep bench, we’ve got it all. So it’s really going to be the mental, to believe we can go to that next level.”