Dribbles: Cavs Huff And Puff And Blow Warriors’ House Down, Cruising To 10th Win In 10 Tries

November 8, 2024

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 136-117 shellacking of the visiting Golden State Warriors on Friday. …

1. Well, that was easy.

2. In case you missed it, the Cavs erupted early and oh-so-often, building a 20-2 lead and never looking back.

3. In fact, they actually only looked forward from there. By halftime, their lead was 83-42 — and that 41-point advantage was their largest ever at the intermission.

4. Seriously, man. Forty-one points. Against a team that entered the night with a record of 7-1. Cleveland is 10-0.

5. Goodness gracious, this team has been fun. Ball moving. Shots dropping. Utter unselfishness. Defense at the rim that’s gotta be the best in the NBA.

6. But back to that amazing first half. “That surprised me,” admitted coach Kenny Atkinson, who spent the previous three seasons as an assistant under Steve Kerr with Golden State.

6. What was so surprising to Atkinson? “How ready we were, how hungry we were,” he said.

7. It’s safe to say the Warriors were caught off-guard as well. But hey, these are this season’s Cavs. So far, all is proving possible when you play the right way, the Atkinson way. The man currently sports the best winning percentage in Cavs’ history and we’re barely into November.

8. And what makes all this so awesome for the Cavs is it’s hard to pinpoint just one guy who deserves a lion’s share of the credit. Darius Garland was indeed fan-tas-tic, running the offense to near perfection, delivering timely passes and hitting a basket almost every time the Cavs started to look a little stagnant.

9. Let there be no doubt, Garland is a new man. But he was hardly alone.

10. Ty Jerome scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half, finishing the night with an icy 7-of-8 shooting. And speaking of Ice, Isaac Okoro really got things rolling by burying corner 3-pointer after corner 3-pointer, also scoring 13 in the first half on his way to a total of 16. Okoro went 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 on threes.

11. “You could argue that sparked everything,” Atkinson said of Okoro’s hot start. “If he’s an outlet and can make threes …” Well, then these Cavs are even tougher to beat.

12. As for Jerome, Atkinson had this to say: “I love how aggressive he’s been with his shot. He can really score the ball. He’s had that mentality since he’s come in the gym in August.”

13. Yeah, after missing last season with a major foot injury, Jerome has been quite the find. He’s doing more than scoring. He’s also calming things down when they can get a little crazy — much like Ricky Rubio did a couple of years ago. “We’re playing fast, we’re playing the right way,” Jerome said. “Everyone’s touching (the ball), everyone’s having fun.”

14. Can you believe I’ve written this much without mentioning Evan Mobley? Jarrett Allen? Or Donovan Mitchell? I sure can’t. Bad reporting by Amico I guess.

15. That’s because Mobley went for 23 points on 7-of-12 from the field. Allen scored 13 and pulled down 12 rebounds. Mitchell only scored 12, but that’s the beauty of it. He had an off night and the Cavaliers still blew the Warriors’ doors right off.

16. Granted, the Cavs didn’t look all that great in the second half. As Atkinson said, they got a little “stagnant.” He took the blame. But let’s be honest, when you’re up 41, it’s only human nature to let your foot off the gas.

17. “It’s definitely not easy,” Jerome said of trying to maintain a 40-point lead. “They’re coming out with nothing to lose.”

18. No matter, you never felt as if Steph Curry, Draymond Green and the rest of the Warriors would make a serious run. That really says something when you think about everything that franchise has accomplished. But Curry scored just 12, Green just six after running into immediate foul trouble. Instead, it was Jonathan Kuminga who led the Warriors with 21.

19. So, hey coach, 10-0. Not too shabby, huh? “Ten-and-0 is something,” Atkinson admitted. “We’re playing really good basketball.”

20. You can say that again. “Just gotta stay locked in and keep getting better,” Jerome said, and that’s really all you can try to do.

21. The Cavs will try to make it 11-0 on Saturday, also at home, against the Brooklyn Nets, the team that fired Atkinson in 2020. In short, you don’t want to miss it. If there’s one big question about these Cavaliers, it is this: How long until we get the watch them do it again?