Dribbles: Cavs have won seven of 10, and that’s the bottom line

Random dribbles on the Cavaliers, coming off a 110-101 road win over the lowly Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

1. It wasn’t always pretty, but the Cavs did what they had to do against a miserable team that’s probably due for a win.

2. So no, the Cavs haven’t looked great in the last two games. That is interesting, because their win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday may have been their most complete game of the season.

3. But all anyone remembers is the ugly home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. In today’s world of sports, we do tend to focus on the negative (or in the case of the NBA, the negative and trade rumors).

4. Anyway, here’s the bottom line — the Cleveland Cavaliers have won seven of 10. They’ve experienced what could be considered one bad loss in there. But they’ve also had a few really good victories.

5. So who are the Cavs? When totally healthy, a team that can beat anyone when they play their best. At least, that’s my takeaway from the first 20 games. 

6. They are also a team that’s prone to the occasional collapse. I’m not gonna sit here and tell you the Cavs don’t have anything that needs to be cleaned up. They do. Limiting turnovers, defending with a real purpose for the majority of games, staying aggressive and playing as a unit offensively. All can be problems. But honestly, they’re only problems from time to time. Nobody plays the perfect game or has the perfect season.

7. In pro basketball, you just need to be good the majority of the time. Right now, you could make that case for five or six teams — the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and maybe Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder.

8. Maybe those will be the six best teams come April. But I have my doubts about a few of them.

9. That’s why you never get too high about the wins or too low about the losses in November/early December. There are 62 more of these things to go. I think you don’t even start to analyze a team fully until the 41-game mark. Maybe even 50.

10. Until then, all you really need to do is stay in the playoff race. I bet the Cavs (11-9) do exactly that. There will be more bad losses this season, I promise. There will also be more quality wins.

11. Just get to the playoffs. Not a single soul predicted the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets would meet in the Finals last season. In fact, no one had either of those teams reaching the Finals even two or three weeks before it started. 

12. In the win over Detroit, Darius Garland and Max Strus each scored 22, Donovan Mitchell had 20, and Jarrett Allen went for 19 points and 11 rebounds. Georges Niang added 12 off the bench and seems to be growing more comfortable with his role. And Isaac Okoro scored nine and made a major impact defensively in 33 minutes.

13. Okoro also compiled seven assists, four assists and a whopping four steals. “He was unbelievable down the stretch,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters. “He was taking charges, making shots, driving to the basket and scoring. He was awesome when we needed him to be, and that’s who he is.”

14. Okoro was having his best season before missing eight games with a hamstring injury. He was pretty quiet for a couple games after his return. Until Saturday. His energy and effort from the wing spot have been vastly underrated for most of the year.

15. The Cavs don’t play again until Wednesday as the league shifts its focus to the Elite Eight of the In-Season Tournament. Meanwhile, the Cavs will focus on the Magic, who pay a visit in the next game for Orlando, too. People will quickly forget all about that Portland loss if the Cavs beat an opponent with one of the league’s best records. Right? Well, I’d hope so.  

16. Overall, the Cavs are in good shape when entirely healthy. They don’t have to win every game, but they need to stay focused for most of them and start taking care of business at home. And yes, taking care of the ball and consistently protecting the paint goes a long way toward making all that happen.