Dribbles: Cavs’ Rise Marching On Even At Less Than Their Best

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ thriller of a 91-89 home win over the Celtics on Saturday …

1. With these Cavs, it’s hard to know where to begin. Let’s start with this — they came out flat, trailed by as many as 19 points, gave perhaps their worst offensive showing of the season, and still won.

2. As former NBA coach and current NBA TV analyst Sam Mitchell said, “I saw a young team growing up.”

3. I might even go as far as to say rookie forward/center Evan Mobley has already arrived. Hey, it’s not just hyperbole, either. Mobley (19 points, nine rebounds, three huge blocks) already looks like a seasoned pro.

4. The Cavs (9-5) were supposed to be a basketball doormat this season. At least, that’s what everyone told me. It is also what I believed. But there’s something special about this team, and all of it came to life in the second half.

5. Mobley has obviously been a huge addition. Ricky Rubio (16 points, seven assists) has also been a huge addition. Jarrett Allen (11 points, eight boards) has been a huge returnee, Darius Garland (22 points, six assists) is growing as a floor leader and J.B. Bickerstaff is positioning himself for early Coach of the Year consideration.

6. Other than all that, the Cavs have nothing going for them.

7. That’s sarcasm, of course. What’s real is the Cavs again had to do this without Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love.

8. They are clearly suffering in the scoring department minus Sexton and Markkanen. But man, are they ever making up for it with grit, defense and some timely baskets.

9. Bickerstaff on the victory: “There was no basketball reason that said we should’ve won the game. But our collective spirit kept that from happening. Like I’ve said, there’s something brewing in that locker room.”

10. There really is, and whatever it may be is carrying over to the court. This team believes … even when the rest of us sometimes might not.

11. And the Cavs don’t let little things like missing three key players, or even lousy shooting, get them down. Rubio finished just 4-of-17 from the field. Isaac Okoro went 0-of-7. Cedi Osman was just 3-of-9, and Denzel Valentine was 2-of-9.

12. Still, Osman and Valentine each contributed in their own way. (Okoro is still finding himself, but we’ll leave that for another day.) Osman finished with nine points — including an impressive one-man fast break after a steal, which came near the end. It was an important basket.

13. Osman on the state of things: “I’m really proud of this team. I know we didn’t play our best basketball, but we have to be proud.”

14. As for Garland, Mitchell had this to say: “I hate that Collin Sexton got hurt, but it’s given Darius Garland a chance to solidify the point guard position, and he’s running the team with confidence.”

15. Can we get an amen?

16. Back to Mobley. He had a massive chasedown block of Celtics star Jayson Tatum. It was initially ruled a goaltend. But after further review, it was revealed that Mobley just made an awesome play. It was the kind of block we haven’t seen in Cleveland since You Know Who was here.

17. Later, Mobley powered his way in for a layup … you guessed it, over Tatum. The kid is quiet and modest, but he plays with tons of fire. Right now, the fire part applies to all of the Cavs.

18. Love seemingly will be back soon. Markkanen may not be far behind. Sexton could be a bit longer, and if so, perhaps the Cavs will want to sign an available veteran for cheap, or make a low-level deal. They obviously need some additional scoring.

19. But right now, that doesn’t have to be priority. Clearly, things are going just fine as they are.

20. Dennis Schroder led the Celtics (6-7) with a game-high 28 points and Tatum scored 21. At the moment, Boston is looking up at Cleveland in the standings. And like most opponents, the Celtics are probably wondering how these Cavs have looked this good so soon.