Dribbles: Tons of fun Cavs just flat out having a ball

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles on the Cavaliers as they return home for a couple of games before the All-Star break …

1. Every Sunday is super when you root for the Cavs. That’s just the way things are going these days.

2. The Cavs won eight straight. Then lost a game at Milwaukee. Then they bounced back two nights later and won at Milwaukee. Then they won eight straight again.

3. So make it a season-high nine in a row and 17 of 18. 

4. That’s worth repeating: SEVENTEEN of EIGHTEEN. Say it out loud. In the NBA, that type of stretch is practically unheard of. And imagine if they hadn’t lost that one at Milwaukee. We’d be talking 18 in a row.

5. The two longest single-season winning streaks in NBA history — 33 games from the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers that featured Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West, and 27 games from the 2012-13 Miami Heat of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh fame.

6. These Cavs feature names such as Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. You knew that already. But they are so much more.

7. I can’t get over how they’re getting tons of contributions from the likes of Max Strus, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Sam Merrill, Dean Wade and Georges Niang. I love watching how they’ve played team basketball in the truest sense on offense, how they really get after it defensively, how coach J.B. Bickerstaff has the players’ attention and respect.

8. I don’t know if even the Cavs themselves expected it to go quite this well. But Bickertsaff has preached it since Day One — if they play “Cavaliers Basketball” good things will come.

9. Yeah, I hear you on social media and in the emails. But what about the playoffs? “They collapsed last season,” you say. Well, this team isn’t that team. That much I promise.

10. Honestly, I don’t get that far ahead. To me, there are three different ways to have tons of fun in the NBA: 1) Winning the championship; 2) An inspirational playoff run, like last season’s Miami Heat; 3) Lots of fun in the regular season.

11. When the regular season is 82 games long, a true marathon, then yes, I believe keeping your fans entertained for most of it is a pretty big deal. The Cavs are there now, and all we can go on is the present.

12. I used to listen to the “experts.” Then I realized not a single one predicted that the Heat and Denver Nuggets would reach the Finals last season. So I’m done with them.

13. And frankly, I’m not nearly as concerned with what the Cavs do in April (and perhaps May and June) as the type of team they are today. Namely, what are they showing that they can do when it means the most? The answer is (drumroll please) a lot.

14. Mitchell is a regular All-Star and scored 71 points in a game last season. Still, I contend he’s never been as good as this year. Garland has been wildly unselfish and has contributed toward winning in major ways since returning from a broken jaw. He’s even totally bought in on defense. Allen and Mobley have been superb. This is how the Cavs look when everyone plays his best individually — and yet they are winning as a team. It’s a throwback way of doing things and man, is it working.

15. Since I’m certain Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman is sitting at his desk and asking, “When is this Amico character going to mention me?” … well, yes, he deserves tons of credit. I applaud him for not making a deal at the trade deadline. Don’t mess with remarkable success. And have I mentioned there’s not a shred of drama with this team? The front office has done a masterful job of putting together a team of good dudes.

16. So there you have it. This is a Cavs team you can get behind and is worthy of the nation’s attention. Fans can be proud of the way this group has represented their favorite NBA organization. That’s not just good enough for now, it’s actually pretty awesome.

Cavs are playing basketball like how the game is described in an encyclopedia. And they’re just dismantling opponents because of it. I’ve been wildly impressed, not just with the results, but how they’re getting them. https://t.co/KI4czLJqT7

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) February 11, 2024