NBA Notes: Cavs, De’Andre Hunter, Hornets, Nuggets, Jamal Murray

Cavaliers

Surprise, surprise, the Cavaliers are riding high yet again. In fact, they’ve won 10 straight and sport the NBA’s best record at 50-10.

All of it’s been just part of a record-setting season of pleasant surprise, as written by Zach Harper of The Athletic.

“For the third time this season, the Cavs have won at least 10 games in a row,” Harper wrote. “Cleveland won its first 15 games of this season. Then, after the Cavs went ‘just’ 6-4 over their next 10 games, they won 12 straight. After that streak, they went 7-6 in their next 13. Now, have another double-digit win streak going.

“The Cavs can’t be stopped on offense. Their defense is destructive. They could easily push this run to 15 or 20 straight.”

Harper speaks the truth, as the Cavaliers seem to have taken it to another level with fantastic 3-and-D man De’Andre Hunter. They are, after all, 8-0 with Hunter in uniform. Check out the latest Dribbles for more.

Hornets

Then there are teams like the Hornets, who are headed in the opposite direction.

“First-time head coach Charles Lee tried really hard early on to get this team to establish a more serious culture,” Harper wrote. “Unfortunately for Charlotte, this is just a team full of unserious players.

“After winning three straight games in January, the Hornets have gone 3-17. This season, they got swept by the Wizards. That’s four losses in four games against Washington. Three of them were by at least nine points. I don’t care what the records are; the Hornets are the worst team this season.”

Nuggets

Don’t look now, but the Nuggets are suddenly resembling true contenders yet again, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.

“Denver doesn’t have the Luka Trade! narrative of the Lakers, but the Nuggets’ season has arguably been equally remarkable,” Hollinger wrote. “Denver was 16-13 in late December after giving up 149 points at home to Cleveland. Since then, the Nuggets are a sizzling 23-8. Yes, there’s the usual part about Nikola Jokic being an MVP candidate (if he plays 11 more games, he will finish either first or second for the fifth consecutive season), but the story behind the turnaround has been Jamal Murray.”

Yes, Murray is heating up, as he so often does at this time of year.

“As long as he’s rolling, the Jokic-Murray two-man game is borderline unguardable; the fact they never shoot 3s hasn’t prevented the Nuggets from having the league’s second-ranked offense,” Hollinger wrote. “Yes, there are genuine depth concerns — they only have six players they can count on, and you can’t just assume full health — but the nice thing about the playoffs is the bench guys see a lot less playing time.

“A healthy Nuggets team with the version of Playoff Murray we’re used to is a terrifying matchup for any defense.”