Three things that were fun about the Cavs

It was a fantastic start to this season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The vast majority of things have gone well so far (fingers crossed) and this team not only continues to win, but does so in entertaining ways. It’s hard to put into words how much fun the first season was. So let’s look at three things that were particularly fun to watch.

The Cavs let it fly from the 3rd

To be sure, the Cavs are just 11th in the league in three points per game, three spots below eighth place last season. Amazingly, the Cavs are still shooting almost two more three-pointers per game this year compared to last year. But not only are we shooting more, we’re also getting more three-pointers for our best three-point shooters, with Donovan Mitchell (fourth) and Darius Garland (17th) ranking in the top 20 in the league for three-pointers made so far.

What makes it so entertaining to watch is the fact that it’s a truly selfless game. In years past, the ball has tended to stall after one or two plays on offense, but this team has consistently found ways to keep the offense rolling even after a primary or secondary play is blocked. This team consistently makes good three-point shots and leads to victory as the team currently has the best record in the league and the second-best point differential leaguewide.

Evan Mobley all day

Evan Mobley moves with the beauty of one Planet Earth Consequence. It’s always been that way, but in the last two years there have been missing moments when the lion finally catches up with his prey and proves why he is considered king of the jungle. Mobley finally started bringing red meat to market this year. Even before he scored a 41-pointer against the Charlotte Hornets, Evan was moving more and more into the spotlight on the Cavs team.

Here are the usual ridiculous stats for Mobley so far. His net rating in the first quarter of the season is 14! For comparison, the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic, had a net rating of 12.5 in his last MVP season. Additionally, Evan is scoring four more points per 100 possessions this year than last year, while increasing both his steals per 100 possessions (from 1.4 to 1.7) and his blocks per 100 possessions (from 2.2 to 2 ,4) increases. Will all of these numbers continue throughout the season? Maybe, maybe not, but even if not, now is the time to watch Evan and appreciate how great he is.

Jaylon Tyson, a solid rookie and a good draft pick

The first two points are the main course. You can’t miss them if you tune in to the Cavs on any given night. This last point is more subtle. Jalyon Tyson, the Cavs draft pick in the last draft (20th overall), will get the starting minutes for this team. That doesn’t always happen and it doesn’t necessarily have an impact on the win at this point, but let’s take a look for a second at the Cavs draft picks over the last 15 years that were 15th or later in the first round , excluding players who were traded before playing a game for the Cavs:

• Dylan Windler (2019 – 26th pick)
• Sergey Karasev (2013 – 19th election)
• Christian Eyenga (2009 – 30th election)

Finding a good player late in the first round of the NBA Draft who can play on a good team with championship aspirations is really difficult. Tyson may not be, he may not get many more minutes as the season progresses, but even a warm body that plays hard and can soak up spot minutes is excellent value for a mid-to-late first-round pick -Relationship. There are upsides too: In the only full game Tyson played early in the season against the hapless Pelicans, he posted a double-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists… so who knows!

The first quarter of the season was quite entertaining. There will undoubtedly be setbacks, injuries and other hurdles as the season progresses, but hopefully there will be more fun surprises along the way.