2022-2023 Regular Season: A New Power Rises in the East

[Jscc]

Smh. How long does this type of injury take to heel? He’ll have a few days off during the all star break so at least he’ll have some time off.

The Cavs' last game before the break is February 15th, the All-Star game is four days later on February 19th, and the Cavs' first game after the break is four days later on February 23rd. So the 15th to the 19th is about a four day break and the 19th to the 23rd is roughly a three to four day break between basketball activity.

iirc from Anthony Davis' groin strain against the Suns in 2021, if it's a grade 1 strain, then it usually takes 7-10 days of no basketball activity to recover. If Mitchell doesn't take the time off, he can make it worse or aggravate it (which he did once already at the end of the Knicks game). If he skipped the all-star game, that would be a good seven days of recovery.

 

[cavsfever]

Fedor says Mitchell's recent slump is because his groin isn't right yet. The staff has talked to Mitchell about sitting games out, but he still wants to play unfortunately. He's not sitting the all-star game out either.

Soft tissue damage does not heal until you abstain from the activity that caused it. If he's not going to sit.. is this the Mitchell we will be seeing for the rest of the season?

If he’s stubborn and turning down medical advice when he’s in obvious pain he won’t stop until he’s crippled. That should happen just in time for the playoffs.

Basically thanks to this injury we have replaced a guy playing at an all-NBA superstar level with an above average shooting guard

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

If he's not 100% he should sit out the All-Star game. But we've seen All-Star games - they're a glorified shoot around. No defense, no contact, just guys taking turns at unopposed dunking. Donovan can play 10 minutes, shoot a few 3's, avoid driving to the rim or playing any defense, and just yuk it up with the other All-Stars who are barely breaking a sweat.

 

[Dylan Windler's Mom]

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The Cavs as of today are tied for having the toughest schedule in the NBA so far according to this website.

NBA Strength of Schedule Rankings & Ratings

NBA Strength of Schedule Rankings & Ratings from TeamRankings.com, your source for pro basketball computer power rankings.

www.teamrankings.com

Philadelphia has had the second easiest and they are 34-18 versus 34-22 for the Cavs. In terms of future strength of schedule the Sixers have the toughest and it's not close.

NBA Future SOS Rankings & Ratings

NBA Future SOS Rankings & Ratings from TeamRankings.com, your source for pro basketball computer power rankings.

www.teamrankings.com

With the Sixers having a much more difficult schedule (and having to play four more games in the same number of days) I'm optimistic the Cavs can pass them up. I can't see us getting past Boston or Milwaukee, but with Brooklyn having traded Kyrie plus Durant not back yet I think we can stay ahead of them, especially since they have the 9th most difficult remaining schedule.

So I'm thinking that 3rd place is realistic barring any major injuries over the next 26 games. The Cavs are peaking with Rubio and Wade getting back and the team is learning not to overlook lesser opponents. So far, so good.

 

[Peacedog]

3rd place is where I want to be. It exponentially increases the likelihood of this young team experiencing at least 2 playoff series this season.

 

[Cement]

3rd place is where I want to be. It exponentially increases the likelihood of this young team experiencing at least 2 playoff series this season.

Would obviously prefer the 2 seed.

I think it's a pretty wide gulf between 6 seed in the East (Miami?) and potential 7 seed (NYK, Ind, ATL, Chicago?).

 

[FrontPageNews]

If he’s stubborn and turning down medical advice when he’s in obvious pain he won’t stop until he’s crippled. That should happen just in time for the playoffs.

Basically thanks to this injury we have replaced a guy playing at an all-NBA superstar level with an above average shooting guard

Isn’t this ultimately up to the coach? Sit him down don’t play him.

 

[FrontPageNews]

2 guys we were linked to in trade rumors

 

[Cement]

Cavs now just 1 back of Philly for the 3 seed.

 

[inliner311]

2 guys we were linked to in trade rumors

I wonder if Koby offered 4 2nd round picks and the Knicks one upped him with a protected 1st round pick that turns to 4 2nd round picks if the 1st round pick doesn't convey. 1st round picks that don't convey usually turns into two 2nd round picks.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

You’re starting to see us be more familiar with each other, get comfortable and now you’re starting to see what that team looks like -- the team we ultimately want to be. - Donovan Mitchell said.

Five straight wins, all by double digits. Cleaningtheglass.com has the Cavs with a staggering +23.9 point differential over the last two weeks (excluding garbage time numbers).

The Cavs dropped 73 points on the Pelicans in the first half last night with no Rubio and Garland mostly on the bench with foul trouble. The offensive execution was almost breathtaking. There were 46 points in the paint as Allen and Mobley were getting dunk after dunk. Mitchell and LeVert were getting dribble penetration and passing to the bigs for easy slams.

The Cavs are getting really good at getting the ball to Mobley and Allen at the free throw line followed by a big-to-big pass underneath for an easy bucket.

This team is figuring it out. They are supposed to be a defense-first team with an average offense, but over the last two weeks they are #1 in offense at 125.8 points per 100 possessions, according to CTG. They are also first in defensive efficiency at 102.0. The next closest team, Milwaukee, is at 105.2.

They've had some breaks. Zion was out for New Orleans and Kuzma and Beal were out for Washington. There has been some luck involved. But as Mitchell said, these guys are figuring out how to play together and exploit their opponents' vulnerabilities and it's beautiful to see.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

In their last five games the Cavs have held their opponents to an average of 19.4 points under their scoring averages. That's phenomenal, even factoring in that the opponents were missing some key players in a couple of those games.

Against Chicago, for example, the Bulls had all their normal rotation players including LaVine, CJ McCollum, and Vucevic. The Cavs were exhausted playing on the second night of a back-to-back after a 10 p.m. start in New Orleans the night before, plus they were playing their fifth game in seven days.

They still held the Bulls to a staggering 25 points under their scoring average. That's insane.

Just watching how the Cavs are communicating on defense, switching on screens and then quickly getting switched back, doubling the ball just long enough to make the dribbler pick up the ball and then getting back to the open man to challenge the shot - they are really getting good at team defense.

Their scoring defense, which is admittedly helped by their league slowest offensive pace, is over two points per game better than the second place team. They are tied for first in defensive efficiency and with Wade taking Love's minutes they are getting better by the week. They are 5th in defensive rebounding percentage.

For the season cleaningtheglass.com ranks the Cavs 10th in offensive efficiency but over the last two weeks they are 4th. They are first in point differential over the last two weeks at +21.5 points per 100 possessions, a full 8 points better than the next best team.

It's all coming together - the offense, the defense, and getting everybody healthy. I kind of hate to see the All-Star break coming up right when the team is finally hitting on all cylinders.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The sitch going into the game in Philly...

The Cavs are in 4th place, 3.5 games ahead of 5th place Brooklyn. The Cavs are fully healthy and have won seven straight while the Nets just traded Kyrie and KD and have lost 6 of their last 10. The Cavs have two games remaining with the Nets, both in Brooklyn, but the Nets got hammered by the Knicks last night and I think they're toast.

The Cavs are 5.0 games ahead of 6th place Miami, which is 4-4 in its last eight games. If the Cavs were to finish 14-8 the Heat would have to finish 19-5 to tie them. The Cavs also have two remaining games against the Heat, both in Miami.

The Cavs have 10 games left against teams with under .500 records, including six at home. The toughest game is against Toronto at home. The Raptors are 10-18 on the road.

The Cavs have four home games against teams over .500. Denver is 13-14 on the road and the Knicks are 16-12 and the Cavs beat them at home by 13. Philly and Boston will be tough.

I can see the Cavs going 12-2 or 11-3 against the losing teams and the winning teams they play at home. They have eight games against winning teams on the road, but two are against Brooklyn and two are against Atlanta, which is 15-11 at home. We should be able to go 3-5 against the good teams on the road. That means our record the rest of the way should be about 15-7, give or take a game or two.

If we finish 14-8 or better it will be all but impossible for Brooklyn, Miami, or the Knicks to pass us for 4th place, meaning that it's looking real good for a home court advantage in the first round.

We're just one game behind the Sixers, who are 17-5 in their last 22 games. But they have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA so we have a shot at passing them for 3rd place. We have two games against Philly.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The Athletic is hyping the big game tonight between what they say are the two best teams in the NBA - Boston and Milwaukee.

[The Celtics are] the only team top-four in both offensive and defensive rating this season – that is really, really good, everyone. Despite being without key starters Jaylen Brown (face) and Marcus Smart (ankle), the team’s defense remains difficult to navigate due to impressive depth.

In 136 minutes with Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams III and Derrick White, the Celtics sport a plus-31.1 net rating and have an absurd 96.8 defensive rating.
And the red-hot Bucks have a chance to soon overtake Boston in the Eastern Conference standings as well:

Milwaukee is 1.5 games behind, even though the Bucks have missed Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday for 11 games each, and Khris Middleton for 40. Milwaukee enters on a 10-game winning streak. Since Jan. 23, the Bucks’ defensive efficiency ranks third, and their offense ranks 10th.

The team’s trusted veteran core has been reliable when healthy this season. In the 65 minutes Giannis, Middleton, Holiday and Brook Lopez have played together, the Bucks have a plus-22.9 net rating while scoring 130.9 points per 100 possessions.

They also put in a good word for the Cavaliers.

Cleveland is within a game of Philadelphia for the 3 seed and only three games behind the Bucks for No. 2. The Cavs have the NBA’s best overall defensive rating (109.0) this season, and it’s been even more suffocating (103.7) during this seven-game win streak.