The red-hot Cavs have found their blueprint for the playoffs in the unlikeliest of times
Amid the brutal blow of injuries to Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, the Cavaliers have discovered a silver lining that also might be gold-plated, diamond-encrusted and covered in priceless gems.
After the back-to-back losses of two key starters in mid-December, the Cavs leaned into a more aggressive, more ball-movement-focused, more 3-point-heavy offensive style that hasn't only worked wonders over the last few weeks — it's shown them the path forward, even after the duo returns to the floor.
"I believe we have to, to be honest with you," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said when asked about keeping this style of play once the rotation is fully healthy. "And this is lessons learned from playoff experience and where we were aiming to get to, to start this year."
The Cavs have been piling on 3-point attempts on a near-nightly basis. They've moved the ball around as much as any team in the league, creating a fluid offense that's rarely stagnant. And they've once again bought into a defensive philosophy that might have been somewhat lost for a while.
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The result? They're 11-3 in the 14 games they've played without Garland and Mobley, and they've won their last six in a row. The offense has exploded to become one of the best in the league during that stretch, scoring at least 109 points in all 14 games, more than 120 five times and at least 135 three times, including Wednesday night's 40-point blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
And they've now held three of their last five opponents to under 100 points, which in today's high-scoring game is a feat on its own.
The Cavs are rolling. But perhaps more important than anything else, they've discovered the best version of themselves and the most efficient offensive style that works within their system, and they've rediscovered their defensive identity.
Bickerstaff and the Cavs have used a one-two gut punch to unlock another gear. And it might be the answer for which they've been searching since they were ousted from last year's playoffs in the first round.
"[When Garland and Mobley went down], at that point in time, you got a decision to make, right? You quit or you fight," Bickerstaff said. "And I never expected this group of guys to quit. So the fight came and the results have been what they've been."
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It isn't just that the Cavs have won six consecutive games, including a 40-point win, a 39-point win and two more 20-plus point victories. It's that they've barely even trailed in any of the six. Other than a slow stretch at the very end of a game against the San Antonio Spurs when a 13-point deficit was trimmed to two points, the Cavs have cruised.
Since a lackluster 4-6 start despite much higher expectations, the Cavs are 20-9 and playing their best basketball without two of their best players. They felt like they just needed time.
"If we're sitting here wavering with confidence, you know, we have no chance, so obviously it's natural for everybody to kind of have that [confidence]," said guard Donovan Mitchell. "It's natural for people to feel that way, but for us it's just continuing to stay the course, and even though we're playing good basketball it's continuing to stay the course."
Cavs used Garland, Mobley injuries as rallying call
The Garland and Mobley injuries were announced within a matter of minutes. Out of seemingly nowhere, the Cavs' starting lineup was devastated, and a team spinning its wheels as it tried to enter the top tier of teams in the East suddenly had two flats. They could have folded as their playoff standing in the East was suddenly on very shaky ground, even bringing into question what they might do with Mitchell at the trade deadline.
But they're 24-15 and, more importantly, might have the blueprint for which they've been searching — ball movement, 3s and a re-focused emphasis on defense.
As to how the Cavs weathered this perfect storm of injuries and concerns and frustrations, they repeatedly have pointed to the chemistry in the locker room, even though it's something that can't be quantified and is often an easy answer. In this case, they feel it's a real variable.
Georges Niang said Wednesday night the players genuinely all like each other to a great extent, which isn't always the case in NBA locker rooms. It has helped them to band together and rally instead of simply showing up to work and getting through the season.
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The Cavs, up and down the rotation, have found their collective niche in several ways. The rotation has rallied around the injuries and the inconsistency. As Mitchell put it, they all have their place in the puzzle.
"Everybody, man. Everybody has their thing," Mitchell said when asked about the camaraderie that has developed before calling the Cavs locker room "refreshing" and echoing Niang's sentiment, that it isn't always the case in the NBA. "Everybody in that locker room, one through 15, you just look up and down, everybody has their thing. Whether it's being funny … we make fun of Max [Strus] for not smiling, we make fun of Isaac [Okoro], myself, Ev, it goes down the list."
"There's just so much within the locker room … when we were going through the ups and downs, it was still easy to come to work. That's the best part about it is understanding that it's a long season, and if you have a locker room that's divided, it makes it even longer."
For a moment, it looked like the Cavs would have to trudge through a two-month struggle without two of their stars. Now it seems they're sprinting toward the playoffs, blueprint in hand.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers find hot streak without Darius Garland, Evan Mobley
