Cavaliers Own NBA's Only Perfect Record After Nuggets Silence Thunder
The Cleveland Cavaliers not only own the best record in the NBA, but they are enjoying their best start in franchise history after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 131-122 to improve to 9-0. Kenny Atkinson is the first coach in NBA history to start out 9-0 in his first season with a new team. Statistics through nine games of an 82 game season are classic "small sample size theater," but it is still noteworthy that the Cavaliers own the third highest scoring average (123.2 ppg) in a 9-0
start in NBA history, trailing only the 1960-61 Philadelphia Warriors
(126.8 ppg) and the 1990-91 Portland Trail Blazers (125.0 ppg). The 1961 Warriors featured Wilt Chamberlain, who led the league in scoring that season (38.4 ppg), and they finished second in the four team Eastern Division behind the powerful Boston Celtics. The 1991 Trail Blazers were led by Clyde Drexler (21.5 ppg) and they finished with the league's best record before being upset by Magic Johnson's L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference Finals; the Trail Blazers reached the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992.
The Cavaliers rank first in the NBA in scoring, first in field goal percentage (.526), ninth in defensive field goal percentage (.456), and 11th in points allowed (110.6 ppg). One possible area of concern is that they rank just 23rd in rebounding (42.1 rpg). Last season, the Cavaliers ranked 20th in scoring (112.6 ppg) 12th in field goal percentage (.479), sixth in defensive field goal percentage (.463), seventh in points allowed (110.2 ppg), and 17th in rebounding (43.3 rpg). So, it would be fair to say that thus far their offense is much more efficient, and their defense is slightly less efficient. It is important to understand that Cleveland has beaten several teams that were bad last season and are unlikely to be good this season, including Detroit, Toronto, and Washington. The Cavaliers also have two wins against the struggling Milwaukee Bucks. A good case could be made that Cleveland's only "quality" win is at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks--but even the Knicks, who were 50-32 last season, are just 3-4 so far this season.
In short, the Cavaliers have started the season strongly, but we will know a lot more about how good they really are after they play some tougher competition.
Donovan Mitchell led a balanced Cleveland attack with a game-high tying 29 points, but he had a lot of help. Jarrett Allen had 16 points plus a game-high 14 rebounds, Caris LeVert added 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists, Evan Mobley delivered 15 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots, and Darius Garland chipped in with 14 points and a game-high nine assists.
The Pelicans slipped to 3-6, and face a rough stretch because they are without the services of both of their injured starting guards, C.J. McCollum and Dejounte Murray. Zion Williamson scored a game-high tying 29 points, Jose Alvarado added 27 points, five assists, and three steals, and Brandon Ingram had 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Oklahoma City owned the only other perfect record (7-0) in the NBA heading into Wednesday's action, but the Thunder fell 124-122 to the Denver Nuggets, who improved to 5-3. Russell Westbrook scored a game-high tying 29 points, grabbed six rebounds, and passed for six assists. Plus/minus numbers are interesting, but sometimes are "noisy" in small sample sizes, and this game is an example of Westbrook's plus/minus number (-14) not reflecting his impact. Westbrook scored or assisted on 15 consecutive points as the Nuggets rallied from a 16 point deficit to beat a team that earned the number one seed in the Western Conference last season with a 57-25 record (beating out 57-25 Denver on tiebreaks) and is expected to be a championship contender this season.
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 29 points, matching Westbrook's output, and he added 10 rebounds plus nine assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points, six assists, and a game-high eight turnovers. Chet Holmgren scored 15 points and tied Williams for team-high honors with 10 rebounds, but he shot just 5-14 from the field.
Denver Coach Michael Malone praised Westbrook after the game: "And what I love about Russell Westbrook: 17-year vet, leopards don't change their spots, but he is trying so hard to be disciplined. He's trying to do the things we're asking him to do, and I appreciate that so much. Because a lot of times at 17 years in, you are who you are. But he cares, man. He is so invested in this team and what he's bringing to this team, and he's so hard on himself. I can coach a guy like Russell Westbrook any day."
It has become fashionable in the past few years to pick on Westbrook and bash Westbrook, but commentators like Hubie Brown who understand basketball praise Westbrook. Westbrook has not shot well through the first eight games, but overall he is providing a lift both as a reserve and now as a starter with Jamal Murray sidelined due to a concussion.
Nikola Jokic finished with 23 points, a game-high 20 rebounds, and a game-high 16 assists. Those boxscore numbers look like typographical errors, but they are just one more chapter in what is shaping up to possibly be yet another MVP season: Jokic, who has won the regular season MVP in three of the past four seasons (including last season), currently leads the league in rebounding (13.5 rpg) and assists (11.0 apg) while ranking fourth in scoring (28.8 ppg).
Justin Termine, the self-proclaimed "entertainer" who admits to not being a journalist,
has repeatedly trashed the Nuggets for their roster moves. It is
important to understand that part of his agenda is to elevate Jokic by asserting that Jokic has no help around him. I agree with
Termine that Jokic is the NBA's best player, but I disagree that it is
necessary to rip apart Jokic's supporting cast. The Nuggets just
beat the powerful Thunder without both Murray and starting forward Aaron
Gordon, who is expected to miss multiple weeks with a calf injury. Maybe this game is an aberration, but I think that Jokic, Westbrook, and company can hold down the fort until Murray and Gordon return.
The Nuggets rank fourth in the NBA in scoring (119.0 ppg), third in rebounding (48.3 rpg), and fourth in assists (29.4 apg). They are not good defensively, and must improve in that category in order to be a playoff contender.
Labels: Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Pelicans, Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook
posted by David Friedman @ 10:19 AM
2 Comments:
Marcel
I can see the cavs making the eastern conference finals.
I don't think Donovan mityis a one option or a two on a title team.
But he good enough as a one option to lead team to a Eastern conference finals. Trae young and Tyrese haliburton do it
Cavs are pretty good well see where it takes them
Marcel:
I could definitely see Mitchell as the second option on a championship team. I agree that he does not seem like a player who could be the first option on a championship team, unless the Cavs prove to be an ensemble cast in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. That is rare, but it happened in 1979 with the Sonics and 2004 with the Pistons. I am NOT saying that the Cavs are in that category, but just pointing out that a couple teams have won championships without having an all-time top 50 player. Depending on where you rank Tatum or Brown, the Celtics could be placed in that "ensemble" category as well.
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