COMEBACK: Cleveland Cavaliers STUN Bulls, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter STAR in WIN

COMEBACK: Cleveland Cavaliers STUN Bulls, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter STAR in WIN

On today’s show, the Cavs use a crazy comeback on Saturday night to get a very nice win over the Chicago Bulls. We’ll talk about that, what to like from that game, what this opportunity this week could be for the Cavaliers, and is this Donovan Mitchell’s apex season? We’ll talk about all that and so much more on this Monday edition of Locked on Cavs. You are Locked On Cavs, your daily Cleveland Cavaliers podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Hi again everybody. I’m Danny Cunningham and welcome in to Locked On Cavs, a proud part of the Locked On Network, now the number one sports podcast network in the United States. And thank you for making this edition of the show your first listen. And thank you for making this show your first listen every single day. You can find us anywhere you get your podcast. That’s Apple, that’s Spotify, that’s anywhere else. Please be sure to make sure you’re subscribed, give us a five star rating, and leave us a nice review. We are on YouTube as well. So, if you’re watching the video right now, do us a favor, hit that thumbs up button for us, click subscribe, and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss the latest locked on Cavs content. And of course, today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. That is the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase. Over the weekend, the Cleveland Cavaliers got a very nice 128 to 122 win over the Chicago Bulls. The Cavs closed this game out on a 12 to nothing run. This was a game that the Cavs started off very well. I believe they scored that was the first eight points of the game. Had a I don’t know if disastrous is the right word to describe the second quarter, but it was certainly one that was below their standard of what they looked to do on the basketball floor. And then came back in the second half and for the most part looked like the Cavs again. and they needed to do that in order to overcome just how bad that second quarter was. But overall, this was a performance that I think yes, that second quarter, nothing to be happy about there. And I think that there were some lineups that were part of it that kind of caused that. Like there were a few lineups on the floor that just really lacked any offensive punch. And that’s going to be the case sometimes when Darius Garland is out right now. And he did not play on Saturday. He played on Friday night against the Washington Wizards. Thought he looked very good. did not play just precautionary injury management type things just not playing in backto-backs as he comes off of this foot injury. So there’s no concern like he is not on the injury report for tonight’s game against the Miami Heat. There’s nothing to be worried about there. But I think that this is a nice win for a couple of different reasons and one of them is Donovan Mitchell. What he was able to do in the second half of this game was just simply remarkable. He had 26 of his 29 points in the second half and he continues to be an absolute superstar. And I want to talk about whether or not this is like the apex version of who he’s going to be coming up in just a little bit. But the fact that the Cavs were able to find a way this find a way to win this game, I think is the sign of a great team. Now, there are a lot of games that good teams win and the Cavs win a lot of those games. And I thought that Saturday and I think that the Chicago Bulls are a good team. I think they’re going to be better than we expected them to be. Certainly better than I expected them to be. I think they’re probably near the top of the playin, maybe the bottom of the playoffs. Like I think they’ll probably be fighting somewhere between five, six, seven, eight. Like I don’t think that they’re going to be the the nine or the 10 the way that I thought they might be prior to this season. But I don’t think that they’re a team that should be looked at as some realistic threat to win the Eastern Conference or or or to be a among the top seeds in the Eastern Conference. I don’t think they’re a team that realistically is going to be able to have homec court advantage in the first round. That’s not how good I think the Chicago Bulls are. But they’ve gotten off to a nice start and I think that is something that just is worth talking about. And that’s why I think that this is a game on Saturday night that good teams don’t win. Great teams win this game. So for the Cavs, it was their third game in four nights. It was the second night of a back-to-back. And yes, the night before was a blowout victory, one that had the the score changed, so they only won by 33 as opposed to 34, but anytime you’re playing on the second night of a backto-back, the third game in four nights, it can be a tough situation to beat. Those games can be challenging. Now, to be fair, it was also the second night of a back-to-back for the Bulls. I do not believe it was the third game in four nights for them. Um, I think it was I think they had two days off prior to Friday. So, I look at this and say, well, the Bulls were at a bit of a disadvantage to having to change time zones, and that matters, too, because they played in the central time zone on Friday night. But, great teams find a way to win the game the way the Cavs did because it’s not just that it’s the third game in four nights. It’s just not that it’s the second night of it back toback. It’s not just that it’s against another good team, but it’s also being down an all-star guard in Darius Garland. It’s also being down a guy that while he hasn’t shot the basketball, well, I do think Larry Nance has been useful so far. I don’t think he’s been great, but I think he’s been useful and I think he’s done some good things. And the fact that the Cavs are giving minutes in this game to a guy like, you know, Tyresese Proctor, who I thought did some very good things, hit a couple of very nice shots in one of his runs that he had, that is the sign to me of a great team that the Cavs found a way to win this game. And this should not be some breaking news, right? Like we expect the Cavs to find ways to win these games, but to start the season, they didn’t look their best. And they don’t need to look their best right now. And I still don’t think they look their best because this by no means was like the Cavs at their peak. I thought that the Cavs kind of had like their Bminus game for the most part on Saturday night. Going back and re-watching it, this was not something that I’m just like, man, if that team shows up, they’re winning the title. No, but finding a way to get to your Bminus game on your third game in four nights isn’t always easy. And I think that that is one of the signs of a great team. And I think the other part of it is being able to have multiple guys that can take over. And one of the things that really stood out to me from this game is we know what Donovan did in the second half, right? Like he had 26 of his 29 points in the second half. He was awesome. He was the biggest reason why the Cavs won that game. No one’s going to debate that. And no one’s going to debate where Donovan Mitchell is amongst the game’s best. I mean, maybe like if you want to get nitpicky, but he is, consensus says, among among the game’s best, and that is kind of what we expect out of him, but what stood out to me is he’s not the only guy for the Cavs that took over the game for stretches because Evan Mobley was, I think, a big reason why the Cavs were one, able to kind of stick in the game, and two, kind of get back into the game in the third quarter. I thought that he was really, really good in this game. He had 16 of his 24 points in the first half. Was six of eight from the floor in the first half. Like he was in this game the best player on the floor. I thought by a wide margin in the first half. Even if the Cavs weren’t playing their best basketball, they were within shouting distance because of what Evan Evan Wy was able to do. You saw him take over the game for a little bit. And it wasn’t just his scoring. It was his playmaking. It was his ability to run the offense. And it hasn’t always looked pretty. And it’s not always going to look pretty. The growing pains that the Cavs have on offense are basically the growing pains that Evan Mobley has on offense. That’s what that is. And that’s okay. They’re going to pay off at a certain point. And I do think that we’re starting to see signs. And like there was a play where he had was able to get by Kevin Herder, get an and one, and like should he maybe be able to get by him a little bit easier than he is? Yes. But overall, he’s still getting the job done there. And it’s a work in progress, but it’s something that looks like it’s getting better. And if it’s getting better, if it’s improving, if it’s going to be a much different product at the end of the year than it is right now, then the growing pains will all be worth it. And it’s not too because we speak about growing pains and I think that so often we talk about growing pains as like part of a rebuild. And that is obviously nowhere near where the calves are right now. The Cavs are going through a lot of these growing pains and wins. And I do kind of think that because they started off three and three that we’ve lost sight a little bit of just how good this team already is. They’ve won their last four. And have they gone out and beaten any true contenders? No. I I talked the other day about teams being beneath them and not in like a disrespectful way, but if you look at a lot of the teams just in the Eastern Conference, I I think you could confidently say that if you go up and down the standings in the Eastern Conference, the only team that you can look at and say, “Yes, that team I think is on the same level as the Cavs is the New York Knicks. The Detroit Pistons have got off to a great start. They’re playing right now. I don’t know if they win or lose. So, by the time you’re listening to this, they will either be in first place ahead of the Cavs or have the same record as the Cavs and the Cavs will have the tiebreaker because they beat them by 30 points. The Pistons are not on the same level as the Cavs. The Bulls are not on the same level as the Cavs. The Sixers are not on the same level as the Cavs. Miami is not on the same level as the Cavs. And we’ll talk about them a little bit later and the whipound show uh coming up a little bit later on today too to get you ready for that baseball series with the Miami Heat. But the only team in the Eastern Conference that you can look at and say, respectfully, of course, that that team is capable of being on the same level as the Cavs and the Cavs have to reach this level, too. It’s not just, oh, New York has to play perfect to do this. No, the Cavs have to be good, too. Um, but is the New York Knicks. Everyone else is beneath them. And I say that in a very respectable way because those teams are not as talented as the Cavs. They don’t have a ceiling this year that is as high as the Cavs in the Eastern Conference. So they because they got off to a start that was not 15-0 the way that it was last year. It’s looked at as as if they’re not as good as they were last year. And that to me couldn’t be further from the truth. I think that this team is going to ultimately maybe not win 65 games which would make them a better regular season team than they were last year. But I think ultimately this team is going to be a better basketball team than it was last year. And having three guys because Evan Mobley did it. I just talked about that. I’m going to talk about Donovan Mitchell in a second, but DeAndre Hunter too took over this basketball game for stretches. He was really, really good on Saturday night, and he’s a big part of the reason why the Cavs won this game. DeAndre Hunter shotmaking was outstanding. The fact that they’ve got multiple guys, and I I I don’t want to, as I say this, I don’t want to exclude Jared Allen from this, but it’s different with Jarrett because Jarrett can’t go out and just score 30 on his own. But Donovan Mitchell can. Donovan Mitchell can just roll out of bed and get 30. Darius Garland can go get 30 on his own. Evan Mobley, I think, is at the point like, does he need a little bit of help to get there? Maybe. But we also saw that Raptors game where he was awesome. It’s just like, yes, if you’re the guy and you’re getting, you know, if your usage is high enough as Evan Mobley, he can go get 30. I mean, he had a 40-point game last year. DeAndre Hunter can go get 30 on his own because if you go look at a lot of his buckets, yeah, some of them are assisted, but he can just put the ball on the floor and go get a basket. And having that now compared to where they were last year, I think is a big difference. And watching this game, Saturday’s game against the Bulls, really got me to thinking about what a healthy DeAndre Hunter looks like in the postseason. And he was really, really good in that first round series against Miami Heat last year. And then he had the thumb injury which I do think impacted him quite a bit against the Indiana Pacers. But if the Cavs get a healthy version of DeAndre Hunter in the playoffs, especially one that will have been here all year and is not trying to adjust to a new situation at the most important time of the year. I think it’s going to be really really beneficial. And I think that yes, even though they didn’t have Darius Garland, I think we saw flashes of what that could be for the Caps because he was able to take over the game for stretches. Evan Mobley could take over the game for stretches and we know Donathan Mitchell is always capable of taking over the basketball game. So now basically what this means to me is the Cavs have four guys in their starting lineup that are capable of taking over games for stretches. That’s a really important thing. And I look at this the other way and say too the Cavs have their ideal starting five which was not on the floor together because Darius Garland did not play on Saturday. But so far when they’ve had four of their available starting five, which is Mitchell, Mobley, Garland, Hunter, and Jared Allen, when four of those guys play, they’re undefeated so far. And yes, it’s a small sample size, and no, that will not hold up throughout the season. They will lose games when they have guys available, but it does speak to how beat up they’ve been. And it does seem like the health is trending in the right direction. So, for them to get to that point where we can say, “Hey, they might have everybody that’s a rotation player other than Max Truce available tonight for the first time and they’re seven and three, I think that’s a really good place to be.” Now, the Cavs ultimately won this game on Saturday because of Donovan Mitchell. I think, and I’ve been saying this for a little while, but through 10 games, I feel pretty good about it. I think this is going to be the best season of Donovan Mitchell’s career. I’ll talk about it next right here on Locked on Cavs. But first, today’s show is brought to you by Robin Hood. Your ambition just met its match. With Robin Hood, you play for the win. Not just on game day, but every day. Locking in on every opening, beating your PR, beating it again. Channel that drive into your money. Robin Hood puts you in control of your money. Trade stocks and ETFs, options, futures, and crypto all on one platform. 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It’s the app that gives fans the advantage. It’s your ultimate life hack for scoring amazing NBA tickets fast, easy, and most importantly, stressfree. So, take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use code locked on NBA. That is L O C D O NA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms to apply. Again, that’s code locked on NBA for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go with Game Time. Thank you again for making today’s edition of Locked on Cavs your first listen. Thank you for making Locked on Cavs your first listen every single day. Those everydayers have helped to make Lockdown the number one sports podcast network. So, thank you very much for all the listening that you do. Honored to be a part of such a great network here over at the Lockdown Podcast Network. Donovan Mitchell had a great game on Saturday. More well, more accurately, Donovan Mitchell had a great second half on Saturday. He didn’t have a very good first half. He was inefficient. He didn’t look like he had his usual pep in his step. Um he was missing shots that he normally makes. And Donov Mitchell, I think it’s fair to say, has earned the right to have a bad half of basketball every now and then. But then what he came out and did in the second half was what we expect out of Donov Mitchell. I’m not saying that he needs to go out and average 26 points a half because he’d be the greatest basketball player ever if he did that. But this is the type of guy that I look at and my opinion on Donovan has changed from not recently, but if you’ve been listening to this show since I’ve been on it, you know where I stand on them. And when the Cavs made a trade, made the trade I should say, for Donovan Mitchell way back when, I thought, man, this is this is a huge bet on Evan Mobley. And in some respects, I still feel that way because I look at this and and I thought Donovan was an awesome player. He was a multi-time all-star. He had been on some really good Utah teams. And unless you stayed up late watching a lot of Jazz basketball, which I don’t know of many Northeast Ohioans that were doing that before Donovan Mitchell was a member of the Cavs. And I don’t know how many Northeast Ohioans were listening to Locked on Jazz either. But unless you were doing that, I don’t think you understood how good Donovan Mitchell was. Now, I at the time did not think that Donovan Mitchell was somebody that was good enough to be the best player in a championship winning basketball team. I thought that you know what, he is like a super high-end number two. The Cavs traded for a guy that is possibly the best second best player in a team in the league. Now, the bet is that Evan Mobley is going to become the best player on that team and that Evan Mobley is capable of being the best player on a championship team. And maybe now is not the time to do it. Although, I think after a half like this one where he just shoulders so much of the load and really helps to carry the Cavs to a a win with a tremendous comeback on a 120 run that he’s a big part of where I believe he scored eight of the 12 points in the final minute and a half that that won the Cavs this game. But I have gotten to the point, and this is not new, but it’s worth bringing up after moments like this one. I have gotten to the point where I think Donovan Mitchell is a top seven player in basketball. I think Donovan Mitchell is at this point capable of being the best player on a championship winning team. Now, I don’t know how long that’s going to be true for when he got here. I didn’t think that was true. I think he has gotten so much better. And I I do think even too, it’s probably fair to say that Donovan Mitchell has gotten to a place in his career that I’m not sure the Cavs knew he was capable of getting to when they made the trade. Obviously, they thought very highly of him to make that trade. But if you go back and look at that deal, which some people thought was an overpay at the time, that looks like a steal right now for what they’ve gotten, for what Donovan Mitchell has meant to this franchise, for the basketball player that he’s been in his time in Cleveland. That trade looks like a steal and he has consistently regular season, postseason, I think looked like somebody that is capable of being the best player on a championship winning team. That is the type of player Donovan Mitchell has developed into. So that trade then becomes less of a bet on Evan Mobley. Now they still need Moy to be the second best player on this team, which I do think he is at this point. I think people internally think that too because of what he provides on both ends of the floor. And I think that the Cavs feel like they’ve got one of the best, if not the best, third best player on a team in Darius Garland because ultimately they’ve got three guys that you look at and say that’s a perennial all-star whether you’re talking about Garland, whether you’re talking about Moy and obviously if you are talking about Mitchell like that. So that’s a really healthy place to be obviously, but I think Donovan is at the apex of his career. And going into the season, I I just thought, you know what, there’s no reason why Donovan Mitchell can’t be better than he was last year. And yes, I know that guards his size don’t typically age well, but Donovan’s not at the point where he’s aging yet. Yeah. I mean, yes, like he is getting older. That’s how father time works, but he’s not in his 30s. I I think that we look at this because he’s had some lower body soft tissue issues in the postseason, and that is certainly something that we need to see be better in April, May, and June for Donovan. But I look at this and just say there are not very many guys in basketball that I would take over Donovan Mitchell. Yeah, there’s the big four in in Luca and Giannis and Joic and SGA, but after that, I don’t know that there’s anyone else. And sure, maybe you could talk me into Anthony Edwards. You can certainly talk me into Victor Wmanyama as like a future. Maybe not this year. I need to see it for a little bit more than 10 games. Steph Curry, I I would rather have Donovan Mitchell in Steph Curry right now. I would rather have Donovan Mitchell in just about everybody in basketball. Like, I would take him over Jaylen Brunson. And I know that nationally that might not be the most popular opinion because of the market Jaylen Brunson plays and and the fact that he has undisputably had more postseason success, but I look at Donovan and the guy that he’s become. And Saturday night is just another data point of him being awesome and him being somebody that can carry this team to places that I didn’t think he was capable of doing when he first got to Cleveland. and Saturday, what he was able to do down the stretch, the way he’s able to shoot the ball from beyond the arc and get to his spots and then get to the rim over and over again and finish through contact like he had the one the one layup where it looked like Isaac Aoro was going to rip the ball away from him. Donov was just like, “No, I I’m stronger than you. Isaac Aoro, as you know, if you’re listening to this, is one strong dude.” But Donovan Mitchell has just turned himself into what I truly believe is a guy that should be viewed as a perennial top 10 player in basketball. And I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. I don’t know that after this year he’s going to still be getting better, but I think that this year we’re looking at what should be Donovan Mitchell’s apex season. He should be at the peak of his powers this season. I think that’s what we’ve seen so far from him, watching him through these first 10 games, nine games that he’s played. But overall, there’s no reason for me to think that Donovan Mitchell is going to do anything other than get better as this season goes on. Donovan’s been so good this year. He was so good on Saturday night. He was the biggest reason why they won that game. And I just think, you know what, if you’re going to bet on the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell right now is the biggest reason why you should be doing so. Now, there are a couple of other reasons why the Cavs won the game on Saturday against the Bulls, want to talk about Jaylen Tyson because he was great in that game, too. And something I found very interesting as far as he goes. And we are going to look a little bit ahead to this week with the Cavs having a couple games against Miami because I think that will be a fun test for the Cavs. So we’ll do that next right here on Locked on Cavs. But first, today’s show is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA is back. There’s no better place to get in on the action than with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of, of course, the NBA. So even if you miss the start of a game or if you want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for your shot at a bigger payout. Keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Um, so Sunday, I watched that Browns game. That might be the second Browns game this year that I’ve watched all of. And I told you guys I’d like the Browns min or plus the one and a half prior to the the New York Jets making those trades. And I’m sorry if you took that advice on FanDuel. I hope that you did not use your first $5 bet on that. But what you can do, there are games tonight. First $5 bet can be something from Monday Night Football. That’s what it could be. If you want to win $300 in bonus bets because that is what FanDuel is offering right now to new FanDuel customers. There’s no better deal. Monday Night Football is your place to go. We’ve got Philly. We’ve got Green Bay. Might be the best Monday Night game of the year. Maybe you like Jaylen Herz anytime touchdown score. It feels like he scores all the time. Or maybe you just like the Packers at home minus one and a half. If you do, FanDuel is the place to go. And of course, there are a load of NBA games going on tonight. It is the place to bet NBA games as well. It will keep every game exciting, especially when you’re watching your team. So, right now, like I said, FanDuel giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, head to fanduel.com. That is f an d-el.com to sign up and play your game of FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Thank you again for making today’s edition of Lockdown Cavs your first watch on YouTube. And if you are watching, do us a favor. Hit that thumbs up button for us. Click subscribe and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss the latest locked on Cavs content. And the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night were without Darius Garland. And this, as I mentioned, was just part of the recovery process, the return to performance process for Garland that he’s not playing in the first backto-back that he’s able to play in. So, what I found interesting about this was that Jaylen Tyson was the fifth starter alongside Donovan Mitchell, DeAndre Hunter, Evan Moy, and Jared Allen. And I found this interesting because prior to the season, Kenny Atinson, when talking about Darius Garland’s absence at the beginning of the season, said the lineup that was going to get the first look was Mitchell, Hunter, Mobly, Allen, and Sam Merrill as the starting shooting guard. Now, Sam has gotten off to a fantastic start to begin this season. He’s been one of the best shooters, if not the best high volume three-point shooter in basketball so far. He has expanded his game. He’s doing more with the basketball in his hands. Um, he had eight assists in this game. Some really, really impressive stuff. But the fact that they went with Tyson as the starting shooting guard, I think really shows us how much trust he has earned from not only his teammates, but from the coaching staff as well. And I came into this season, and if you listen to the podcast, you know this. I came into the season talking about how the best thing Tyson could do would make it so when Max Struce ultimately does return from his foot injury, whenever that might be, which I think we’re still a ways away from, the best thing he could do is make it really, really challenging for Kenny Atinson to not play him. And so far, I think he’s done more than that. I think if if Max Drew came back tomorrow, which is not happening, or tonight because they play tonight. If Max Drew came back tonight, Jaylen Tyson is still in this rotation. Jaylen Tyson has done well enough that the Cavs have to, no matter what, find a way to get him minutes because it’s not just that he’s shooting the ball as well as he is. It’s that he’s making winning plays on both ends of the floor over and over and over again. Like I I I talk all the time and I say this more with Tyresese Proctor because he’s a rookie because it’s really not fair to expect rookies to impact winning, especially when they’re picked where Proctor is, but that’s a different conversation for a different time. But it’s really challenging for young players to impact winning. And Jaylen Tyson right now is not a star player. Obviously, he is a very, very good role player. What he’s been so far this year, he’s been a very, very good role player. It can be hard for guys to adjust to that life and I think Tyson has done a fantastic job of it. He’s been one of the best role players that the Cavs have had and I think they’ve got some really really good role players on this roster. Like I just talked about how how good Sam Merryill has been. But Jaylen Tyson finds ways to make winning play after winning play. And I think that putting him in the starting lineup on Saturday when Sam is available, and yes, Darius Garland’s not and Jaylen is not going to be a full-time starter when when Darius is back and able to play every single night. That’s not going to be something that happens. But he has earned his time in the rotation without question. He has earned the trust of this coaching staff. He has earned the trust of his teammates. He does all the little things that role players need to do at a high level. And that to me has been one of the most impressive parts of the start of this season is that the Cavs have found something in Jaylen Tyson. And yeah, we can talk about it being a small sample size. And you know, I don’t know that he’s going to be a 45% three-point shooter forever. Like I’m not sure how real that is, but man, it’s really difficult for me to look at what he’s done so far, and say Jaylen Tyson has been anything other than somebody that belongs, deserves to be in the rotation full-time, even when this team is at complete and full strength. I was impressed with him. I thought that the Cavs don’t win that game on Saturday night without Jaylen Tyson. That I feel very confident about. And how many games of the first 10 that they’ve played, the seven that they’ve won, how many games can you say that about? Because Saturday night is not the first night that that’s the truth. Now, the Cavs are back in action tonight. They take on the Miami Heat tonight and th on Wednesday. They play the Toronto Raptors on Thursday, the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. We’ll be covering a bunch of that with the whipound episode coming up a little bit later on this afternoon here at Lock on Cavs. But I do think that this is an opportunity for the Cavs to stack some wins. Now, Miami is a good team. They’re better than I think a lot of people expected them to be. They’re without Bam Adabio tonight. I don’t know if he’s going to play on Wednesday or not. They’ve not had Tyler here all year. And they’re six and four right now. Playing a very fun style of basketball that you can hear more because Wes Goldberg was great on this in the whip round that’s coming up later. But the Cavs are a better team than Miami. Like as I talk about teams that are beneath the Cavs, Miami is one that they’re a good basketball team. They’re a team that I think will be competing to be in the playoffs and not in the playin. I think their floor is maybe like being the eight seed entering the playins. I think their ceiling might be like five. So, they’re a good basketball team, but this is an opportunity for the Cavs who have a very clean injury report. The only guy on the injury report that is part of the rotation and we expect to like potentially be available is Larry Nance Jr. Max Truce is obviously out. Um, but this is potentially the healthiest the Cavs are going to be for quite some time. So, it’ll be interesting to see what this rotation looks like. That is one of the things I’m fascinated by. If Lar Jr. is active tonight, what does the rotation look like? But I’m also looking at this and just thinking this is an opportunity for the Cavs to stack wins. They’re better than all four teams that they play this week. Yes, Toronto is a back-to-back and third game in four nights and all of that, but this is the chance for the Cavs to start to put some distance, I think, between themselves and the rest of the Eastern Conference. Now, Detroit keeps winning. Don’t know if they won on Sunday or not because I’m recording this while that game’s going on. But so far to me, the Cavs, especially over this recent stretch when they’ve started to look like the Cavs again, the Cavs are the best team in the Eastern Conference. I think they’ve shown that so far, particularly because the one team with a better record than them, they beat by like 30 points on the road. So, I do think that matters a little bit, but I think that this week is a real opportunity to go out and prove that. So, like I said, the whipound episode will be available early this afternoon wherever you get your podcast. So, make sure you’re subscribed on Apple, make sure you’re subscribed on Spotify, make sure you’re subscribed anywhere else, and if you’re watching on YouTube as we get out of here, do us a favor, hit that thumbs up button for us, click subscribe, and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss Lockdown Cavs content. And I’ll be back later, and then tomorrow talking more about the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland Cavaliers storm back to edge Chicago Bulls in a thrilling 128-122 victory, powered by Donovan Mitchell’s explosive second-half takeover. Is this Mitchell’s apex season? Danny Cunningham weighs whether the superstar guard has reached his championship-contending prime, and what his elevated play means for the team’s future.
Key topics include Evan Mobley’s improved offensive role, De’Andre Hunter’s impact as a healthy postseason weapon, and Jaylon Tyson’s emergence as a lineup staple despite early-season injuries. Danny Cunningham breaks down why the Cavaliers look ready to separate themselves from Eastern Conference rivals, including the upcoming Miami Heat series. With the rotation trending healthier and Mitchell leading the way, can the Cavaliers cement their status as the East’s top team?
Check out Danny’s Substack, The Inside Shot: https://theinsideshot.substack.com/
Email the show: LOCavsmailbag@gmail.com
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