CLEVELAND — The highest compliment to pay the Cleveland Cavaliers through their first two postseason games is simply that there have been no surprises.
They are who we thought they were, at least so far, which is why they’re up 2-0 on an inferior Toronto Raptors team largely because the Raptors can’t match the Cavs in top-end talent.
Two teams seeded higher than Cleveland, the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks, have already pulled off the road and are checking their GPS after quickly losing home-court advantage in their respective series. There is a bit of unpredictability to the East this season, but it wasn’t supposed to start just yet. The Pistons, Knicks, Cavs and Boston Celtics were relatively heavy favorites to win their opening series. The Pistons and Knicks could still easily advance — one loss is never as catastrophic as it feels in the moment — but the heart rates for the Pistons and Knicks are certainly elevated following unexpected home losses to the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks.
That’s not the case with this series because the Cavs believe they’ve learned from their past moments of stress. The loss to the Indiana Pacers last year in the semifinals was stunning because of how quickly the Cavs fatigued. The Pacers’ relentless pressure sapped the energy from the Cavs’ legs like a slow drip over 10 days. By the end of Game 5, the Cavs had nothing left.
The Raptors have wisely attempted a similar approach in this series, although they haven’t been nearly as successful. The Cavs are conditioned for the pressure this time. At least that’s the hope. They’ve handled the physical pressure well to this point. The grueling mental pressure is still to come.
“I’m not sure last year we had the physical kind of resilience,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said following the Cavs’ 115-105 win in Game 2. “I feel like we’re physically more capable this year. We didn’t get worn down. They tried to wear us down, and we didn’t.”
Much has been written about James Harden’s arrival already, and more chapters are inevitably still to come. Harden’s presence can settle a team’s heart rate literally and figuratively. He likes to play at a slower pace at times, yes, but he also has a steady veteran hand in charge of the offense. His arrival allowed the Cavs to once and for all scrap any temptation of playing through Evan Mobley this season. Admittedly, I wanted it to happen with Mobley, but it just wasn’t working. He never looked comfortable initiating or playing so much on the perimeter.
Together, Harden and Mitchell allow Mobley to return to the paint, where he moves much more freely and causes matchup problems.
Maybe Mobley will eventually unlock more layers to his game as a ball handler, and maybe he won’t. Maybe this is who he is and will ever be. There are far worse things than a 24-year-old Defensive Player of the Year who averages 18 points and nine rebounds. For a team trying to win a championship over the next two months, this is the best way for him to operate. He is aggressively attacking the basket and confident enough to step into a few open 3s when opportunities are presented.
Mobley remains a critical piece for the Cavs to make a deep run, but it just may look a bit different than first intended in November and December. He has grown comfortable running pick-and-roll actions with Harden, and Harden knows how to feed him for easy attempts around the basket. While Jarrett Allen was always considered the prototypical big man to run the actions Harden likes, perhaps Mobley has adapted the most. He rolls hard to the rim now, where easy baskets await nightly.
When defenses drop in coverage, Harden said it opens Mobley for plenty of lobs. When opponents switch, it creates a different kind of mismatch.
Mobley made all six of his shots in the first half on Monday, and 10 of his 13 attempts came at the rim. When the Raptors went small, benching center Jakob Poeltl for the entire second half, they didn’t have the size to keep Mobley off the rim. It will be an issue for Toronto for the rest of this series. The more the Raptors move away from the 7-foot Poeltl and toward 6-foot-7 Collin Murray-Boyles, the more opportunities it will create offensively for Mobley.
He had 25 points and eight rebounds in Game 2, and it feels like there’s more to come.
Mitchell’s shotmaking through two games has been sensational. Harden’s steady hand has been ever-present. Barring injury or foul trouble, there shouldn’t be a moment in this postseason when the Cavs don’t have at least one of Harden or Mitchell on the court with either Mobley or Allen.
Mitchell and Harden are easily the two best players in this series, particularly on nights when Brandon Ingram can’t make a shot and looks lost on the court. So, no, this may not be the most aesthetically pleasing first-round series, but the Cavs stopped caring about sexy a long time ago. Through two games, this has progressed exactly as planned.
Mitchell and Harden are steering the controls against a team with limited shooting and a narrow path to victory, while Mobley punishes the Raptors in the paint.
“LeBronto” might be a thing of the past. The Cavs’ dominance over the Raptors remains.