BOSTON — Let’s face it: The Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA narrative so far this season.
The Warriors’ amazing streak finally ended over the weekend, though, allowing us to focus on something other than how incredible Stephen Curry is. Turns out, the team that took Curry and Co. to six games in last season’s NBA Finals also is handling its business quite well.
The Cleveland Cavaliers own a 16-7 record after Tuesday’s win over the Boston Celtics. They’re the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, a status they’ve achieved despite All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving missing every game to date and starting shooting guard Iman Shumpert only playing in the previous two.
LeBron James has been able to keep the Cavs afloat by doing what he does best: facilitating when possible and taking games over when necessary. Case in point: Cleveland trailed the mediocre Portland Trail Blazers in the third quarter last Tuesday, but James scored 14 points in the fourth to help the Cavs escape with a five-point win.
“I think, considering what we had to deal with in the preseason and the fact that we played the first quarter of our season without our starting backcourt, we’ve done a pretty good job in terms of competing and positioning ourselves,” Cavs coach David Blatt said Tuesday. “(But) we’re not yet where we want to be.”
Adding Irving and Shumpert to the mix certainly can help them get there. Irving, who reportedly has been ready to play for a week and is expected to return with soon, obviously provides a scoring boost. He’ll lighten the load on point guards Mo Williams and Matthew Dellavedova, who each have averaged 28-plus minutes per game in his absence.
Yet Cleveland also could benefit from a more active defense; despite allowing just 96.7 points per game, the Cavs only are forcing an average of 13.3 turnovers per game, good for 24th in the NBA.
Enter Shumpert, who James boldly compared to the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.
“He just fits our DNA so well,” James said of Shumpert on Tuesday. “A guy who’s aggressive, he has probably the best hands in the NBA along with (San Antonio Spurs swingman) Kawhi Leonard defensively. He just plays very, very good basketball. … He brings a fierce, competitive nature to our team.”
That competitiveness certainly was on display Tuesday night, as Shumpert, James and the Cavs held Boston to a season-low 77 points on 32 percent shooting.
Blatt admits there likely will be a “period of adaptation” after Cleveland finally gets its full lineup on the floor, but don’t expect that to last long. The Cavs went 34-9 down the stretch last season after adding Shumpert, J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov to solidify their roster, and it’s hard to find team in the East that stacks up against Cleveland’s full squad.
“When we were playing and all healthy (last season), we were pretty good,” Blatt noted.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
