In a wild start to the 2024-2025 NBA Season where the Boston Celtics are the defending champs and the Western Conference dominating, it is the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-0) that are taking the league by storm.
The Cavaliers are the only remaining undefeated team left in the NBA. They are also on their best start in franchise history since 1976-1977 as they push for their second-ever NBA title, their first without LeBron James.
The last team to start 13-0 was the 2016-2016 Golden State Warriors when they finished the regular season 73-9. This was the year the Cavaliers shocked the Warriors in the NBA Finals in a best-of-seven series.
Despite the historic start to the season, ESPN First Take host and analyst Stephen A. Smith isn’t convinced the Cavaliers are a legitimate threat to Boston.
Smith had a lot to say about the Cavaliers’ hot start to the season, but he has more questions than answers about this unit.
He admitted he wanted Donovan Mitchell on the team he supports, the New York Knicks.
“I can honestly say I don’t know, here is the reason why. I have no questions about their talent. I’m a huge Donovan Mitchell fan, I wanted him in New York City ain’t never going to apologize for that.
“That brother is something special. I love the Allen and Mobey combo for how formidable they are defensively, I get all of that. But this was the same team we get into the playoffs and ultimately lose to Boston. It’s the same team we have questions in terms of the sustained level of excellence.”
“The question is, can they sustain what we’re seeing from them? Can they the collective bunch they’ve been thus far. I have no questions about Donovan Mitchell. The rest of the crew, I’m questioning.
“I’m not saying they can’t play, they can play, they call ball, I’ve got mad respect for Cleveland. Right now they look like the biggest threats to the Boston Celtics, but I got to see more. Come to me 60+ games into the season and I’ll give you a better answer to that question.”
There is nothing bad as to what Smith had to say about the Cavaliers and their hot start to the season. There should be a lot of questions for all 30 teams in the league, including the defending champions. Most, if not all, teams have only played 15% of their regular season schedule, so it can be too early to invest completely in a team.
The Cavaliers are off to a hot undefeated start for a reason. One reason is that Cleveland has faced only three teams (out of 12 teams) that currently have winning records. The Cavaliers have solid wins over the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles and the Warriors. Their schedule hasn’t been brutal, yet, although they faced a Milwaukee Bucks team twice and a New York Knicks team that are both underwhelming.
First-year head coach Kenny Atkinson has gotten the most out of his roster. Mitchell is playing at a first-team All-Star level throughout the court. Atkinson is also making a star out of point guard Darius Garland. He is averaging 20.5 points shooting a field-goal percentage of 53.4% and a three-point shooting percentage of 44.9%. Mobley and Allen are also playing at a high level on both sides of the court.
Time will tell if the Cavaliers keep their undefeated and if they are a threat to Boston. This time last season, there were several questions of the Celtics and if their big two needed to be separated. The Cavaliers could be in the same situation as the Celtics were at the end of the postseason, but only 15% of the season has been played.
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