CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers begin the final stretch of the season on Thursday as their post-All-Star Game slate opens up in Detroit against the Pistons.
The Wine and Gold has been the surprise team in the NBA to this point, racing out to a 35-23 record through their first 58 games of the season. Sitting firmly in the playoff picture, the Cavaliers are poised to make a return to the postseason for the first time since 2018, the last year LeBron James was on the team.
Here are three things to watch as the Cavaliers close out their final 24 games of the regular season.
Health of the team
The Cavaliers have rarely been whole this season due to various injuries. In 58 games, the team has featured a total of 20 starting lineups. The most common starting lineup the team has had this year features Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Lauri Markkanen, Isaac Okoro and Darius Garland. With the players available for the rest of the season, this is likely the ideal starting lineup for the team, but it has played just 13 games together in total.
Cleveland’s lack of continuity makes the success to this point even more impressive for the Cavs. With that said, the Cavs having more experience together on floor by the time that the playoffs roll around is vital. It’s also important to see how the Cavs are able to further integrate newly acquired wing Caris LeVert. Finding a good rhythm entering the playoffs certainly could be the difference in winning a playoff series. LeVert, however, is going to miss at least the first game back from the All-Star break with a foot sprain.
Evan Mobley rookie wall
Mobley has been one of the best surprises for the Cavaliers this season. Since he was drafted with the third overall pick last July, Mobley has done nothing but impress on both ends of the floor. He’s certainly the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award, and has exceeded all expectations set for him, at least for this season.
Mobley has the look of a franchise player, especially considering how much he impacts winning as a rookie, which is incredibly rare in today’s NBA. With that said, it’s fair to wonder if the All-Star break came at the perfect time for Mobley, who may have been struggling through a bit of a rookie wall. In the last eight games before the break, Mobley struggled to be as consistent as he has been all year long. His numbers across the board dropped in that stretch, and the Cavaliers were actually slightly outscored with him on the floor. In the last eight games, Mobley has been held to below 10 points in four of them.
Rookies often begin to struggle around the point in the season that Mobley reached before the break. Prior to this year, Mobley only played 33 games at USC, so the increase in workload, especially against a much higher level of competition wears on younger players. Having the chance to reset with the All-Star break could be exactly what the rookie needed.
Magic number watch!
Four months ago, when the season started, it’s difficult to think that the Cavaliers would be in the position that they’re in. With 24 games remaining in their regular season, the Cavs have a magic number -- actually a couple -- to clinch their way into the playoffs.
In the NBA, the top six seeds are guaranteed a playoff series, while teams that finish between seventh and 10th will be put into a play-in tournament. The Cavs are hoping to be the former, but very much could find themselves in the latter if things don’t go well. As of now, the Cavs are 35-23, with a 2.5-game cushion between them and the seventh-seeded Toronto Raptors. The team’s magic number to clinch a top-six seed right now is 23 – a number reached by combining Cavs wins and losses by the seventh-place team.
Now, for the team to clinch a spot at least in the play-in, the number is much lower. The Cavs currently have a gap of seven games between them and the 10th-place Atlanta Hawks. For the Cavs to clinch at least a spot in the play-in tournament, the combination of wins and 10th-place losses is a much more manageable 18. It’s difficult to imagine the Cavs not making the postseason at this point.