After spending nearly a week in Paris to face the Brooklyn Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been away from the friendly confines of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for a while. Even though they were gone for so long, teams that participated in the Paris games before the Cavs or the Nets are a combined 5-1 overall in their first game back in the United States.
So, the pressure was on when Cleveland hosted the Chicago Bulls for their first game back state-side. Would the Cavs crumble, especially when they were still without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley against the Bulls? Or, would they thrive, continuing their four-game winning streak and sudden Eastern Conference surge?
Cavs crusade
Once the first quarter ended, it felt like a clear case of the former instead of the latter. Cleveland outscored Chicago 40-27 in the opening frame, and it was just enough after being outscored by the Bulls in every other quarter until the Cavs pulled away in the final frame.
Considering the jet lag and everything in between, the Cavs not being completely perfect in their first game back at home makes sense. But, what stood out from this win for Cleveland is something that seems almost too simple – they leaned on the fundamentals of the game to secure the win.
By that, the Cavs simply maintained a team-first approach against the Bulls, constantly moving the ball and finding the open man on offense. Overall, Cleveland assisted on 28 of 39 made field goals, with 58.0% of those assists coming from three-point range.
When looking at those numbers, it's the perfect blend of how the Cavs have vanquished opponents on offense lately from beyond the arc. But, considering that it came from Cleveland playing as a team rather than just on the back of Donovan Mitchell, the assisted three-point shooting numbers are even more encouraging performance-wise.
Surprisingly enough, none of the damage on the perimeter came from Max Strus, who was 0-6 from three-point range. Instead, like their passing, the Cavs took a team-first approach to hurting the Bulls on the perimeter.
Donovan Mitchell, Sam Merrill and Caris LeVert all connected on four attempts from beyond the arc while Georges Niang was just behind them with three perimeter makes of his own. Finally, Isaac Okoro rounded out Cleveland's group of marksmen – connected on a single three-point attempt of his own early into the third quarter.
The Cavs keep finding ways to win without their superstar duo of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley in so many different ways while maintaining a team-first approach. Monday's three-point barrage was a product of that approach and now sees Cleveland riding a five-game win streak, which is tied for the longest active winning streak in the NBA.
More importantly, the Cavs are now only 2.5 games back of the Philadelphia 76ers for third place in the Eastern Conference, which is remarkable considering all of what they've been dealing with lately. Up next for Cleveland is a chance to host the Milwaukee Bucks, which can serve as a litmus test on how legitimate they can be come postseason time. But, considering how well they've been playing as of late, the Cavs have to feel good about their chances heading into the matchup.
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