Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has expressed on multiple occasions that he evaluates things every 20 games or so. That roughly quarter-long stretch of the NBA's regular season is the perfect balance between not overreacting too early and not sitting on his hands too long to fix issues bothering his team.
For Bickerstaff, it's hard to gauge things fully with the litany of injuries Cleveland has dealt with to start the season. But, considering that the Cavs are a defensive-first team, things would figure themselves out even though Cleveland is only slightly above average defensively. Instead, it's more important to focus on how the Cavs are flowing on offense, especially when Bickerstaff preached the idea of his team playing faster, focusing on taking and making more shots from three-point range.
Although their In-Season Tournament tilt against the Atlanta Hawks isn't quite the 20-game mark for Cleveland (it's only their 18th game of the season), there's a clear understanding of how the Cavs can function on offense, especially from their stars. Donovan Mitchell led both teams with 40 points on 14-25 shooting. Meanwhile, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley all chipped in 47 points together, and Cleveland's stars accounted for 68.7 percent of the total points scored for the Cavs.
Everyone chipped in for Cavs
But it wasn't just Mobley's scoring that was noteworthy in this win for Cleveland. Instead, the Cavs star big man was flat out dominant on either end of the floor, showcasing what he's capable and finally giving Cleveland the third star they so desperately needed to step up for them. Mobley finished the evening for the Cavs with a near triple-double, stringing together 17 points on 8-11 shooting, 19 rebounds and 7 blocked shots. He took advantage of Atlanta's lack of size at times and, in turn, was an unstoppable force from wire to wire.
Mind you, this wasn't a total star-powered effort, despite the scoring disparity between stars and role players telling you otherwise. Instead, Cleveland's role players did what was expected of them: they complemented the star players and rounded out everything offensively. While it wasn't a perfect product, there were moments where everything clicked for the Cavs and gave perspective on how lethal Cleveland can be when everything starts to gel and the stars and the supporting crew both feast on opposing defenses.
Starting small forward Max Strus only had 11 points against the Hawks but had seven assists to complement his lack of scoring which led to 18 additional points created. Most of Strus's assists benefited Cleveland's star quarter but Georges Niang was the other one to feast off of the point forward's playmaking chops. Niang led Cleveland's bench in scoring with 12 points, going bombs away from three-point range. Finally, Caris LeVert was solid once again, playing to the benefit of the stars commanding so much defensive attention and had 10 points, two three-pointers on five attempts, three rebounds and a single assist.
Again, this game wasn't perfect and there were moments that the Cavs found themselves trailing the Hawks by a considerable margin. Nevertheless, Cleveland dug deep and found a bit of what they've been lacking for the better part of the season and dominated. There were times they had to match Atlanta shot for shot. But, the Cavs were also able to crank up the defensive pressure, thanks to Mobley, to ensure that it didn't have to be a shootout and, instead, Cleveland showcasing that they can be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
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