Already a month into the 2023-24 NBA season and there are already awards to be handed out. For those who don't know, the NBA names the top player in the Eastern and Western Conferences every week. Meanwhile, they also name the top player, rookie, and coach for the Eastern and Western Conferences toward the start of each month of the regular season schedule.
Despite the up-and-down start to their NBA campaign, which Max Strus called “average” for their 11-9 record, the Cleveland Cavaliers have had standout individual performers. Some nights, Donovan Mitchell explodes for 40 or more points and carries Cleveland to victory. Other times, Evan Mobley flirts with a triple-double with points, rebounds, and blocks due to his defensive prowess.
Despite the 11-9 start, even J.B. Bickerstaff outfoxed Nick Nurse, Michael Malone and Steve Kerr, setting his team up for success on either end of the floor with his coaching prowess.
Regardless of the outstanding showing from their players and coaches, the Cavs won zero awards for their play to start the season. That's right – zip, zilch, nada to show for Cleveland's on-court triumphs. Instead, friends, rivals and foes took home the glory and when looking at who won over certain members of the Cavs, it feels like Cleveland was snubbed.
Cavs come up empty
The more blatant case was Eastern Conference Player of the Month, where Mitchell was a nominee. The honors instead went to Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, who averaged 27.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 19 appearances. Funnily enough, Mitchell had nearly similar averages with 27.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 15 games for the Cavs.
Granted, Boston is 15-4 with Tatum on the floor while Cleveland is only 8-8 with Mitchell available. But Mitchell did play fewer games than Tatum and had the same statistical averages as the supposed best player in the Eastern Conference. That's definitely noteworthy and makes and argument for why Mitchell was snubbed.
Thankfully, for Mitchell's sake, he has a teammate to share his disappointment with Craig Porter Jr., an Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month nominee. The honors instead went to Miami Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., who averaged 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists for the Heat in 26.7 minutes per game in 20 contests. Porter Jr., meanwhile, only averaged 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 13.7 minutes per game in 13 appearances for the Cavs.
Looking at just the statistics, it's clear that Jaquez Jr. outproduced Porter Jr. But, considering that Porter Jr. seldom played for Cleveland to start the season, while Jaquez was a staple with Miami immediately, the argument for Jaquez is a bit skewed.
If anything, the fact that an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract was thrown into the fire, never expecting to play this year, and being key in wins over Denver and Philadelphia is far more compelling.
While Mitchell and Porter Jr. are the Cavs' dynamic duo, three's company when Bickerstaff lost Eastern Conference Coach of the Month to Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. While Orlando has the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and Cleveland is in ninth place, the Magic have had a much easier schedule to start the season.
On multiple occasions, Orlando has had the luxury of facing the Washington Wizards, the Charlotte Hornets, the Utah Jazz, and the Chicago Bulls, some of the NBA's bottom feeders. Meanwhile, the Cavs have had to deal with the Nuggets, the Warriors, the Thunder, the Lakers and the 76ers before even considering a brief reprieve.
During that stretch of juggernauts, Cleveland pulled off several key wins under Bickerstaff while Mosley and the Magic are waiting their turn to do the same. Sure, Orlando went on a nine-game winning streak in the first month of action, but only three of those wins were against teams with a winning record. So, while Mosley and the Magic are impressive on paper, Bickerstaff probably can't help but feel a bit bitter when he learned he was snubbed for Coach of the Month honors.
Unfortunately, that's the nature of the beast in the NBA. As the regular season calendar turns to December, the Cavs will have to #LetEmKnow that Cleveland has some of the beasts of the East. With so many key players and coaches getting snubbed, there will be a little extra motivation to go with it as well.
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