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If Kenny was a car enthusiast, we imagine he’d be the type to take old muscle cars and bring them back to life. The Cavs were a well-built automobile, with a strong foundation but needed some tweaking and tuning. Kenny said eff all that, let’s give this thing some horsepower and see how fast we can go. While the Cavs have been built up as a defensive team, which has served them well, the team is now fueled by their offense. They will go as far as their offense takes them. Despite some so-so games, they still lead the league in offensive rating. They’re almost a full point ahead of the Celtics, and just a hair above the New York Knicks (yes, Thibs is now Mike D’Antoni reincarnated). The saying used to be defense wins championships. Now...

The winter equinox has arrived and the Cavs and Sixers square off for a rematch of their Nov. 13 game in Philly which the Cavs won by a 114-106 score. The Cavs are 24-4 while the Sixers are 9-16. The Sixers have won 6 of their last 8, but three of those wins were against Charlotte (7-21), one was against Detroit (11-17), one against Chicago (13-15), and one against Orlando without Banchero and Franz Wagner. Some things have changed since the first game. Jared McCain, the sensational rookie guard who burned the Cavs for 34 points and 10 assists, is out indefinitely. For the Cavaliers, Max Strus is back but Isaac Okoro, who had 9 points in 20 minutes, is out. Joel Embiid did not play in the first game and after playing 31 minutes last...

The Cavs got an early Christmas present when Damian Lillard was not able to suit up. Although, it may not have mattered as the Cavs were raining down threes like Santa dishes out toys down chimneys. Georges Niang and Tristan Thompson spoke about the Vegas hangover the Bucks may have been experiencing coming off their NBA Cup win. The Bucks came in 13-2 and looked more like the opposite for large stretches of the game. That’s also what happens when you have a well-rested team who’s had time to practice. This was only the Cavs second game over the last four days, and third game within the last 10+ days. While some Bucks may have been seeing double from their hangover, Giannis Antetokounmpo was seeing double all night when he drove to the...

After playing just two games in the last 11 days the Cavs get back to work with three games in the next four days. The first game will be the most challenging by far as they host the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks who are fresh off a dominant win over the Thunder in the Finals of the NBA Cup. The Bucks started 2-8 but have won 13 of their last 16. In their last three games they beat Orlando by 5, Atlanta by 8, and OKC by 16, so they are really starting to roll. They are 4-7 on the road, however, against 10-4 at home. Their win over OKC on Tuesday by a 97-81 score was impressive as the Thunder came in with a 20-5 record. The Thunder shot only 5-for-32 on 3’s, bricking a ton of open looks. If they had made only 11-for-32 they would have won...

They say you can often see an avalanche before you hear it and by the time you hear it it’s too late. By the time the Nets realized they were caught within a Cavalanche, it was too late. In what seemed like it had been building over the last few games, the Cavs put up 130+ points for the first time since November 15 and hit 15+ three-pointers since the Denver game. It certainly didn’t look like it would end with the way it started (the Nets going on a 7-0 run) but the Cavalanche came through and did not leave a borough standing. Minus Max Strus set to return any game soon enough, this is healthy as the Cavs have been in quite some time. Isaac Okoro went out midway through the game with a shoulder injury, but Donovan Mitchell said after...

Having played just one game in the last seven days the well-rested Cavs head to Brooklyn for a rematch against the Nets. These teams played a close one in Cleveland five weeks ago with the Cavs winning 105-100. The Nets were up by 12 after three quarters but the Cavs dominated the 4th by 35-18 to pull it out. Jarrett Allen was under the weather and played just 21 minutes, scoring 4 points. He was held out the 4th quarter. The Cavs were bailed out by their bench as LeVert, Jerome, and Niang were +19, +16, and +9. The Nets’ starters were all between +3 and +11 while their bench was -5 to -16. Evan Mobley had a huge game with 23 points on 10-for-11, plus 16 rebounds and 4 steals. He is not on the injury report so he should play. The...

John Michael said it towards the end of the game: A win is a win, and you don’t earn style points. And thank goodness he’s right. The Cavs ended up winning by double-digits, but it was anything but a clean game. They shot the worst field goal percentage of any game in the Kenny Atkinson era at 39.6%. It’s their first sub-40% FG% on the year, and just their fourth sub-47% game. It’s crazy to think how efficient the Cavs have been considering half the league averages below 47% FG% (including the Celtics). On the other end, their 40 FTAs were the most on any game this year – six more to the next closest. It’s only the second time they had 30+ FTA in a game. So, while they shot poorly from the field, and even from the free-throw line (just...

After four days off, much of which was spent in South Beach, the Cavs are back at it with their final game of the season against the Wizards. The previous two games were both won by the Cavs; 118-87 in Cleveland and 136-116 in Washington. This game will be in the Land. The Wizards are 3-19 overall and 1-9 on the road. They have lost 17 of 18. Their point differential is -16.2, worst in the league. The next worst is -11.7, so this is easily the worst team in the Association. The Wizards rank 25th in points per game and 30th in points allowed per game. I could go through the numbers but let’s just say there is nothing they do well except push the pace. They rank 9th in field goal attempts per game and 4th in pace. The Wizards have six...

Call it champagne problems. Head Coach Kenny Atkinson has helped revitalize the roster to the extent it’s hard to find a weak point or a bad contract. Boy, what a year and a different coaching regime makes. Kenny has made President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman’s team building look good but so good it’s going to be expensive. (Hey Dan, how’s that checkbook feeling?) These are champagne problems. Being good in the NBA comes at a cost and the Cavs are about to find out what it costs. And in today’s NBA there’s cost consequences. Gone are the days of writing a check to play above the tax line. Now, not only do you pay more as you spend more but transactional restrictions increase the more you spend. So, if you like that sweater...