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Empowerment was the word Donovan Mitchell used in his postgame interview with Scott Van Pelt. He talked about Kenny Atkinson empowering the team, and how every player has been empowered to step up when their number is called. It’s a good term to describe how the Cavs beat the Bucks on the road with Mitchell and Darius Garland having off nights shooting – the two combined for 28 points on 28 shots. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 52 points, yet they lost by 12 points. The difference was how and when the Cavs role players performed. Max Strus led the team in scoring and rebounding (how often has that happened?) and did it in just 22 minutes. Outside the core four, the team shot 15-for-28 (53.5%) on...

The Cavalanche is up to 13 straight wins as it rolls into Milwaukee for the fourth and final game of the regular season against the Bucks. Milwaukee is 36-26 and currently in 4th place in the East, 3.5 games behind the Knicks and one game ahead of Indy. The Bucks are also on fire, having won 8 of 10. They are very tough at home (21-9), but not so tough against teams with records of .500 or above (11-14). The Cavaliers are 3-0 against the Bucks, but these teams have not played in nearly three months. Both teams have changed significantly with the Cavs adding DeAndre Hunter and the Bucks swapping Kris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma. The Bucks are 9-4 in games Kuzma has played. The Bucks will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back...

The Cavaliers take their 11-game win streak south for the first of a two-game road trip against the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets are 14-47 on the year and have lost 19 of their last 22 games. The Cavaliers are 3-0 against Charlotte, having won by 14 and 10 points at home and by 14 in Charlotte. In the 116-102 win in Charlotte both LeMelo Ball and Miles Bridges were out. They should both be available tomorrow. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 25 points that game and he is out. Actually, the Hornets will be missing 5 of their top 7 scorers; Brandon Miller (21 ppg), Mark Williams (16 points, 10 rebounds), Tre Mann (14 points), Grant Williams (10 points), and Josh Okogie (10 points). Mark Williams is getting a rest day. I don’t know...

The Cavs continue to stumble out of the gate only to find their footing in the second half of games. Against Portland they scored 42 points in the first half and 77 in the second. Against Chicago it was 57 in the first half and 82 in the second. We could see that again tonight as the Cavs play on the second night of a back-to-back against an inferior opponent. The Miami Heat come to Cleveland with a 29-31 record. However, they have lost 7 of their last 11 and are 8-10 since sitting down Jimmy Butler and then trading him. Miami is 13-19 on the road and 9-21 against teams .500 and over. A great example of the difference between the Heat at home and away are the two games against Atlanta last week. In Atlanta they lost 98-86. Two...

At this point, the Cavs go down 15, 16, 17, or 18 just for fun. It’s like they were playing on All-Pro mode and decided to turn on All-Madden mode just for the heck of it and still force the opposing team to rage quit. Kenny Atkinson said after the game they need to be careful, and this league is too hard to sleepwalk for three quarters, but it just goes to show how good this team can be and how quickly. Good teams are good consistently and don’t just flip the switch on and off, but great teams can flip the switch to a level most teams don’t have. He also said after the game, “For a team with the best record in the league, that’s not our identity,” and he’s right. While the Cavs have consistently won and consistently won at high levels...

Winners of 14 of their last 15 the Cavaliers make the short hop to Chicago for a one-game road trip as they face the Bulls for the third time this year. The Cavs are 2-0 against the Bulls with wins by scores of 119-113 and 144-126. The Bulls are 24-37 on the season. They got off to a respectable 18-20 start but have since gone 6-17. They have lost eight of their last 10. For some reason they are better on the road (13-16) than at home (11-21). They are 9-24 against teams .500 and above. The Bulls last win against a team with a winning record was five weeks ago. The Bulls are not at full strength for this one as Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams, and Ayo Dosunmu are out. Those three average a combined 41 points, 14 rebounds, and 10...

In a season full of firsts, what’s another. For the first time this year, the Cavs had an overtime game. They haven’t had many games like this, playing down to their competition and going to the end with a subpar opponent, but it’s a long season and the first half showed the Celtics game took a lot out of the Cavs. This isn’t to take anything away from the Blazers who were riding a five-game winning streak into Cleveland, but the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers are on different planes. It was a story of two halves with overtime being the cherry on top: The first half saw the Cavs put up their lowest first half point total of the year (42 points) while the second half saw the Cavs tie their previous second half high (77 points). For anyone...

The Cavaliers roll into March on a major roll having won 14 of 15 including a nasty beatdown of the Knicks and a 4th quarter come-from-behind win in Boston. Next up is a home contest against the Portland Trailblazers, who the Cavs will be playing for the first time this year. This has been a tale of two seasons for the Blazers as they started 13-28 but have since gone 14-5. However, 11 of those 14 wins were against teams under .500. Their last win against a team over .500 was over three weeks ago, and that was against the 30-28 Kings. The Blazers are a mediocre team. They are 16-10 against teams under .500 and 11-23 against .500 and over. They have done well against the East (12-5), but they have not played Cleveland, Boston, or New...

A win is a win, but not all wins are created equal. This was a big win in more reasons than one. You’ll hear when a shooter is in a slump, they’ll say he needs to see the ball go through the basket to get going – the belief is there but seeing is believing. Same goes for the Cavs. The Cavs were team with belief but needed see results to confirm their beliefs. This game may only count for a win but it’s a win that can have significant impacts down the road. The Cavs were 1-11 in their last 12 road regular season games in Boston. When keep climbing the mountain and keep falling, it’s hard to believe you can climb the mountain. But once you climb the mountain, and find a way, a resolve and confidence are developed. It may sound hyperbolic...