The 47-10 Cleveland Cavaliers are once again on a seven-game winning streak after taking down the Memphis Grizzlies 129-123 on Sunday night in what was more of an offensive struggle than the final score might indicate.
Cleveland hit the glass hard to bring home this win, outrebounding Memphis 57-37 with an outstanding 22 offensive rebounds, and eight of those rebounds came from newcomer De’Andre Hunter who has been highly impressive to one analyst so far during his brief Cavs tenure.
During a recent episode of Full Court Cleveland, WireHoops’ Sam Amico heaped praise upon Hunter.
“As great as he’s been offensively this season, he’s having a career year, defensively is where he really makes his mark,” he said.
What has impressed you most about De'Andre Hunter?
"As great as he's been offensively this season, he's having a career year, defensively is where he really makes his mark"
–@AmicoHoops pic.twitter.com/Ip8LqpFM5Y
— Full Court Cleveland (@FullCourtCLE) February 24, 2025
Hunter has been efficient with his opportunities on offense with the Cavs so far, averaging 13.4 points per game on 48/52/83 splits while taking four fewer shots per game than he was with the Atlanta Hawks prior to being acquired.
He has been everything Cavs fans could have hoped for so far, and it will be interesting to see if he continues to earn more opportunities as he gets more comfortable.
On paper, he is a perfect fit alongside the four foundational pieces of this team in Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.
Ideally, that will turn out to be the team’s best five-man lineup with which it feels confident closing playoff games, and with what Hunter has displayed so far, there’s no reason to believe that can’t become a reality deep into May and June.
NEXT: Cavs Continue To Make NBA History With Winning Record
