With an 11-0 record, the Cleveland Cavaliers are off to the best start in the NBA, not to mention the best start in franchise history.
However, plenty of people don’t consider them a legitimate championship contender and have the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, among possibly other teams, ahead of them in the Eastern Conference’s pecking order.
On the other hand, the Cavs scored a big statement win on Friday over the Golden State Warriors, who have an 8-2 record and are looking magnificent, and that game was never close.
Jason Lloyd of The Athletic said on the “Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show” that people across the nation need to start paying attention to the Cavs because the win over Golden State “stamped” them for the rest of the season.
People better start paying attention to what's going on in Cleveland!
That was @ByJasonLloyd on how impressive the Cavs have been and added that the win over the Warriors stamped the Cavs for the rest of the season#LetEmKnow | https://t.co/U8Ti1ymmDq pic.twitter.com/k4Ti7HlCCd
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) November 11, 2024
In that game, Cleveland burst out to an 83-44 halftime lead and ended up winning 136-117, and although Stephen Curry and crew gained quite a bit of ground during a second half that mostly consisted of garbage time, it was total domination.
Curry scored just 12 points in 24 minutes, while Darius Garland scored 27 points for Cleveland while drilling six of his 11 3-point attempts.
For the game, the Cavs shot 54.1 percent from the field and an amazing 20-of-42 from 3-point range, which is the type of thing Golden State has done to opponents on a regular basis for nearly a decade, as Lloyd pointed out.
Offense is the big change and improvement for the Cavs this season — they’re ninth in pace this season after playing at one of the slowest paces in the NBA in the past, and as a result, they’re among the league leaders in several offensive categories.
They may not have proven they’re true contenders for the Larry O’Brien Trophy yet, but they’re taking real steps toward achieving that type of status.
NEXT: Cavs Lead An Impressive Offense Stat So Far This Season
