You can’t win in the NBA unless you have a deep team.
Notably, that doesn’t always mean having a star-studded squad.
You just need a strong bench that plays well together.
That’s been one of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ keys to success this season.
As shown by The Cavs Jack on X, the Cavs’ second unit has been absolutely elite during their 16-game winning streak.
Per the league’s advanced stats, the top-five net rating leaders during the stretch have been Sam Merrill, Ty Jerome, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, and De’Andre Hunter.
The #Cavs net rating leaders during this 16-game win streak. The top 5 are all primarily bench guys.
Depth🔥 #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/OVXhFg10ZE
— jack (@TheCavsJack) March 15, 2025
Most of them have played primarily off the bench, with Hunter going in and out of the starting lineup.
You need to have a second unit you can trust.
Rotations tend to get much smaller when the playoffs arrive, and coaches don’t usually give bench players a long leash in a seven-game series.
That might not be the case with Kenny Atkinson’s squad this season.
If anything, they’ve been as good as the starters in getting and maintaining big leads.
The Cavs don’t have the most prominent names in the league.
They don’t have a top-ten player, and chances are, their players won’t even win any of the major awards this season.
Nevertheless, they’ve been the best team in the Association all year long, and it’s not been close at all.
They’re the true definition of a team, and if history has taught us anything, it is that the whole is many times greater than the sum of its parts.
NEXT: Stats Show How Cavs Are Dominating When 2 Players Share The Court
