The Cleveland Cavaliers have been overlooked, ignored and doubted by many this season.
That’s why defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in a nationally televised game was so crucial.
It was a meeting between the two teams with the best records in the league.
Though the Thunder are also a small-market team, the fact that they play in the Western Conference made some analysts think that they, unlike the Cavs, were for real.
That’s why Sam Amico said he believes Kenny Atkinson’s team made a big statement with their victory.
Talking on “Full Court Cleveland,” Amico argued that this was the Cavs’ coming-out party, and they finally put the rest of the league on notice.
While the Thunder game was the national coming-out party for the #Cavs, we've known how good this team is. #LetEmKnow
"This is the team they've been all year; there's every reason to believe they will continue to be."
presented by: @drinkgaragebeer pic.twitter.com/QnztRF7KCA
— Full Court Cleveland (@FullCourtCLE) January 10, 2025
However, as much as some may have been surprised by that win, Amico said the Cavaliers were the same team they had been all season long.
This time, everybody just happened to be watching.
Granted, the Thunder didn’t have Chet Holmgren for the game, but the Cavaliers won despite Donovan Mitchell having one of the worst shooting performances of his career, so both things evened up.
Some people stated that the Cavaliers’ red-hot start to the season is a fluke.
Even so, it’s hard to imagine a team winning 33 of its first 37 games, most of them by double digits, out of sheer luck and chance.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are for real.
The sooner everybody realizes it, the sooner they will finally appreciate what this team is doing.
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