Cavs beat hornets to remain undefeated boasting a 15-0 record
With the win on Sunday the Cleveland Cavaliers are tied for the second-best start in NBA history. They also are the fourth team to ever start 15-0. To make things even more impressive, Donovan Mitchell, wasn’t even on the court. The injury report stated Mitchell sat out of the game for rest.
No Mitchell, no worries
Ty Jerome made his first start for the Cavs. He took the opportunity with Mitchell out and ran with it. Jerome has been excellent off the bench for Cleveland and Sunday night he tallied 24 points with 8 assists.
Darius Garland was the leading scorer for the Cavs with 25 points. Evan Mobley chipped in 23 and Jarrett Allen scored 21. The Hornets put up a fight, yet it was a complete team effort as Cleveland earned win number 15.
Garland echoed those sentiments after the game, “We’re resilient. We always got some fight in us, no matter what everybody is ready to play. It doesn’t matter 1-15, everybody is ready to play - just how you saw tonight -everybody contributed, everybody had a huge part in this win tonight that’s just us - a team effort.”
Kenny Atkinson continues to impress
Cavaliers’ head coach is the only coach in NBA history to win his first 15 games to start a tenure with a franchise. Impressive, right? This team is special, and they play with a fire that is hard to ignore. Atkinson certainly feels like a huge part of the Cavs early success. He has the team playing effectively on both ends of the court. Atkinson is building the strength of the team’s rotational depth. He’s aware of time load management. Planning to sit Mitchell ahead of Tuesday's game in Boston is one example. Not one player has been averaging more than 30 minutes per game this season.
Don’t let Kenny’s smile fool you though– he coaches hard, and he holds his team accountable. In Friday’s game against the Bulls, Atkinson was less than happy with the Cavs’ first half performance. Chicago outscored Cleveland 39-28 in the second quarter to keep the score close at 77-73 at the half.
Atkinson made his feelings heard in the locker room during halftime by throwing a shower sandal. Mitchell spoke to reporters after the game and he was happy to see how intense Atkinson was - saying, “That’s what we want. We all prefer that. We hear how good we are. For us, that’s how we get better. We haven’t lost, but how do you continue to find ways to build habits? It’s continuing to coach hard and not let any lapses. That’s what you want in a coach.”
The heart of Cleveland fans
I always say Northeast Ohio is the best area when it comes to sports. We have the Cavs, Guardians and Browns. Three pro teams that fans live and breathe for. The fans of these teams are undeniably some of the best in the nation. It’s almost winter and Progressive field will soon be covered in snow. Lately the Browns are causing Sunday’s to not be fun days however, how lucky are we to have the Wine and Gold balling out at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse?!
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