Well, here we go. Will the real Cleveland Cavaliers please stand up?
Basically, we are about find out a lot about the Cavs — as the toughest stretch of the schedule is straight ahead.
Are they the team that swept the mighty Brooklyn Nets a couple weeks back? Or the team that got blown out by the New York Knicks on Friday, then lost to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves two nights later?
The Cavs actually avenged that Timberwolves loss on Monday, but the point remains the same. They have been fairly up and down.
But hey, that’s not a criticism. Most people figured the Cavs would start down … and stay there. That has not been the case.
They have fought through endless injuries and outside doubts, making something of the early season and looking like a team with real hope.
Collin Sexton is even better than last year. Same goes for Darius Garland. And Andre Drummond has remained a big man who is going to be really difficult to trade, in the sense that he’s a human double-double and center who clogs the lane.
There’s more.
Backup center and new acquisition Jarrett Allen was fantastic in Drummond’s spot Monday, as Drummond missed the game with a sore lower back. Along with Sexton, Garland, rookie Isaac Okoro and several others, Allen is The Future. Along with the aforementioned, he’s also played well in the here and now.
“You understand what is possible,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Sexton, Garland and Allen. “The thing I think is great is you watch them work together, you watch them play together, and they don’t have to play on separate islands in isolation. They can play together. That’s where there’s positive signs of what can come.”
Bickerstaff is a big reason the Cavs (10-11) are coming together. There is never any doubt about that. They may have had two real clunkers in the first 21 games. For this team, this season, there is such a thing as moral victories. The Cavs have gotten a few of those, as well as some real ones.
For the most part, they’ve been fun to watch and been one of the league’s best stories.
NEXT STEPS
Anyway, back to the schedule. If you haven’t seen it already, it’s fairly daunting. First, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers pay a visit Wednesday. After that, it’s back-to-back home games vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks (Friday and Saturday).
Talk about some serious tests.
After those three, it’s off to the Western Conference for five straight road games. The fun starts Monday in Phoenix. It continues at Denver, at Portland, at Los Angeles (again vs. the Clippers) and at Golden State.
If the Cavs do make the playoffs, that should be nothing compared to this. These are actually the kind of stretches you look back at and realize they were the turning point — for better or for worse.
Every team the Cavs face over the next two weeks is expected to at least make the playoffs. At least two or three are considered serious contenders.
So this is where you find out how much you’ve actually grown, how capable you are of putting everything together, and yes, learning where and how improvements must be made.
Somewhere in there, Kevin Love should return from his injured calf, too.
Bottom line: This Cavs team has very much been worth following and has given itself multiple reasons to feel proud. And now, all of that is about to be put on the line.
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