If nothing else, the Cavaliers have lived up to coach J.B. Bickerstaff‘s wishes early in the season. They are scrappy, they are surprising, they play together and seem to believe they can win for large stretches of every game.
Bickerstaff said before the season that he wanted to be a team that opponents dreaded facing — for all of the above reasons and more.
So the coach will be happy to hear what an opposing Eastern Conference executive reportedly told Evan Dammarell of Forbes, a must-follow for Cavs fans.
“They’re a team I don’t think I’d want to face in a best-of-seven (series) right now,” Dammarell quoted the exec as saying. “They’re winning in so many different ways and aren’t deterred by their losses this season, either. That confidence, along with their assembled personnel, makes the Cavs a tough outing on a nightly basis. It’s a total team effort on defense for them and it’s impressive.”
Injuries and other circumstances have forced Bickerstaff to use six starting lineups in the first seven games. The Cavs are 4-3 anyway, including 2-2 on the road.
Kevin Love appeared in just one game before aggravating his calf strain. Rookie Isaac Okoro injured his foot and had to sit out because of the NBA’s healthy and safety protocol. Matthew Dellavedova hasn’t played after suffering a concussion in the preseason.
That’s not all.
Kevin Porter Jr. has missed every game and most practices for personal reasons following an offseason car accident and arrest (all charges were dropped). And starting point guard Darius Garland just suffered a strained shoulder and missed Monday’s loss at Orlando.
Want more? Of course you don’t. But there is more nonetheless.
Dante Exum, who replaced Okoro in the starting lineup, suffered a strained calf of his own about one minute into Monday’s game.
But as the opposing exec told Dammarell, the Cavs have done a nice job of playing through it, staying focused and getting plenty of production from the likes of Collin Sexton, Andre Drummond, Larry Nance Jr., and Cedi Osman and others.
Bickerstaff has noticed, too.
“I think our guys played hard,” he said after Monday’s loss. “They tried to do what we were asking them to do. … It’s hard to get structure when you have so many guys who are uncomfortable in different places.”
