Preseason Preview of the New Look Cavaliers
During last night’s NBA preseason action, it was the Cavaliers matched up against the Sixers. Despite the loss, it was only by one point, nevertheless it was a good night for the Cavs’ most recent acquisition, Donovan Mitchell. In only 19 minutes, he had 16 points, and five rebounds as well as leading the team with five assists. Darius Garland also provided some help to his new teammate, pouring in 12 points to go along with four assists. Isaiah Mobley also saw some playing time, dropping in four points.
Only losing by a point to a team that many people expect a deep playoff run from is not a bad sign. In fact, this preseason game was a great sign of things to come for this young Cavaliers team. Donovan Mitchell is a great player, an explosive guard that can ignite his teammates while on the floor and help get people going once the defense collapses on him. He’s going to pair great with this young roster, especially because he will no longer have to be the primary scorer and ball handler. When Mitchell played in Utah, he often had to be the majority of the offense as well as run it. Rudy Gobert isn’t a center worth $200 million and he’s not really a scoring threat either. With this Cavaliers roster, Donovan Mitchell can either score the ball himself or now facilitate to his teammates that are also scoring threats. Whether that be Evan or Isaiah Mobley, Darius Garland, Caris Levert or Kevin Love. This team has great depth as well as multiple players that can score and defend while on the floor.
The Cavaliers season opener is the 19th against the Raptors. That should be an easily winnable game. I think the best players the Raptors have on their roster are Scottie Barnes and arguably Pascal Siakam. Isaac Okoro should negate the mismatch that Scottie Barnes usually presents and Donovan Mitchell can cover Pascal Siakam. When Mitchell goes to the bench, Kevin Love can take his spot in playing defense against Siakam. As of right now the team has three preseason games left, which means the young guys will only develop further and we’ll get to see how everything looks on opening night. Depending on how this team develops, they might be untouchable by the next time the Lebron sweepstakes comes around for his free agency.
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