Not many analysts and enthusiasts believed in the Cleveland Cavaliers before the 2024-2025 season commenced. But Donovan Mitchell and co.’s incredible 13-0 start has silenced the naysayers and led many, including Kendrick Perkins, to change their stance. The ESPN analyst now believes that the Ohio side can advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Molly Qerim began First Take’s recent segment by asking the panelists to chime in with their opinions on the Cavs and Perks seized the opportunity to reveal the team’s ECF chances. Due to the failures of other powerhouse franchises – the Knicks, Bucks, and 76ers – in the East, Perkins believed that his two former teams could meet late in the postseason.
While there is not much need for him to justify picking the Boston Celtics, Perkins deep-dived into how the Cavaliers “checked all boxes”. He first explained how the frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen had drastically improved. Additionally, the backcourt All-Star pairing of Mitchell and Darius Garland has also shown signs of co-existing.
“This team is the real deal. They check all boxes. If you want bigs, they have that. And Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley… Another level of concern that we had for the Cavs last season, could Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland co-exist? And the answer is ‘hell yeah, they can’,” Perkins said.
.@KendrickPerkins believes there’s a high probability of the Cavs-Celtics matching up in the ECF pic.twitter.com/2P9sin4M6d
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 12, 2024
There haven’t been many changes in the roster from the previous season. The re-signing of Mitchell and Allen was the front office’s way of displaying their faith in the core group. Couple these re-signings with Darius Garland’s return to form after a subpar 2023-24 campaign and it isn’t all too shocking to see the Cavs be a title contenders. However, the biggest difference for the squad has been the changing of head coaches.
J.B. Bickerstaff’s exit has enabled Mitchell to become a better leader
The Cavaliers sacked J.B. Bickerstaff immediately after the previous campaign concluded. Throughout the 2023-2024 season, rumors suggested that Bickerstaff and Donovan Mitchell didn’t see eye to eye.
Now, merely 13 games into the season, Mitchell has been seeming far more comfortable playing for Kenny Atkinson. Spida might not be averaging as many points as he did previously, but his leadership abilities have had a huge effect on the team’s overall performance.
“Now you were watching Donovan Mitchell become more of a leader. He wasn’t brought in last season because him and Bickerstaff didn’t see eye to eye. Now, all of a sudden, you have Kenny Atkinson who has completely unlocked this Cavs group,” Perks said.
Perkins is also spot-on in claiming that Max Strus’ return to action will further improve the Cavaliers. The addition of Strus in the starting lineup will result in four capable three-point shooters. Further, Isaac Okoro can make himself far more useful when shifting to the team’s second unit.
Atkinson has also been phenomenal with his lineup changes. A total of 10 players spending more than 16 minutes on the floor has been an advantage over the teams with merely 7-8 players in their rotation.
