It Took The Cavs Just 45 Games To Smash The Over On Their Season Win Total

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While I don't live in Cleveland and would in no way call myself a Cavs fan, hopefully a blog like this doesn't catch you off guard. I've tried to do my part to make sure the 2021-22 Cavs get the love they so rightfully deserve through the first half of the season, because no matter how you want to slice up their season all you see is a team that is very much for real.

Wins? At 27-18, they are now tied with 4 other teams for the most in the East. When you watch the Cavs play, you see the league's 3rd best defense at a rating of 104.9. Their net rating is also top 5, coming in at 4th with a +5.3. The only thing that's "average" is their offense which comes in at 14th at 110.2, but they lost both Colin Sexton and Ricky Rubio to season ending injuries. That's going to impact things on that end. All in all, they are a team that should absolutely have at least two All Stars. For me, that's clearly Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen, both of which were awesome today

What makes the Cavs so unique is how bananas this roster should be in 2021-22. They start three 7fters which you would think would be an issue in today's NBA, yet their rim protection is so outrageous that it almost makes up for what they might lose on the perimeter. Then you get random days where Lauri Markkanen is somehow able to guard James Harden in space. Between Allen, Mobley, and Markkanen, this team is impossible to score on once you get into the paint. Good luck finishing at the rim at any sort of successful level

That's going to be so valuable in a playoff series. You add in a big time leap season from Garland, and that's how you find a team that has already smashed the over on their win total through only 45 games.

Back in October, nobody really knew this type of season was coming from the Cavs. I think most people thought they would simply continue their development path. Their projected win total was just 26.5. That doesn't exactly come off as a team a bunch of people had being in the conversation for the most wins in the conference. It's a credit to their internal development, their coaching, and the front office hitting on both the draft and other front office moves. The Sexton, Garland, Mobley, and you could even consider Okoro all draft hits. The Jarrett Allen and Lauri moves have worked about we all as you could hope. As did the Ricky Rubio move. That's how you end up in a situation where you are probably at least one season ahead of schedule. 

This brings them to an interesting place come the deadline. With the East seemingly wide open, is this the opportunity for the Cavs to be buyers? Point guard depth is still an issue, they could really use another ball handler, or do you just use this year as house money? Don't give up anything of major value and wherever things shake out, it's all gravy. This is nothing but positive development at this point. The Cavs got to this point by following the blueprint pretty much every surprise team uses. They took the leap defensively. It's what you have to do. Just ask the 2020 Knicks or 2020 Hawks. Look at Memphis this season. You make the jump on that end, you can suddenly find yourself in a much quicker rebuild than you might have initially thought. Based on everything we're seeing from this Cavs team, it doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon.