Ken Blaze l USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers currently sit atop the NBA’s Eastern Conference with a 48-19 win-loss record. A few above the second placed Toronto Raptors. Despite the drama that has mostly been stirred up by the media, the Cavaliers appear to be poised to make another long playoff run this postseason. There have certainly been ups and downs – but obviously, there are more ups. Let’s take a look at five pivotal moments and bright spots of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season thus far.
5. Kyrie Irving’s first game after knee injury from NBA Finals
Kyrie Irving made his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the first time in six months against the Philadelphia 76ers in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a great sight to see and the Cavaliers welcomed him back with open arms. Irving was noticeably rusty and scored his first basket of the season off a generous assist from his pal, LeBron James. Irving finished the game with 12 points and was just happy to be back out there playing with his teammates.
Click “Next” to see the fourth most pivotal point of the Cavs’ season!
Gary A. Vasquez l USA TODAY Sports
4. Cavs finish West Coast road trip with a 3-1 record
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished their recent West Coast road trip with a loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday, March 14, 2016. However the three games before that were are all victories. They impressively beat the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Clippers all the road. Anytime the Cavs can go out West and win three out of four games, you have to tip your hat to the team. They came out focused and ready to play. This is the type of effort the Cavaliers need to bring to the floor if they hope to be competing for a championship come June.
Click “Next” to see the third most pivotal point of the Cavs’ season!
David Richard l USA TODAY Sports
3. Cavs make mid-season coaching change
In a surprising move which caught the attention of everyone in the league, fired then-head coach David Blatt, replacing him with current coach Tyronn Lue. The Cavs were comfortably on top of the East with a 30-11 record but the locker room climate became a point of concern, even after winning games. While the embarrassing home loss to Golden State was probably the loudest cry for help from the Cavs, other internal issues also contributed to Griffin arriving at the decision. Since then, Cleveland has transformed into a high-scoring team, but consistency on defense remains a question mark at this point.
Click “Next” to see the second most pivotal point of the Cavs’ season!
David Richard l USA TODAY Sports
2. Cavs DOMINATE Spurs at home
The San Antonio Spurs are widely considered by many in basketball circles as one of the favorites to represent the NBA’s Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Some even think they can actually defeat the Golden State Warriors in a seven-game series, even winning it all. The Cavaliers did not back down and took the game right to the Spurs this night. A great overall performance and a confidence booster for the team. For all intensive purposes, this game showed what the Cavs are capable of when they are locked in no matter who the opponent is in front.
Check out the story of the game and highlights here.
Click “Next” to see the most pivotal point of the Cavs’ season!
Jesse D. Garrabrant l Getty Images
1. LeBron James becomes the youngest player to score 25,000 career points
LeBron James has achieved numerous big-time milestones during his 13-season career. However, this milestone is by far one of the most impressive. On November 2, 2015 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, James became the youngest player in NBA history to score 25,000 total points. He caught a great alley-oop pass from Matthew Dellavedova to reach this milestone. Check out the great play and what LeBron had to say about achieving the 25,000 point milestone below.
This dunk by LeBron gives him 25,000career points! He's the youngest to reach 25k! Congratulations @KingJames https://t.co/P4F8AZ7z9Z
— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationNet) November 3, 2015