The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten off to a red hot start to the 2024-25 NBA season, which continued with Monday evening’s thrilling win over the Milwaukee Bucks at home. The Cavs now sit at a perfect 8-0 thanks in no small part to the incredible play of shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, who hit the game winner in a previous game between Cleveland and Milwaukee on Saturday evening.
On Monday, Mitchell was rewarded for his efforts last week by winning the NBA’s “Player of the Week” award for the Eastern Conference, while Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns received the honor out west.
With the nod, Mitchell joins Kyrie Irving for second place in Cavs history for four such awards, per Real GM. He’ll only need to get 38 more of those to catch LeBron James for first place in franchise history.
Is the Cavs’ hot start legit?
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Nothing about what Donovan Mitchell is doing so far for the Cavs this year should be surprising. It was already well established that Mitchell is one of the most talented pure scorers in the NBA, and he proved as much by single handedly lifting the Cavs to a win in the playoffs against the Orlando Magic a year ago, and also allowing them to be more competitive in their ensuing series against the Boston Celtics than they probably should have been.
What has been surprising, however, is the rapidly improving play of both Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. Garland seems to be finally coming into the All-Star potential that the Cavs saw in him when they drafted him in the lottery. Last year, a broken jaw caused Garland to miss extended time, during which he lost weight and was unable to be the best version of himself once he stepped back on the court. Now, he looks healthier and quicker than ever, including scoring two clutch buckets down the stretch against the Bucks on Monday.
Mobley, meanwhile, continues to improve year after year, and is now showing more of the increased offensive aggressiveness that he flashed at times in the loss to the Celtics last season.
Combine these factors with a very solid supporting cast along with a seasoned head coach in Kenny Atkinson, and the Cavs are looking like true contenders at this early juncture of the season.
Up next for the Cavs is a road game vs the New Orleans Pelicans in which they will try to push their record to 9-0.
