On Monday evening, the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 12-0 on the young 2024-25 NBA season with a thrilling road win over the Chicago Bulls in a game that included several astonishing Donovan Mitchell highlights and some clutch play from Cleveland down the stretch. The Cavs now have the longest win streak to open up a season since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors rattled off 24 straight victories, and newly minted head coach Kenny Atkinson is a large part of the reason why.
One person who is thrilled with what he’s seen from Atkinson so far this year is former ESPN NBA insider Zach Lowe, who recently took to his account on X, formerly Twitter, to break down what he’s seen.
“Everything Kenny Atkinson touches turning to gold right now,” wrote Lowe. “Sits entire core 4 late 3Q, Cavs blitz CHI w/ group of Jerome/Merrill/LeVert/Wade/Niang. SURE! Ball is popping, chemistry off the charts. Garland/Mitchell sharing ball w/in possessions, each happy to let the other cook as matchups dictate.”
Indeed, the group of Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill, Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, and Georges Niang went on a prolonged run in the late third quarter that not only bought some valuable rest time for stars Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell but also helped the Cavs claw their way back into a game they had been trailing for most of the way.
What has led to this Cavs’ hot start?
Matt Marton-Imagn Images
There are several factors, including Atkinson’s head coaching prowess, that can likely be attributed to what we’ve seen from the Cavs so far this year, even if few if any pundits could have seen an undefeated start through 12 games on the horizon.
To start, Darius Garland is playing far and away the most efficient basketball of his young career this year, constantly making the right decisions down the stretch of close games, including taking advantage of a mismatch with Nikola Vucevic on a late possession on Monday night.
Furthermore, Evan Mobley has shown even more of the offensive aggressiveness that he flashed at times during the playoffs last year after Jarrett Allen went down, and continues to be a menace on the defensive end of the court.
Add all of this to the fact that Donovan Mitchell is playing like an MVP candidate and the Cavs’ supporting cast has fully outperformed expectations, and you have the hottest team in the NBA, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
