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Homecoming Kings

Homecoming Kings

After a Successful Run on the Road, Young Cavaliers Come Home for Four Straight

by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
11/10/21 | Cavs.com

During the 1988-89 NBA season – when Magic Johnson labeled the up-and-coming Cavaliers the “Lakers of the ‘90s” – exactly one current Cavalier, Kevin Love (b. Sept. 9), was alive. But he probably doesn’t remember Magic saying that.

Lenny Wilkens’ tough and talented young Cavs reached new, unprecedented heights back then. But they never became the Lakers of the ‘90s. The Bulls of the ‘90s kept getting in the way.

The current Cavaliers are just 11 games into the 2021-22 campaign. They have a long, long way to go – in the season and to be mentioned in the same breath as Lenny’s legendary squads. But for those of us ancient enough to remember, we all saw what Magic Johnson saw: that something special was brewing in Cleveland.

Eleven games is a small sample size. But one thing is for sure: in the NBA’s world of ‘hunted’ and ‘hunters,’ J.B. Bickerstaff’s scrappy bunch is no longer ‘prey.’

After a weekend featuring two more dramatic road wins, the Wine & Gold return home for eight of ten to finish the month of November. They’ve weathered one of the toughest portions of their entire schedule – winning five of the last seven, including three straight, on the road – and are in a position even the most optimistic Cavs might not have envisioned.

Jarrett Allen, the East's Player of the Week, was the only player in the league to average at least 20.0 points and 15.0 rebounds last week.
David Liam Kyle via Getty Images

Sunday’s win came at a cost, however. Collin Sexton had to leave the contest in the second quarter of the win over New York and an MRI on Monday determined he suffered a meniscus tear to his left knee. He’ll continue to undergo evaluation, but there’s no official timetable on his return.

”It hurts,” said Coach Bickerstaff of Sexton’s absence. “Obviously, the threat that he is. Games come down to getting a bucket. And a lot of teams switch and you’ve got to be able to beat your man. And Collin’s a guy who can beat his man and force teams into different decisions. So, the competitive nature that he plays with, how hard he competes. All those things, we’re gonna miss him for sure.”

The Cavs will be without Sexton when they welcome the Wizards on Wednesday. But, depending how he feels on gameday, the squad should get Isaac Okoro back after missing the previous seven games with a strained left hamstring.

When the Young Bull was forced from action on Sunday, Ricky Rubio stepped up in historic fashion – becoming the only NBA player to ever record at least 30 points, 10 assists and eight triples in a night off the bench, piling up a career-high 37 points as Cleveland blew past the Knicks.

The 11th-year man, whose role will adjust with Sexton temporarily on the shelf, is now averaging 13.7 points, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals in his first 11 games with Cleveland. He’s scored double-figures in seven games and has double-figure assists in three more. Even a contest in which he took the collar – scoring zero points on 0-for-7 shooting, he led the Cavs with a +11 in a home victory over the Blazers.

But what Rubio has brought to the Cavaliers can barely be measured by numbers. He’s been the veteran leader they’ve been looking for – a pro’s pro who can still play, proving it with a 38-point performance over Team USA in Tokyo the day before he’d been traded and punctuating it on Sunday night in New York.

Over the course of his career, Jarrett Allen has seen plenty of games in the World’s Most Famous Arena. On Sunday night, he continued his dominance on the playing floor of it.

"What we have to do is understand what the big picture is. And all of us, how do we impact winning? Because that’s the thing people respect in this league. And that’s the respect we’re trying to earn."

Allen, the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week, notched his fourth straight double-double – averaging 20.5 points on .633 shooting from the floor, an NBA-best 16.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per. The 5th-year man from Texas was the only player in the league to average at least 20.0 and 15.0 and became the first Cavalier to win the award since LeBron James did so back in March 2018.

”Yes, this was individual success and acknowledgement, but truthfully it only comes with team success,” said Coach Bickerstaff. “If he does the same thing and we go 0-4 for the week, nobody recognizes him. So, what we have to do is understand what the big picture is. And all of us, how do we impact winning? Because that’s the thing people respect in this league. And that’s the respect we’re trying to earn.”

Allen, the humble 23-year-old big man shifted much of the credit directly to his teammates after Tuesday’s practice at CCC.

”Partly, it’s me putting in the work over the summer,” said Allen. “I wanted to come out every day in the summer trying to improve my game in some aspect, hitting the weight room and all that. But then J.B. said it, and said it perfectly: I wouldn’t have got this award without the team. We went 4-0 this week and it shows if we wouldn’t have done that, I wouldn’t have gotten the award. So I have to thank my teammates for that, too.“

Less than a year ago, the Cavs brass dealt Dante Exum, an unprotected 2022 first rounder (from Milwaukee) and a 2024 second rounder for both Allen and Taurean Prince. Over the summer, they parlayed Prince and a 2022 second rounder and for Rubio.

Somehow lost among the performances of Rubio and Allen was that of Cavaliers rookie, Evan Mobley, who seems to improve with each passing game and comes into the homestand following a career-best 26-point effort against the Knicks, going 11-of-15 from the floor with nine boards and five assists – the first Cavs freshman to post those numbers and first player to do so since Blake Griffin in 2011.

The precocious vicenarian from USC leads all rookies in total blocks (14) and rebounds (88) and leads the entire NBA in total contested shots (177) and total contested three-pointers (54).

Cleveland’s young guns took their show on the road and passed their first test of the season. The next chapter takes place over the next stretch. How will they handle their recent taste of success and a prolonged homestand? How will they handle the fact that teams will begin to bring their A-game for them?

They’ll get a chance to answer those questions over next three weeks, and they’ll have a full house on the corner of Huron and Ontario to help them do it.