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Dissecting The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Turnaround

By Clint Pemberton

Nov 10, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) performs his pre-game chalk ritual before the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Orleans Pelicans at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 10, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) performs his pre-game chalk ritual before the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New Orleans Pelicans at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 4, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Shawn Marion (31) and small forward LeBron James (23) and point guard Kyrie Irving (2) and power forward Kevin Love (0) react after Irving
Dec 4, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Shawn Marion (31) and small forward LeBron James (23) and point guard Kyrie Irving (2) and power forward Kevin Love (0) react after Irving /

What’s been fueling the Cleveland Cavaliers’ turnaround?

The NBA regular season is a grind, 82 games, 30 cities, 170 nights. With a schedule like that it’s unsurprising that form fluctuates; teams get hot, find a soft point in the schedule and go on a run just as easily as they get banged up, play four in five nights and struggle for a few games; or in the Lakers case 82 of them. We need to be able to look beyond simple form like win loss records and analyse the underlying numbers and interpret what they mean. Today’s case study: The Cleveland Cavaliers.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA’s latest super-team stumbled out of the gate with a 5-7 record to start the season, it promoted 125,989 different takes on “What’s wrong with the Cavs?” Now fresh off an eight-game winning streak we are seeing more and more opinions on how the Cavs have turned it around, most focusing on their improved defense.

However like most things, it’s not that simple. The Cavs turnaround has three main drivers, a softer schedule, improved defense and an offense that has gone from good to great. Let’s look at each in turn and what it all means.

Next: Softer Schedule

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