5 reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers can win the NBA Championship

2. Chemistry and momentum

Chemistry and momentum are both things you learn about in high school science classes while you’re probably thinking about sports which is probably why they got adapted to sports in the first place.

The phenomenon of momentum’s been called a fallacy when it comes to football and the NCAA tournament. However, I don’t subscribe to that negativity in my life. When it comes ready for big-time basketball, I prefer my team clicking.

I already talked about how Cleveland’s deals at the deadline gifted LeBron the deepest team he’s ever played with, but those same trade winds also blew in an air of joy. They’re displaying that jovial, youthful exuberance we saw during LeBron’s first tour in Cleveland. It’s all evidenced by the synchronized celebrations with Jordan Clarkson.

The Cavaliers are 19-10 once they brought in the cavalry. Cleveland got younger, more athletic, and added better shooters. Since the deadline, they shot 38.8 percent from beyond the arc, second in the league behind only the Warriors. Over the same period, their point differential went from -0.7 to +3.9. The rolling wave of excitement is justified. The Cavs make more sense now.

The biggest positive effect from the last two months was on JR Smith. Smith looked lost in the woods for the first half of the season, perhaps due to the swirling trade rumors messing with his quan. While his surface numbers hardly changed, all his shooting percentages surged. Most importantly, you can see he has his confidence back. And regardless of how you feel about the Cavs, we can all agree a happy JR Smith is the best JR Smith, and the best JR Smith is the one who goes a week without wearing a shirt.