For Cavs, big picture already taking a promising shape
CLEVELAND -- When it comes to the Cavaliers, things already seem like a foregone conclusion.
The Cavs have played eight games. They've won seven in a row. The one they lost was by two points.
And that was the season opener, against a veteran Bulls team, in Chicago.
All this and the starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert hasn't even played. And that's not just any starting backcourt, either. Shumpert is considered the team's best wing defender. Irving is an All-Star point guard -- a key member of the Cavs' Big Three, along with LeBron James and Kevin Love.
But for the Cavs, right now, it looks like the Big 12 or Big 14, as everyone is contributing.
And even when things go bad, they almost always turn out OK anyway.
During the winning streak, the Cavs have trailed Philadelphia by 14 points at the end of the first quarter, New York by 14 at the end of the first quarter, and Utah by nine in the middle of the fourth.
Each time, the Cavs reached a point in the game where they stopped feeling bored.
That's not really what's happening -- but it sure does seem like it sometimes. The Cavs, and James in particular, have been able to turn it on when it means the most.
For instance, in the comeback win over the Jazz, James scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter. He stepped in passing lanes, found open teammates for easy shots, and went 6 of 8 from the floor. All of it happened in a span of about nine minutes.
" 'Bron is the greatest player in the game," Cavs coach David Blatt marveled after the win. "I don't think there's anyone with a higher basketball IQ or a better understanding of the moment."
Blatt may have a point about James. Unlike Golden State star and reigning league MVP Steph Curry, LeBron not only scores bushels of baskets in a matter of minutes -- he also defends at an elite level, pulls down important rebounds and racks up crucial assists in the process.
That's not intended to knock Curry, who is revolutionizing the game with his remarkable perimeter shooting. He can also be an uncanny passer in his own right.
But James still possesses the size, strength and speed to impose his will against anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Of course, we already knew that.
What's made these Cavs so different from the ones that stumbled to a 19-20 start last season is their overall chemistry and trust in each other.
The ball is moving better, the shots appear to be taken with considerably more confidence, the so-called role players are forcing nothing and playing their supporting parts to near perfection.
Mo Williams, Richard Jefferson, Tristan Thompson, Timofey Mozgov . . . the list goes on and on. Frankly, it would be tough to find someone who is doing less than what's expected.
Yes, there will be some lulls. Yes, the Cavs will almost certainly lose some games they should win. No, the effort won't always be up to par every minute of every game.
Those are things that happen to every team during the course of an 82-game season. That's just reality.
But right now, you can't name another team in the Eastern Conference that looks as cohesive, or that has true-blue stars along the lines of James and a rejuvenated Love (and sometime presumably soon, a healthy Irving), that can beat the Cavs. Forget a seven-game playoff series -- we're talking about trying to beat the Cavs in just one game.
It's a long season, and a lot of things can still happen.
But that doesn't have to be read as a negative. The Cavs, no doubt, can still get better. And when Irving and Shumpert return, they just might.
So the bottom line is, no, it's not actually a foregone conclusion. It's just that in the season's first three weeks, the Cavs sure have been making it feel like one.
Sam Amico is an NBA insider for FOX Sports Ohio and the co-host of "Cavaliers in the Paint." Follow him on Twitter @AmicoHoops.
