Live Thread: Raptors @ Cavs (plus, He’s The One)

Good afternoon CtB!

Thoughts betwixt one of the Cavs’ biggest wins of the season against the West’s best Oklahoma City Thunder and tonight’s SEGABABA against the LeBronto Raptors here on the banks of the Cuyahoga River…

1. A Celebration of the NBA

There’s a lot of discourse on NBA Twitter regarding the league’s television ratings (namely lack thereof) and the reasons why… yours truly personally thinks it’s gotta be the most boring, stupid conversation in the NBA sphere. But many others are invested in this narrative, and as such dictated the response of many in NBA media regarding last night’s game, which was arguably the best game of the NBA calendar, between the two undisputed best teams in the NBA so far this season, and a game that delivered on the hype with a clutch fourth quarter showdown, with the good guys coming out on top 129-122. It was a game of offensive mastery from both squads, but Tower City was able to really put their imprint on the game and win this one by attacking the smaller, worn down OKC frontcourt. This game shows how OKC needs a healthy Chet Holmgren to really match the size of Tower City.

Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are the first big man duo to each have 20 PTS, 10 REB, & 6 AST in a game since Tim Duncan and David Robinson in 1998 pic.twitter.com/WkZOcqbyF7

— Automatic (@automaticnba) January 9, 2025

2. Evan Mobley is The One

The emergence of Evan Mobley as a potential All-Star and team’s MVP is probably the singular key factor in this historic 2024-25 Cavs season. What’s so beautiful about his emergence this year is how the whole organization is invested into bringing forth Mobley’s best self, his teammates most importantly. It starts with Donovan Mitchell’s leadership, who was putting up an absolute stinker for the night so took a back seat and let Darius Garland and Evan Mobley carry the team home on offense down the stretch. Also, none of this happens without DG’s naturally unselfish (sometimes to a fault) play. But this year, DG has transformed himself into the best clutch player in the NBA:

Darius Garland has indeed been unstoppable in the clutch https://t.co/kTPWNOZlF5 pic.twitter.com/bUQeURkRlE

— Maurya K. (KR) (@TheFlarescreen) January 9, 2025

Like DG, Mobley is a naturally unselfish player. It’s always been said of him that he doesn’t need to score to impact the game, but now he’s an elite third option on a historically good offensive team with also Defensive Player of the Year impact on defense. Anyone that’s ever played the game knows that basketball is the most fun to play with the most unselfish teammates. The most important asset that will make the core four work ultimately is the fact that all four players are really humble superstars who care solely about winning. You can’t win at this level without being fully bought into team basketball. When you just care about the team’s success, historic things such as this year’s Cavs take place.

3. A word on OKC

No denying they’re a great team. SGA is a problem, and they play smart basketball. But they are also the second worst rebounding team in the NBA (by %rate) and that played out exactly to the letter as Tower City was able to slam the door on this game by outworking OKC on the boards. I’m intrigued to see how the Cavs play whenever Chet is healthy. OKC’s rebounding problem is precisely why they don’t instill fear looking from the outside. It’s much more concerning to think about slugging it out on the boards against a healthy Orlando Magic team in a seven game series than a complete finesse team such as OKC.

4. Tonight, LeBronto…

The hilariously “not-tanking but still tanking” LeBronto Raptors visit the banks of the Cuyahoga tonight in a test of mental toughness for the good guys. The Cavs had a big, emotional win last night, but it’s just a January game… as a championship contender you can’t have slip ups in the regular season. Tonight is a low key gut check test for the Cavs to maintain their competitive edge and focus.

Tip off is scheduled for 7:00PM Eastern time and will be broadcasted live on Fanduel Sports Network, Go Cavs!