Many words have been said and written about why the Cleveland Cavaliers’ new core four won’t work. About redundancy. About perimeter defense. About spacing. Very few words have been said and written about why it will work. About what, precisely, makes die-hard fans and the Cleveland front office and coaching staff alike believe that this team can win the NBA title and be crowned world champions.
Turns out, words aren’t necessary. There’s a play. A singular clip. Show. Don’t tell.
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This clip is everything. It’s the hope. It’s the dream.
The NBA playoffs are less about what you can do and more about what problems you can present to your opponent. Modern basketball is an offense-advantaged game at its core. Present enough problems and the defense will crumble. Present too few, and the defense will take it away. They will collapse what you do and what you are. Watch the clip twice.
This is not a meaningless game. It is the best insight into what it will take to win it all. Cleveland, post-James Harden trade, with the whole (new) Core Four playing, at the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder’s house on the last game of a three-in-four night stretch. National spotlight game. Both teams are trying their best.
Now, let’s dig in.
James Harden brings the ball up court. The Thunder are pressuring hard because that’s what you do with playoff intensity. Evan Mobley sets a screen way up near half court to spring Harden. He doesn’t slip it. He makes contact, and the defender is put off balance. Harden has the edge. A staggered screen from Jarrett Allen is waiting just in case he recovers.
Boy howdy! That’s a lot of resources to commit above the three-point line. Three players and both bigs! Is space tight? Does the best defense in basketball (by my eyes) have the Cavs in jail? No. Chet Holmgren (Mobley’s defender) is waiting at the arc but won’t go further. Allen’s defender is right behind him, effectively double-covering meaningless space. Mitchell’s defender is glued to him in the corner. And where is Sam Merrill? Where is his defender? They are so deep in the opposite corner that they aren’t even in the picture.
The action continues. Harden has the corner. His defender no longer matters. Allen reads it and slips the screen, making minimal contact. OKC switches assignments because they are great at basketball. Mitchell and Merrill’s defenders stay home because OKC is good. Mobley is effectively unguarded.
Next, we have three moments in time in rapid succession. It is a work of art titled “Why Point Guards Matter.”
Harden drives. Allen rolls. The defensive shell is intact. Oppressively solid.
Harden throws on the brakes. He takes three hesitation dribbles. Why, oh why, would you do this?! Are you even trying to score? Do you want your defender that you worked so hard to leave behind to catch up?
This freeze frame is unique to veteran, elite point guards. What happened to that defensive shell? Where did it go? James Harden is many things. I, personally, have disliked many of those things over his career. But he is absolutely an elite, veteran point guard. He can play on many timings. And this is the key to his brilliance. He lets the defense recover and collapse. Intentionally. He does this three seconds before anybody could possibly say that is a good decision. Where does the defense end up?
Lou Dort is in No Man’s Land. He cheated into Allen earlier for a pass that didn’t come while Mitchell repositioned.
Isaiah Joe is in No Man’s Land. He rightly stayed home on Sam Merrill on the strong side during the initial drive. You can’t not. That’s Sam Merrill. By the time he cheats in on the play, it is too late.
Jaylin Williams and Carson Wallace wall off Harden’s attack. No lay-ups. No lobs. No easy through-bounce passes. Harden uses his wingspan to wrap the pass around the outside.
Holmgren actually shows remarkable processing and agility to see what is happening and hard cuts back to the wide open Allen. It’s too late.
All of this happens because of the off-timing read Harden made. It ends in a Jarrett Allen dunk. But what if the timing was slightly different? What then? Let’s consider.
Holmgren is full commit to Allen. Mobley is wide open as a viable high outlet or Nash dribble reset. Merrill is wide open for an easy corner 3. Did we mention he’s Sam Merrill? Say Mobley does get the ball. Lou Dort is the only possible person who can contest. He will contest. This is what it means for a defense to be in rotation. Somebody is open. Who is open? That man is Donovan Mitchell for the easiest skip pass in basketball history. Did we mention he is Donovan Mitchell?
This play is the play. It is the ultimate in cherry picking, stat nerd Nirvana. But it is also the peak of what the Cleveland Cavaliers’ core four can be. It is everything the Cavs have previously struggled with. High ball pressure. Elite switching defenses. Situationally packing paints. And then eviscerate it. Let’s say those names again. This happened against a defense comprised of:
Carson Wallace
Lou Dort
Isiah Joe
Jaylin Williams
Chet Holmgren
If there is a better cast of characters to defend the 2025-26 Cleveland Cavaliers, then it only exists in fiction. This is the pinnacle. And the Cavs can do it. There is reason to believe. It is everything. It is the problems the Cavs can present. The double bigs, the variable timings, the shooting, Mitchell’s individual attacking brilliance, Harden’s off-timing precognition.
Do not listen to conventional talking points. This is not a conventional team. Look deeper, and you’ll see it. The Cavs can win it all. The only question is if they’ll have the health and the time to bring it all together, and the good fortune to see it through. But this is a true, blue contender. Top to bottom.
Don’t believe me? Scroll back to the top. Watch that play again.
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