Superstar steps up and general reports for duty: Cavaliers Week 2 takeaways – King James Gospel

Party like it’s 1976! Well, not really, but that was the last time the Cleveland Cavaliers started an NBA season 7-0. This week, the Cavs defeated four playoff teams from last season: the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic (without Paolo Banchero) and the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Wine and Gold put together another great week, but what were the big themes that could have been taken away? Here are three takeaways from Week 2 of Cavs basketball.

Oddly enough, in the first week, Mitchell fell off the radar a bit as all the talk was about Evan Mobley. This week, however, Mitchell showed he’s still the top dog in Cleveland.

For the week, Mitchell averaged 25 points and shot 52 percent from the field and 42 percent from three. He highlighted the 4-0 stretch with a win against the Bucks on Saturday night, a game in which Mitchell finished with 30 points.

At the beginning of the year, he was effective and efficient. He played offense and didn’t resort to heavy isolation to win the Cavs games. Mitchell playing at a highly efficient level like this, with the help of a great supporting cast, is exactly what Cleveland needs. Speaking of that supporting cast…

I touched on this in my last piece, but I’ll say it again: reports of Darius Garland’s death were premature. Garland said before the season that he was ready to prove himself again, and he did just that.

For the week, Garland averaged 21 points and seven assists while shooting 48 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point range. That included a 34-point explosion against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. He also had two ten-plus-assist games against the Lakers and Bucks.

Garland is playing with more confidence and speed this year. He doesn’t hesitate to attack or create for others and his patented ball handling is more distinct. He was the perfect floor general for the Wine and Gold and a huge reason why they have the number one offense in the NBA.

At the start of the season, head coach Kenny Atkinson talked about “celebrating the depth of the Cavs.” Well, through seven games that’s been the case, and Cleveland’s bench has put together another strong week.

The bench averaged 38 points per game for the week, which ranks them 11th in the league. For the season, the Cavs bench is averaging 41 PPG, which is sixth in the league.

In years past, the team relied heavily on its starters, but this season’s team has ten guys playing at least 15 minutes per game. Guys like Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill and Ty Jerome have been bench leaders. It’s still early days, but this is a great trend for Wine and Gold.