Cavs: Cleveland lands at No. 20 in this week’s Power Rankings

The Cavs are climbing up the NBA’s Power Rankings.

The Cavs are thriving in the closing months of 2021. The team is currently 5-4 and is finding themselves in the best place possible after a road trip. The Cavaliers are playing well, especially on defense, while being much improved offensively. They’re not unbeatable like some teams we’ve seen so far, but they have an air about themselves that is really undeniable. They’re not a team solely relying on one player like so many other NBA teams.

The Cavs, so far through nine games, are a complete team.

A complete team with depth. The Cavs aren’t struggling in the third quarter like they did last year nor are they solely leaning on Collin Sexton anymore either. With the additions of Lauri Markkanen, Ricky Rubio, and Evan Mobley, the entire team has been transformed. It also helps that Kevin Love is fully engaged. They’re not perfect, Cedi Osman needs to play better defense and Dylan Windler is looking like he deserves more minutes but the team is well on its way.

The NBA ranks Cleveland at #20

The Cavs jumped up four spots from the first ranking of the season, from #24 to #20 and it’s very likely that the Cavaliers will jump up again after wins over the Hornets and Trailblazers, two teams ranked in the Top 13 of the NBA’s power ranking list.

From NBA.com

"Cleveland CavaliersRecord: 3-4Pace: 99.6 (24) OffRtg: 103.3 (22) DefRtg: 104.4 (13) NetRtg: -1.1 (17)The Cavs began their five-game trip by holding the Nuggets and Clippers (two offenses that ranked in the *top six last season) to just 86 points per 100 possessions, picking up two (nearly) wire-to-wire victories in which they shot a combined 10-for-45 from 3-point range. They dominated inside, outscoring the Nuggets and Clippers, 133-74, on points in the restricted area or at the free throw line. The bigs — Jarrett Allen and Kevin Love (!) — did the bulk of the work in Denver, while the guards scored efficiently in L.A.* Bottom six this season, but still.JB Bickerstaff continues to employ a short rotation. He played just eight guys (until garbage time) in the first game of their weekend back-to-back, a loss to the Lakers in which the Cavs didn’t have nearly the same success controlling the paint as they did the Clippers. The following night in Phoenix, the Cavs seemed to run out of gas after a strong first quarter. They’ve led by double-digits in each of their last six games, but have lost three of those six. (The three losses after leading by double-digits are a league high.)"

It’ll be very interesting to see if the Cavaliers can continue their consistency on both ends of the court. The Cavs have two road games, in Toronto and New York, so not far road games by any means and then a four-game homestand against the Wizards, Pistons, and two back-to-back games with the Celtics.

Save for New York, many feel those are pretenders, namely the Raptors and Wizards. Even if they are legitimate, wins over them will only help the Cavs standing and perception this year. If the Cavs go into the game against Brooklyn at 10-5 or 9-6, then fans may even start taking them seriously as an improved, playoff-bound team. An 11-4 record heading into the Brooklyn game would be amazing and a sign that the Cavs are for real.

Though, it seems unlikely the Cavaliers take the next six games. A 4-2 record heading into the game in Brooklyn would be ideal and a positive sign that things are going in the right direction.