Cavaliers win over Clippers 92-79

  When the NBA schedule was released, most observers of the Cleveland Cavaliers figured that a slow start for the Cavaliers was inevitable when the Cavaliers were sent to the West Coast for four games and a trip to Charlotte to conclude a road swing that was likely to place Cleveland in a jam early in the season as far as the standings go.

Instead, the Cavaliers grabbed wins in their first games of the trip with wins in Denver and then Wednesday night in Los Angeles over the Clippers 92-79.

Collin Sexton led Cleveland with 26 points while the point guard position added 31 between starter Darius Garland's 16 and Ricky Rubio's 15 off the bench.

The Cavaliers will again play in the Staples Center tonight as they will challenge LeBron James and the Laker All-Stars.

Swashbucklings

1)  Grabbing these two wins may very well loom very large if the Cavaliers have any hopes of playoff contention.

When you consider the possibilities of dropping all five games against playoff teams, the Cavaliers could have given away a chunk of ground two weeks into the season.

Now even if they lose the final three games, 2-3 will not be a season-breaker.

2) Evan Mobley finished with a double-double against the Clippers with an eleven and ten line and continues to give me hope that the Cavaliers have finally drafted a legitimate foundational piece. 

3) Mobley has been compared by almost anyone that watches him play to Chris Bosh.

I remember watching Bosh at Georgia Tech when I still watched a ton of college basketball and I think Mobley may be a little more advanced than Bosh defensively at his age but Bosh had a small edge in his offensive game.

Either way, the comparisons are reasonable and not hyperbole.

4) Kevin Love has been coming off the bench and limiting his minutes seems to be a positive thus far for the highly-priced veteran.

Love is averaging close to eleven points and over seven rebounds a game in close to twenty-two minutes in the first five games.

Love put a double-double against the Clippers (10 and 10), scored twenty-two in the win over the Nuggets and this may be the best to showcase Love for a possible trade if not this year, next year.

5) So far, Ricky Rubio has been exactly what they have hoped for with five strong games as the backup to Darius Garland at the point.

Rubio seemed to be all over the floor against the Clippers finishing with fifteen points and Rubio is averaging fourteen points and almost eight assists a game in the first five games.

If Rubio can continue to play at this level, the Cavaliers will have a top-of-the-lineup at the point position for the first team in what seems like going back to Mark Price and Terrell Brandon thirty years ago!

6) Cleveland has been moving against the NBA trend early by using a three-big man lineup and it's been surprisingly strong with Lauri Markkanen at "Small" forward, Evan Mobley at the four, and Jarrett Allen in the pivot.

Cleveland outrebounded both the Nuggets and the Clippers using the big lineup and it will be an interesting challenge against the Lakers tonight.