Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland have led the Cleveland Cavaliers to an 8-0 start to the 2024-25 season, and former NBA player Lou Williams has been very impressed by them. On Tuesday’s episode of Run It Back, Williams was asked what is the best duo in the NBA and he went with Mitchell and Garland.
“I’m going to mix it up,” Williams said. “I’mma show some love out there to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Give me Garland and Mitchell. The way that they’ve been able to put it together with the rest of the group, they’re rolling right now. One of the undefeated teams that’s left out there, so I’mma show some love to Cleveland.”
With how good the Cavaliers have been this season, it’s not an outlandish take.
Mitchell is averaging 23.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game in 2024-25. He has also been quite efficient, having shot 48.3% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc.
As for Garland, he has put up 20.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. He has been even more efficient than his backcourt partner, having shot 52.5% from the field and 44.8% from beyond the arc.
Garland has excelled in the big moments as well. He has scored 18 points in the clutch this season in 13.5 minutes, on 70% shooting from the field. Garland’s clutchness was on display in the Cavaliers’ last game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. The 24-year-old scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including this cold-blooded three-pointer.
GARLAND FOR THE LEAD AGAIN.
HE'S GOT 39.
Cavs now lead by 4 with 12.2 left… Bucks ball on NBA TV: https://t.co/nmLIQZ9zn7 https://t.co/JXspkf05Nm pic.twitter.com/2q8Ltlh8b4
— NBA (@NBA) November 5, 2024
Just a few days earlier on Saturday, Mitchell had drilled a game-winner against the Bucks as well, so these two are getting it done when it matters most. They need to keep this up for longer for me to crown them as the best duo, though.
I don’t think you can put Mitchell and Garland above Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown right now. I would also put Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving over them as a duo and there are a few others as well who would get the edge over the Cavs stars for me. Their body of work in two seasons as teammates hasn’t been impressive enough for me to vault them to the top now, despite the perfect start.
In Mitchell’s first season, the Cavaliers lost in five games in the first round of the 2023 playoffs to the New York Knicks. Then in 2024, they lost in five games in the Conference Semifinals to the Celtics.
Until Mitchell and Garland lead the Cavaliers on a deep playoff run, they won’t really have a case to be regarded as the best. Could that happen this season? Maybe. Hiring Kenny Atkinson to be their new head coach looks like a masterstroke thus far, as he is getting the best out of this group.
The likes of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen have had very impressive starts to the season and the bench unit has more than held their own as well. The Cavaliers just look like a well-oiled machine right now. It’s still too early for me to declare that they’re a serious title contender but if they keep this up, they sure will be.
Following that 116-114 win over the Bucks on Monday, the 2024-25 Cavaliers matched the best start in franchise history at 8-0. They’ll now look to set a new record when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on Wednesday at 8 PM ET.
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