Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken are leaving no stone unturned as they diligently work day and night to bring you the latest news …
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How they maintain this breakneck pace I’ll never know.
Anyway, in response to my recent story regarding how the three leading veteran NBA players — LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry — are far from ready to hang up their signature shoes, a reader on X complained that I hadn’t said anything about the Cleveland Cavaliers. Certainly, I meant no disrespect to the swashbucklers of Ohio, who thus far in the 2024-2025 NBA season have been quite successfully swashing their buckles to the tune of being, as of the start of play on November 9, 2024, the sole remaining undefeated team in the league.
In the Cavaliers’ most recent outing on November 8, 2024, they laid a thorough drubbing on the Golden State Warriors to the tune of 136-117. With that as a backdrop, an examination of the team doing its best to alleviate Cleveland sports fans’ agony over the Indians Guardians falling in the 2024 American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees, and the Browns spending the 2024-2025 season falling period.
The Cavaliers are the NBA squad to which other teams are as likely to say get off my lawn as get on the court. There are a whopping three players on the roster who are 30 or over, the oldest of which is backup center Tristan Thompson at 33. Cleveland is replete with players who can score, as is evidenced by how, as of November 8, 2024, they lead the league in average number of points scored per game (123.2).
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Unsurprisingly, they lead the league in shooting percentage at an unreal 52.6% clip. Defensively, they are above average, currently tenth in the league at an average of 110.6 points allowed per game. Let’s see, 123.2 minus 110.6.
Yup, that means you win. A lot.
Cleveland enjoys quality production from a solid starting five. The backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland lead the way, but forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen also contribute offensively and defensively. Individual heroics to save the day are the exception with the Cavaliers, not the rule. They win, usually quite handsomely, as a team. It is not a novel concept, but certainly one that refreshes.
The NBA doubtless prefers the 2025 Finals next May to feature some combination of the Celtics or Knicks versus the Lakers or Warriors. What they may well get is Cleveland and Oklahoma City, which would be great for true basketball junkies but, in terms of general interest, will leave most fans wondering when Caitlin Clark’s next game will be. ‘Tis a pity. The Cleveland Cavaliers are very, very good. Too bad more people don’t notice.
On to college football, where, to the surprise of absolutely no one, the two most interesting matchups are between ranked SEC teams. Georgia visits Ole Miss in a game that is important to the Bulldogs and vital to the Rebels in terms of making the playoffs. Ole Miss’ strength is their defense, and they are going to have to step up even more due to injury concerns with the Rebels’ offense; their best running back, Henry Parrish Jr., is unavailable due to a leg injury suffered in the team’s most recent game, a win over Arkansas.
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Their best receiver, Tre Harris, will probably play but is less than full strength as he recovers from an injury. Georgia’s main concern is whether quarterback Carson Beck can remember which team is wearing which color uniform, as he has shown an alarming tendency the past few games to pick the wrong one to throw to; he threw three interceptions in each of Georgia’s last two games, despite this winning both.
The other SEC matchup of note is Alabama visiting LSU. With both teams at 6-2 on the season, losing this game likely removes said team from the playoffs. Both of Alabama’s losses this year came via slow starts in front of a hostile crowd, so expect Tiger Stadium to be even more raucous than usual.
Enjoy the weekend, everyone.
