The Cleveland Cavaliers have been in the NBA since the 1970-71 season. Most of their success is tied with LeBron James. Yet, it seems like Donovan Mitchell and the current club want to rewrite Cavs history. This Cleveland team has matched LeBron’s record for most road wins in franchise history.
Mitchell and Cavaliers Match LeBron’s Record
With their win against the Utah Jazz on Sunday, the Cavs are now 27-9 on the road. In the 2008-09 season, the Cavs won a franchise-best 27 road games. This Cleveland Cavaliers team has five more games on the road, with a chance to improve on their franchise record for road wins. They play at Portland, at Detroit, at San Antonio, at Indiana, and at New York.
Is This Cavs Team Better than the 2008-09 Team?
The 2008-09 season is the best regular season in Cleveland Cavaliers franchise history. The team won a record 66 games. Most of that was thanks to their incredible 39-2 record at home. On the road, they went 27-14, a win total that the 2024-25 Cavs can beat.
There are a lot of similarities between the two teams. The 2008-09 team also relied on two big men, but that was the standard back in the 2000s. They had Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao, two big men who didn’t shoot from deep. Yes, Big Z could shoot from the midrange, but never attempted anything from behind the arc. This iteration of the Cavs has Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The former has developed a three-point shot albeit not at huge volume, which has made all the difference for the team this season.
But the big difference is depth. The 2008-09 Cavs had only four players scoring 10+ points per contest. LeBron played heavy minutes, 37.7 per game, and carried the team almost every single night. This Cavs team has six players scoring 10+ points per game (Caris LeVert also did prior to being traded). Mitchell leads them in minutes played but at only 31.2.
Can Mitchell and Cavs Match LeBron’s Success?
Now that the Cavaliers have matched the franchise record for most road wins, the question is whether they can make the same noise in the playoffs. LeBron’s 2009 Cavs team looked like the best team in the Eastern Conference for much of the season. Yet, in the playoffs, they were shocked by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.
We can see a similar scenario happening here. Led by Mitchell, the Cavs can potentially cruise in the first two rounds. But if they get the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, they might not be the favorites to win. It will not be a shock to see them lose to the defending champions.
One lesson they can take from LeBron’s 2009 team is that the regular season doesn’t matter much if you don’t replicate the success in the playoffs.
Can Cavaliers Break Total Wins, Not Just Road Wins Record?
As we said before, the 2008-09 Cavaliers team had the most road wins in franchise history, but also the most wins. On the strength of their home record, they won a franchise-record 66 wins. The Cavs have won 60+ games only two times in their history, both with LeBron on the roster. They won 61 the next season. This Cavs team has 11 more games left to play. They have to go 9-2 the rest of the way to match the 66 wins. New York and Indiana might be the teams that prevent them from doing so. They have to play both two times, and the Pacers and Knicks are battling for better seeding. The Cavs, on the other hand, have a firm grasp on the first seed in the Eastern Conference.
Photo credit: © Peter Creveling-Imagn Images
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