Finally healthier, the Cavs are back on track with a 3-game winning streak

It is obvious that it is The Cleveland Cavaliers have been better lately for improving health, but few consider the importance of this on an individual level. Athletes are creatures of habit, and when those routines are altered or interrupted due to injuries or schedule changes, it throws things off. In basketball, that can mean different responsibilities, playing up or down a position or lineup variations.

With 18 different starting lineups and 42 different five-man combinations playing 10 minutes or more together – only nine of which played at least 20 minutes – it’s hard to establish any sense of rhythm, regardless of the team’s intent. As Cleveland’s injury list gradually dwindled, the process improved, and the results followed.

“I think that always helps, when you have a whole team, when you have guys that you know,” the Cavs All-Star point guard Donovan Mitchell he said after his team’s 113-108 win over the Denver Nuggets. “When you have your guys and your collective group, it always helps. I’m not using that as an excuse for us starting or anything, but when the guys come back, everybody can switch to what they’re doing.”

“It’s huge,” De’Andre Hunter he added. “It’s coming up to the All-Star break, so it would be great to have the whole team, see what it looks like before we go on break. I think just that trust in each other, that stable lineup and that stable rotation helps guys in that rotation and in that role. It’s a lot easier to be ready when you know how to go. I think that’s what we have right now.”

Coming off a well-timed, solid performance after back-to-back DNPs, Lonzo Ball agrees with Hunter.

“Just picking up reps,” Ball said Saturday. “We’ve had a lot of guys in and out this whole year, pretty much. It’s still pretty early, but we definitely want to fit into those things, hopefully before the All-Stars and then come out of the All-Stars super strong.”

“Personnel is everything, knowing who you’re playing with,” Jaylon Tyson added. “But Donovan, I know he likes the short roll. DG (Darius Garland), I know he likes to have space and then let him do what he does, find the open shot. So I feel like the staff is huge, and then, obviously, we have really good players. … I feel like that’s going to help. The more we play together, it’s going to be natural.”

The Cavs have now won five of their last seven games, looking more cohesive and energetic than they have all season. It started with back-to-back wins over the Charlotte Hornets and the then-hot New Orleans Pelicans. Cleveland lost a heartbreaker in New York despite an incredible effort on Christmas Day, then got chased by a ship in Houston with an unforgivable effort.

That turned out to be an anomaly, as the Wine and Gold defeated the great San Antonio Spurs in their own building, a tough Phoenix Suns squad on New Year’s Eve and a staunch Nuggets group at Rocket Arena.

“We’re finally able to be consistent with the way we’re going and playing,” Jarrett Allen said Friday. “Instead of three different guys having to switch roles every game, we can reliably count on people being there every night, being able to be in the same spot every time.”

Consistency is the name of the game, which is the next step ahead of what has been the Cavs’ best stretch of the 2025-26 campaign. Although part of Cleveland’s lack of who was available, that it doesn’t tell the whole story.

“Every NBA team goes through that,” Tyson said. “It’s not 82 games being healthy, being the same rotation, so I wouldn’t blame it, but I feel like it could help.”

However, the head coach of the Cavs Kenny Atkinson he feels his “elite” starting five sets the tone as a constant because of their mutual familiarity, allowing players who had more on their plate to step back into a more defined role.

“Everybody’s kind of falling back into place,” Atkinson said before Friday’s game. “Even Sam (Merrill) off the bench, right? (We) were starting him, and it wasn’t his place in a way. I think he’s a lot better coming off the bench, so that’s the key. It’s kind of a domino effect when you get healthier, and you start those two bigs, it changes instead of one big. Not getting Evan (Mobley) on their bench takes everything off the bench.”

With a 20-16 record to start the new year, the Cavs have a big job to do for not taking care of business early. Next up on the schedule are a vengeful Detroit Pistons team, the Indiana Pacers on the road and home series against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“We still have a way to go,” Mitchell said. “We’re playing well. And maybe I’m being too (critical), a little too much, but that’s just the way it is. We’ve been doing it for 10, 11 days. Obviously the Knicks loss was tough; the Houston game was tough. But outside of those games, we showed that … there’s a different atmosphere on the court, right?

“Now, we’ve got to be stars at what we do, and on an ongoing basis. I think we’re showing that, and now the goal is just to do it again. We’ve got the tough part ahead of us; we’ve got to be locked in and continue to be that team. … We can sit here and tell you guys what we need to do everything we want to do. And it’s time to step on the gas to do that, but now we’ve got to keep doing it.”