Fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers have had a lot to cheer about in the 2021-2022 season. Despite injuries early on and a bit of a roster reshuffle, the Wine and Gold are showing a gritty mentality from a young group.

With solid contributions from star third-year point guard Darius Garland, the Cavs have a hold of the number six seed in the Eastern Conference with ten games left to play in the regular season.

Garland leads the team averaging a healthy 21.4 points per game, and he is also one of the top free-throw shooters in the NBA, at just under a 91 percent clip.

Another player that has stepped up for Cleveland this season is rookie forward Evan Mobley. The former Southern California Trojan has proven himself as a capable stretch forward/center, averaging about 15 points a night, eight rebounds, and he also leads the team with 1.7 blocks per game.

Mobley has found himself not only for success team-wide, but he is one of the leading vote-getters to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award.

Referring back to what I said earlier about a roster reshuffle, once the Cavs lost point guard Ricky Rubio to a season-ending torn ACL injury, they lacked some veteran point guard depth. In a corresponding move, Cleveland went out and acquired Rajon Rondo from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Denzel Valentine.

However, the Cavs’ biggest move of the 2021-22 campaign was at the February trade deadline, when they acquired Ohio native Caris Levert from the Indiana Pacers for the injured Rubio and three draft picks.

LeVert has not seen much playing time due to injuries, but when on the court, he is a capable three-and-d wing player, averaging a career-high 17.5 points per game in 48 contests with Indiana and Cleveland this season.

Now, as the Cleveland Cavaliers make a push for their first playoff appearance since 2018, coach J.B. Bickerstaff will continue to surround his team with the junkyard dog gritty mentality which could make the Wine and Gold a tough out in postseason play.

Remaining Schedule for the Cavs:
Thursday, March 24 @ Toronto Raptors, tip-off at 7:30 PM (Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada)
Saturday, March 26 vs Chicago Bulls, tip-off at 8 PM (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland)
Monday, March 28 vs Orlando Magic, tip-off at 7 PM (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland)
Wednesday, March 30 vs Dallas Mavericks, tip-off at 7 PM (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland)
Thursday, March 31 @ Atlanta Hawks, tip-off at 7:30 PM (State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia)
Saturday, April 2 @ New York Knicks, tip-off at 1 PM (Madison Square Garden, New York City)
Sunday, April 3 vs Philadelphia 76ers, tip-off at 6 PM (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland)
Tuesday, April 5 @ Orlando Magic, tip-off at 7 PM (Amway Center, Orlando, Florida)
Friday, April 8 @ Brooklyn Nets, tip-off at 7:30 PM (Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York)
Sunday, April 10 vs Milwaukee Bucks, tip-off TBD (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland)