It cannot be easy for a city like Cleveland, immersed in years of defeats and mediocrity, to overcome a departure like that of LeBron James, the boy from neighboring Akron who ended the Cavaliers' curse in 2016. That season, in unforgettable Finals, they won their only championship ring by defeating the Warriors, who had started the best season in NBA history. The 24 consecutive wins of Steph Curry and company are now being chased by a team that no one expected such excellence from. After defeating the Hornets in a game where their star Donovan Mitchell was absent, the Ohio team achieved 15 games without a loss, the second-best start in NBA history.
"There are many keys, not just one," says Jose Calderón from Cleveland, where he is witnessing one of the great news of the NBA season's start. The Extremaduran point guard, who played 57 games with the Cavaliers in his penultimate season in the league as a player (2017/2018), is now a Special Advisor of the franchise, contributing his wisdom behind the scenes. There, with the decisions of owner Dan Gilbert and General Manager Koby Altman, the gradual resurgence of a team that everyone believes will challenge the Celtics for the Eastern Conference throne (precisely their next opponent on Tuesday) has been forged, and why not, dream again of the championship. "The city is delighted. But everyone is grounded, this is just the beginning, things can change, and you never know what will happen in two months. We have to win, and no one is thinking too far ahead. There will be ups and downs, and this doesn't mean anything regarding the playoffs," the Spanish player calms in a conversation with EL MUNDO.
However, only three more teams in history have had such a start to the season (in addition to those Warriors, the Washington Capitols in 48-49 and the Rockets in 93-94), and the Cavaliers' scent is that of an unstoppable group taking a leap to their next evolution: in 2023, they made their first playoffs without LeBron, and last season they advanced to the second round. "There are three pillars: team continuity, the growth of many players, and trusting a new coach. Everything has come together. You never know if it will happen so quickly. The conditions are right, the team is good, and you have to take advantage of everything you can win now," Calderón points out.
Beyond the superstar Donovan Mitchell, Kenny Atkinson is the one who attracts all the attention. Despite the upward trend, the Cavaliers decided to bet on a change in the coaching staff, replacing J. B. Bickerstaff with the former assistant of Steve Kerr at the Warriors, a coach who, curiously, holds Spanish nationality: after his four seasons playing in the national basketball league - Canoe, Zamora, Salamanca [where he debuted in the ACB], and Calpe Aguas Valencia - he married a woman from Seville. "He has changed the way of playing. It's a different style. Everyone feels important [against the Hornets, without Mitchell, four players scored over 20 points]. He has made a very long rotation and changes in that rotation of who plays with whom," says Jose Calderón, referring to Atkinson's adaptation "to what was already there by incorporating things into his system." "The good thing about winning when a new coach arrives is that it helps the players buy into his idea," he adds.
But if there is a face to the ambition of the Cavaliers, it is that of Spider Mitchell, the shooting guard who changed everything with his arrival from Utah in 2022. "He is a complete player. He is even taking fewer shots because he sees that many people are contributing, and he doesn't have to exhaust himself as much. He is a leader in every sense, when it's necessary to score or take the last shot, he is delighted. He is top-notch and doing a great job," praises Calderón the star, who is averaging 24.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game and is the spearhead of a young rotation where Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarret Allen stand out, a starting five with an average age of less than 25 years.