Cavs finally getting some love in NBA power rankings

Do you like NBA basketball? Have you been watching the Cleveland Cavaliers?

You might’ve heard that the Cavs are 12-0. You also might’ve heard that they’re only the eighth team in NBA history to do so – and that they lead the NBA in points per game, field-goal percentage, 3-point-shooting percentage and probably a bunch of  categories I don’t even know about.

That’s all well and good. But it seems that most national media outlets have been reluctant to cede the No. 1 spot in their power rankings to the Cavaliers – until now.

After blowing out Golden State and grinding out wins over New Orleans, Brooklyn and Chicago, the Cavs are coming in at No. 1 in The Athletic’s NBA power rankings, published today.

The Athletic had the Cavs ranked No. 2 last week.

According to Law Murray of The Athletic, of the seven other teams that have jumped out to 12-0 starts, only two have failed to reach the NBA Finals.

“There is a lot to look forward to, like seeing how long the Cavaliers can keep this up while shooting better than 50% from the field and 40% from 3 as a team,” Murray says.

Likewise, NBA.com boosted the Cavs up a notch to the No. 1 spot in its latest power rankings, published on Nov. 11.

NBA.com writer John Schuhmann asserts that the Cavs’ league-leading 3-point-shooting percentage (41.3% after Monday night’s win in Chicago) is one of the “unsustainable” aspects of the Cavs’ scorching start.

Among other observations, Schuhmann points out that heading into Monday night’s matchup against Chicago, the Cavs had outscored their opponents by 28.3 points per 100 possessions in Caris LeVert’s 210 minutes – the highest on-court mark among 300 players who’ve averaged at least 10 minutes per game.

And for those naysayers who points to all of the sub-.500 teams on the Cavs’ early-season schedule, Schuhmann notes that the Cavaliers have just two rest-advantage games in their first 40 games of the 2024-2025 season. Notably, both of them are this week (Philadelphia and Charlotte).

Not everyone has bought in yet. In Bleacher Report’s most recent power rankings – published on Nov. 8 – the Cavs are No. 3, behind Oklahoma City and Boston.

“Cleveland fans have to be a little annoyed to see their still-undefeated Cavaliers stuck in third place,” Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey wrote. “ … The Cavs still don’t feel like a top-tier title contender, but we may not be able to say that much longer.”

Of course, these NBA power rankings aren’t the end-all be-all of basketball analysis. At the end of the day, they hold about as much weight as a “World’s Greatest Dad” T-shirt.