The Cleveland Cavaliers have consistently surprised everyone with how they’ve played so far in the 2024-25 NBA season. They remain at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 51-10 record. One of the most outstanding achievements they’ve had recently is their 11-game win streak.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins talked about what separated the Cavs from the rest of the league. The former NBA player cited the team’s synergy as what makes Cleveland a great group.
“We had a saying in the locker room and it was basically, Lose youself in the team.’ That’s what you see when you watch the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Perkins said. “A lot of guys that are all in. You have leadership… You have stars in their roles.
“At the end of the day, you have a guy that could go get it and a guy that’s on a mission in Donovan Mitchell. And he’s happy.
“When you have that type of synergy … you can have these types of win streaks."@KendrickPerkins discusses the Cavs' success this season 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6L9B4YuwwN
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 5, 2025
Perkins also said that having a head coach in Kenny Atkinson has changed everything for the Cavs. Atkinson has unlocked the potential of big man Evan Mobley. This season, Mobley has one of the best seasons of his young career, averaging 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
“Kenny Atkinson has unlocked Evan Mobley, so now guys just feel complete. And when you have that type of synergy, you have these types of win streaks.”
The Cavs have outperformed some of the top teams during their latest win streak. That includes the defending champions, the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, the third-best team in the East.
Perkins thinks the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star guard has the most pressure heading into the postseason
There are only a few weeks left in the regular season and the Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to have home court advantage as they remain at the top. With how the team has been successful, there’s a ton of pressure for them to follow through and take over the postseason.
Recently, Perkins revealed his thoughts on which star has the most pressure as the playoffs loom. According to him, All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell has the most pressure out of any star in the league.
“The player that’s under the most pressure is Donovan Mitchell. The best record in the league, number one seed in the Eastern Conference,” Perk said.
“And here’s the thing, Donovan Mitchell, we’ve seen this movie before in Utah. The number one seed and got bounced out. He has never reached the Conference Finals in his career. Now, you have zero excuses.”
“You have no excuses, if you’re Donovan Mitchell, to get things done, and I’m not saying just going to the NBA Finals, damnit. You got to reach the Conference Finals [first].”
For other sports-related content:
Follow me on X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at [email protected]. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
