Perhaps no team in the NBA has dealt more with the label of ‘regular season merchant
s’ than the Cleveland Cavaliers.For those who maybe aren’t as online as others, being a regular season merchant means overachieving in the regular season — only to be a non-factor in the playoffs.
Cleveland, whether it’s fair or not, has been written off as a team that will rack up wins in October-March but is doomed to fall short of any real accomplishments in May or June. Even their run to the Eastern Conference
Finals last season wasn’t enough to erase that narrative.
Despite this, the Cavs are steadfast in their belief that success in the regular season is still an important part of the process.
“You can’t just show up in April and expect to figure it out,” said Donovan Mitchell. “I think the normal NBA fan might not fully understand that concept… This is a building block; it’s time spent, it’s adversity.”
The Cavaliers aren’t the only team that’s been plagued by a general disinterest in the NBA’s regular season.
Casual fans have begun tuning out the 82-game schedule in favor of the smaller sample size in the playoffs. I can’t blame anyone for being more excited about postseason basketball — but it’s a mistake to assume the first six months of the season don’t influence what will happen in the end.
“I think Joe Mazzula said something like, everyone loves each other in training camp, but come December, January, when you’re missing shots, when we have to get a stop, who are you then?” said Mitchell. “That all comes in the regular season.”
There’s also a sense of urgency that sometimes gets overlooked in the regular season. In today’s league more than ever, a week-long skid could send you falling down the rankings. Securing a favorable playoff seed is still something that every coach is trying to keep at the forefront of their regular season goals.
“I think it’s more important than ever,” said Kenny Atkinson. “[Getting] playoff seeds, home-court seeds, it’s going to be an absolute battle. There’s no waiting. We’ve got to fight for the playoffs and fight for a good seed.”
Cleveland’s current campaign got off to a rocky start.
They blew a 29-point lead to the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night, and then nearly forfeited a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Brooklyn Nets a few days later.
That experience doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s something the team can learn and grow from.
“We don’t really have much to prove to people, so to speak, until we get to May and June,” said Mitchell. “But I think this is where these two games very well may help us in April, May or June.”
The regular season is where you polish your craft. It’s the training grounds that prepare you for the challenge of a long postseason run. Championship teams don’t sleepwalk throughout the 82-game schedule and turn it on in the playoffs. They embrace the ups-and-downs of the season, instilling the chemistry and internal faith they’ll need to go the distance in Spring.
“I don’t think you can just show up physically and mentally in the playoffs and be like, I’m ready to go,” said Mitchell. “You need to build that chemistry”
