Cavs, Thunder's perfect starts may be foreshadowing of 2025 Finals
The Cleveland Cavs and the Oklahoma City Thunder are off to historically familiar beginnings in 2024-25. Head coach Kenny Atkinson and the Cavs set the tone in their season opener and haven't stopped winning since, starting with a 6-0 mark atop the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, coach Mark Daigneault is guiding the NBA's best defense , devastating opponents en route to the Western Conference's best record, 5-0. The last time the Thunder started this hot, they reached the NBA Finals in 2012, and the same could be said about Cleveland, per NBA History's X, formerly Twitter.
The 2016-17 Cavaliers, returning champions led by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, started the regular season 6-0 before reaching the 2017 NBA Finals.
Getting through the champion Boston Celtics won't be easy for the Cavs. Still, they undoubtedly did the right thing in re-signing their perennial All-Star in Donovan Mitchell over the summer and his supporting cast in Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Caris LeVert. It gives them a chance between now and the foreseeable future. Health is crucial, but a steady foundation mixed with veteran and young rising talent will keep them in contention.
It's a new day. The Cavs have ushered in a new era in the upper echelon of the East, overpowering familiar mainstays in the Milwaukee Bucks, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Miami Heat, plagued by ailing aging stars, lack of roster depth, and a restrictive salary cap. As history indicates, will this Cavs season materialize into a deep push to the Finals?
Chet Holmgren's emergence puts Thunder in Celtics territory
In light of their impressive run in 2023-24, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP-caliber season, and critical offseason moves, the Oklahoma City Thunder entered this season as favorites to win the Western Conference for many. If not, Chet Holmgren should convince you otherwise. Averaging 19.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, and 2.3 steals, Holmgren's on pace to make his first All-Star selection after finishing second for Rookie of the Year in 2024.
And that's not all. In his third season, Jalen Williams again displays All-Star potential in his 18.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.0 steals per game stat line, while it's an all-hands-on-deck approach to OKC's defense. The Thunder's depth is paralleled only to the champion Celtics.
Everyone does their part, including 2024's NBA All-Defensive First Team guard Alex Caruso, who the Thunder traded for in exchange for Josh Giddey over the summer, and veteran guard Lu Dort, the longest-tenured member at 25. The Thunder are suffocating opposing teams, averaging only 98.6 points per game, the best in the NBA, and have the personnel to compete in a best-of-7 series with any team in the Western Conference.
