Thunder-Cavs set up a historic collision of winning streaks

On By Littum

Team chemistry, a fast-paced style and a formidable backcourt and frontcourt have propelled Cleveland to the top of the East.

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Best in the Eastern Conference. Best in the Western Conference. The best shooting team in the NBA vs. the best defensive team in the NBA. A matchup like only two others in league history.

Clear the calendar for Wednesday night when Oklahoma City travels to Cleveland (7 ET, ESPN).

Technically, any game between an East team and a West team is a potential NBA Finals preview — but this one certainly deserves that billing. A Thunder team on a 15-game winning streak taking on a Cavaliers team on a 10-game winning streak (after having its own 15-game streak earlier this season).

“Every game is a challenge and every game is an opportunity to get better,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “There’s a different challenge every single night of the NBA season. Every game tests you in different ways.”

He is not wrong. But his team is 30-5. Cleveland is an NBA-best 31-4. Combined, it’s 61-9. Each game can certainly test these teams, but the Thunder and Cavs pass almost every one of those tests with flying colors.

“We expect to win every game,” Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell said.

He laughed as he said that. The thing is, he might not have been joking. And the Thunder, less than three years removed from going 24-58, should probably expect to win every time they take the floor, too.

“It’s cool,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I try not to think about where we were or where we’re going and just stay in the moment.”

Those teams — the first game of an ESPN doubleheader on Wednesday, one with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee taking on Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio in the nightcap (9:30 ET, ESPN) — is truly a clash of styles.

They are the best at pretty much everything.

Cleveland leads the NBA in field-goal percentage (.504). Oklahoma City leads the NBA in field-goal percentage defense (.426). Cleveland is second in the league in points per game. match (122.5). Oklahoma City leads the league in points allowed per game. match (103.0). Cleveland leads the league in 3-point percentage (.404). Oklahoma City — you guessed it — leads the league in 3-point percentage defense (.327).

There is still a long way to go this season. It’s not even half over. But the Cavs have a big lead over Boston in the East, and the Thunder are running away with the West. Barring collapse over the next month, it will be Daigneault, Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson and their staffs heading to San Francisco for All-Star Game practice. And at this rate, it won’t be long before phrases like “home court advantage” and “No. 1 seed” are being bandied about in Cleveland and OKC.

“It’s so hard to win in this league. You know, there’s so much parity,” Atkinson said. “I think you catch a wave, kind of a confidence wave, and then everything flows. Looks like that’s what we’ve captured. And it is a collective trust. Sometimes it’s two or three guys. We have 12 or 13 guys playing with a lot of confidence on both ends.”

There’s a lot of that in the league right now.

There have been 16 teams this season — more than half the league — that have already had at least one winning streak of five or more games. New York just had a nine-game winning streak snapped by the Thunder last Friday. Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, Phoenix and the Thunder (not including their current 15-game streak) all have seven-game streaks so far this season.

But what the Cavs and Thunder are doing is historic on several levels. They are the first teams to win streaks of 15 games or more in the same NBA season since Toronto and Milwaukee did it in 2019-20.

And Wednesday will mark just the third game in NBA history when two teams on at least 10-game winning streaks go head-to-head. The others: February 29, 2000, when the Los Angeles Lakers played Portland (both on 11-game hitting streaks) and January 26, 1995, when Utah played Seattle (both on 10-game hitting streaks).

Additionally, it is the second time that two NBA teams have gotten off to 30-5 starts or better in the same season. The other was 1971-72, when the Lakers started 32-3 and the Milwaukee Bucks started 30-5.

They ended up meeting in that season’s playoffs; The Lakers beat the Bucks in the West Finals en route to the NBA title.

If the Cavs and Thunder meet in this season’s playoffs, it will be with the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the line in the NBA Finals. And with the way these clubs play, there’s no reason to say it’s not a real possibility.