On a personal level, one of the biggest gripes with watching the Cleveland Cavaliers offense throughout the early parts of the season — when the struggles were endless — was seeing a missing element from what made the unit great in the 64-win campaign. Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Ty Jerome thrived in 2024-25 pressuring on drives to open up the Cavs' perimeter play.
With Jerome, who averaged 8.4 drives per game last season, having departed for the Memphis Grizzlies, a big chunk of that pressure was gone. With Garland popping in and out of the lineup, his offense could not always be accounted for.