NBA Notes: Cavs, Donovan Mitchell, Hawks, Trae Young, Heat

Cavaliers

ESPN’s Jamal Collier posed the question that’s been floating around Cleveland for weeks: Can the Cavs rediscover last season’s elite offense?

They haven’t been bad, but they haven’t been that team, either, Collier contends.

Cleveland sat atop the East a year ago because its offense hummed at a league-best efficiency. This time around, the Cavs are outside the top 10.

Still solid, but nowhere near the machine that buried opponents with pace, movement and threes. We do need to consider injuries in all of this, of course.

Anyway, the Cavs are still firing from deep, just not landing nearly as many — 35.1 percent compared to last year’s league-leading clip.

They’re not getting to the rim as often, the paint touches are down and the ball isn’t zipping around the same way.

A lot of that has landed on Donovan Mitchell, who’s taking more shots than he ever has in Cleveland, numbers closer to his Utah days than anything we’ve seen since the trade.

And the obvious caveat remains, as Darius Garland has only played three games thanks to the ongoing toe issue.

His return should boost everything, but even then, the Cavs know they can tighten things up to get back to the pace and flow that made them dangerous.

Hawks

The biggest surprise in Atlanta isn’t the record — it’s the style.

With Trae Young out since October 29, the Hawks have actually played the way coach Quin Snyder has been begging them to play.

Ball movement. Drives. Spacing. Cutting. Competing. Defending.

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk noted that this version of the Hawks is 9-4 without Young, with Jalen Johnson looking every bit like a rising star and role players such as Nickeil Alexander-Walker thriving in larger roles.

Atlanta was still figuring out its chemistry early with Kristaps Porzingis, Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard around Young. Without him, they’ve found an identity.

Young is expected back after mid-December, and the Hawks have plenty of time to blend everything together.

If anything, this stretch without their star should make them stronger.

Heat

ESPN’s Zach Kram broke down Miami’s wild offensive overhaul, and it’s unlike anything we’ve seen.

The Heat are setting just 15.4 picks per 100 possessions.

For perspective, the lowest number in the tracking era was 37.9. They’ve cut the volume by more than half.

It’s strange. It’s creative. And it’s helped. But only to a point.

Miami’s offensive efficiency in non-garbage time has jumped from bottom-tier (25, 21, 21) to 13th this season. Individual pieces such as Norman Powell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. have flourished.

But overall, the Heat remain an average offense, which isn’t enough when they aren’t the defensive monsters they once were.

The hope is that Tyler Herro’s return can give the system more juice, though fitting the league’s most active pick-and-roll guard into a no-picks system will be an experiment of its own.

Bam Adebayo has also missed nearly half of Miami’s games, and the Heat need both stars to unlock whatever this offense is supposed to become.