The Cleveland Cavaliers showed what they were really made of by grinding out a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. Holding on for a win during a game where they trailed for much of it was extremely important. They showed they could make plays when they had to, unlike during their first two games of 2026-27.

The 53 minutes of action taught the world a whole lot about the team. About the good, the bad, and the ugly of Cavs basketball. Through it all, we saw the biggest strength. We saw the biggest weakness.

Time to further discuss both of them.

The Greatest Strength: Offensive Firepower

The first two games of the Cavs season saw a lot of weakness. The strength came out in game three, and it was the fact that there is serious offensive firepower when things are clicking. Donovan Mitchell was getting buckets throughout the contest. James Harden arrived in the clutch. And the rookie showed what he could do.

Meleek Thomas and his 16 points in just 19 minutes showed that he brings a much-needed element to the team. A player confident in their ability right off the bat that can create their own shot. Who can get it done on both ends of the floor and ultimately serve as a net-positive on the floor. Not bad for a guy logging his first NBA regular-season minutes. Mitchell had very high praise for him after the game.

Evan Mobley splashed four triples on the day, including a big one in the fourth quarter and another in overtime. Peyton Watson showed some offensive aggression as he both attacked the rim and delivered with clutch free throws to ice the game. 

There are real weapons on this team, and it was amazing to see it come together against a defense as tenacious and physical as what the Timberwolves possess.

Greatest Weakness: POA Defense And Open Threes

As good as the Cavs offense was, there are still some defensive problems. As has been the case for the first three games. Cleveland has struggled to defend the three-point line. The good news is that opponents are shooting just 34% from 3PT. The bad news though is that it’s felt like more than 70% of those looks were wide open.

Peyton Watson blocked four shots and did what he could, but there were still so many wide-open driving lanes for Minnesota. Terrence Shannon Jr. was taking full advantage of his opportunities to get it right to the cup. The drive-and-dish game saw the team constantly feeding Joan Beringer to the tune of 12 points on 6-6 shooting. They are fortunate Rudy Gobert still struggles to finish inside, or it may have been different.

The point-of-attack defense has to be much better, and they have to be better at deterring their opponents inside. They have got to defend the three-point line better. This is a team that can score in transition, but giving up open looks to great shooters is not worth the risk of a quick bucket in the case of a miss.

Look for this to be something they will continue to work on.

Next In Action… 

The Cavs play the Wizards on Wednesday, and the Hawks on Thursday. The first back-to-back of the season.