CLEVELAND — For many Cleveland Cavaliers fans, Bill Simmons has been considered to be a longtime critic of their favorite team -- so much so that The Ringer founder joked that he would retire if Cleveland won the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery and was able to select Zion Williamson with the top pick.
But when it comes to the latest version of the Cavs, "The Sports Guy" has nothing but love.
On the latest episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Simmons spends the first 25 minutes showering praise on Cleveland while discussing the first two weeks of the 2022-23 NBA season with The Ringer's Rob Mahoney. In particular, both Simmons and Mahoney have been impressed with the play of Donovan Mitchell, who has averaged 31.1 points on .481 shooting (.438 from 3-point range), 7.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds -- all career highs -- while leading the Cavs to a 6-1 record.
"He's been an absolute badass. And he's given them a starring presence that I'm not sure the Cavs have ever had outside of LeBron [James]," Mahoney said of Mitchell. "The combination of presence and effort and poise and on-court leadership and just like effort. Making huge plays that very few players can make."
Mahoney also said that he believes Cleveland to currently be the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, trailing only the 7-0 Milwaukee Bucks, while Simmons said that he has the Cavs either second or third, putting them on par with his favorite team, the Boston Celtics. Simmons, however, also added that he wouldn't be surprised to see Cleveland make the leap from last season's Play-In Tournament to the NBA Finals, which would mark the Cavs' first appearance in the league's championship round without James on the roster.
"It's not crazy to me that they're going to make the Finals," Simmons said. "Much like last year with the Celtics, sometimes it's actually more common for the team to be a year early than a year late. And I just think they have to be considered."
While Simmons and Mahoney each noted that it's still early in the season and that Cleveland could stand to improve parts of its rotation, both agreed that what they've seen from the Cavs to this point is no fluke. Having won six straight games, Cleveland will look to extend its winning streak on Friday when it begins a five-game road trip with a matchup against the Detroit Pistons.