Yahoo Sports senior NBA writer Dan Devine is joined by Justin Rowan from The Chase Down to talk about the resurgent Cleveland Cavaliers and their place in the hierarchy of the Eastern Conference.

00:00 - Count me in!

05:35 - Cavs stay hot, beat the Clippers

11:15 - Jarrett Allen

17:00 - Isaac Okoro & Dean Wade

21:50 - Sam Merrill

26:45 - Are the Cavs better than last year?

35:00 - Darius Garland

43:25 - The Eastern Conference

46:25 - Emoni Bates

48:45 - The Closing Five

58:10 - Weekly recommendations

On this episode of Devine Intervention, Yahoo Sports senior NBA writer Dan Devine is joined by Justin Rowan from The Chase Down to talk about the resurgent Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat the streaking Los Angeles Clippers by 10 points last night.

Dan and Justin talk about how the team has changed since mid-December injuries took out Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, how it has lead to them being the hottest team in the NBA, and what it means for the return of Mobley (last night) and Garland (tomorrow).

Donovan Mitchell has been fantastic as the main force of the Cavs offense, but Jarrett Allen’s growth as a passer and a scorer has also been a revelation for Cleveland and probably something that will change the long term plans of their front office.

Isaac Okoro and Dean Wade were promoted into the starting lineup when Mobley and Garland went out, and those opportunities helped those players to grow into bigger parts of what the Cavs are trying to do. Sam Merrill has turned into one of the best high-volume 3-point shooters in the league out of necessity. 

Do all of these changes make the Cavs better prepared for the playoffs than they were last season? And where do they rank among the elite teams at the top of the Eastern Conference?

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at Yahoo Sports Podcasts

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.