Analysis: The Cavs, Magic and Rockets are off to surprise starts. Maybe that shouldn't be surprising

There was a conversation Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell had during training camp, the topic being all the teams that were generating the most preseason buzz in the Eastern Conference. Boston was coming off an NBA championship. New York got Karl-Anthony Towns. Philadelphia added Paul George.

The Cavs? Not a big topic in early October. And Mitchell fully understood why.

“What have we done?” Mitchell asked. “They don’t talk about us. That’s fine. We’ll just hold ourselves to our standard.”

That approach seems to be working.

For the first time in 36 seasons — yes, even before the LeBron James eras in Cleveland — the Cavaliers are atop the NBA at the 25-game mark. They’re 21-4, having come back to earth a bit following a 15-0 start but still better than anyone in the league at this point.

“We’ve kept our standards pretty high,” Cavalier...
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