It was a fantastic win for the Cavs over the Sixers on Friday night. A convincing victory, and now prime position for the NBA Cup standings to boot.

With this one in the rearview, they quickly turn their focus to the Knicks on Saturday night.

There was a lot to like about the team’s victory. Holding LeBron James to eight points is probably the most impressive stat. Here are three lessons learned from watching this inspired performance.

1) Peyton Watson Makes A Major Difference In The Lineup

Peyton Watson was acquired here to be a serious player and a major difference-maker. And from the opening tip, he proved just how much he was missed. The two games against the Thunder could very well have gone differently if #8 was in the lineup.

Playing his first game since last Saturday, Watson logged 28 minutes and had a net rating of +22. He finally made a three-pointer and posted 13 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. He played through a little foul trouble and made life very difficult for the Sixers.

Watson opened the game guarding Tyrese Maxey, shot just 5-15 from the floor for the game. A Philly team that was 8-0 with their starting five all healthy, had no rhythm in the second half.

Kenny on what stood out tonight:

"Defense. Peyton Watson. Big difference. I thought the job he did on Maxey was excellent." pic.twitter.com/3x1lLxo7XG

— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) November 7, 2026

Watson was a serious disruptor out there while showing off a nice float game, too. When he plays, they are now 5-2. Cleveland is 0-2 when he sits. 

2) The Cavs Bench Is Filled With Promise

It’s not just one player making an impact off the pine. On a night with Jarrett Allen unavailable, four different Cavs reserves rose to the occasion. The expected factors showed up, with Meleek Thomas starting hot with a pair of threes right away. 

THE ROOKIE LOCKS UP LeBRON! 🔒

Maleek Thomas gets a hand in on LeBron and the Cavs take it the other way!
#NBA pic.twitter.com/pGu179JZna

— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) November 7, 2026

And then Mario Hezonja, who has already impressed so much, put up a double-double in his 26 minutes. 15 points and 10 rebounds, hitting some threes and cleaning the glass with impressive precision. Let’s also talk about Tyrese Proctor, who, despite only shooting 1-for-4, had six rebounds, three assists, and two steals with a +13 net rating in 19 minutes.

Thomas Bryant has been good, but this is his first real stat-sheet game of the season. He had 13 points and six rebounds in just 16 minutes of action. A +7 rating while serving as the true backup center absolutely gets it done.

Sam Merrill’s injury did change some things with rotations, but all the above came out to play. Thomas started the second half in his place and wound up with 12 points, three assists, and two steals in 27 minutes. 

Even Norchad Omier, who just signed earlier this week, got in on the fun. His team debut was made, and he drew some nice praise from Stan Van Gundy on the broadcast.

3) It’s Not As Bad As It Seems

The perception around the Cavs, if you scroll on X, is that the season is over. That Kenny Atkinson should be fired. All of this was seemingly considered to be “facts” prior to the tip against Philly. But a 24-point win can certainly change the tune.

Every fanbase can tend to overreact after a bad loss or two, and that’s very much what happened. What the team needed was a complete performance, a convincing win. And against the best team in the conference, they did just that. With Jarrett Allen on the shelf, Cleveland pulled off a 24-point win while holding their opponents below 100 as well.

Peyton Watson was brought in to be a defensive disruptor. He got right back to that. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden both showed up. Evan Mobley delivered big-time on both sides of the floor.

This is a team that certainly has its limitations, but down three key frontcourt players, they still dominated.

Things are not quite as bad as they seemed at this time yesterday. All of the pre-game keys came to fruition, and this is a club back over .500.