De'Andre Hunter having up-and-down season for Cavaliers

The 2025-26 season started on an encouraging note for De'Andre Hunter. The 6-foot-8, 227-pounder moved into the Cavaliers' starting lineup after being a candidate for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year the season before. However, because of poor play, he was benched. That led to unsubstantiated rumors that he wanted to be traded — something he denied. There is interest around the league in Hunter with the trade deadline about a week away, Feb. 5. Fans will find out soon whether he's traded for the second year in a row. Either way, he's had an up-and-down season, though he scored 19 points Wednesday in Cleveland's 129-99 destruction of the Los Angeles Lakers. Hunter, 28, is averaging 13.9 points per game, his lowest since the 2020-21 season in Atlanta. His field goal percentage of .422 is his lowest since his rookie year in 2019-20, and his 3-point accuracy is a career-low .309. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson was encouraged by Hunter's performance against the Lakers. "That was Dre last season," he said. "That was exactly him, scoring in isolation, switching on strong offensive players and stopping them. We have to get him going. It's high priority for our coaching staff. He's too good to be playing like he's been playing. Sometimes you have a game like this on a big stage, it can get you headed in the right direction." Cleveland (29-20) certainly could use that kind of play out of Hunter, with power forward Evan Mobley sidelined one to three weeks with a calf strain. Mobley will likely miss the entire five-game West Coast trip that starts tonight in Phoenix. The Cavs, who have won five straight games, are heading out on their longest trip of the season on a high note. They've held their opponents under 100 points in back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 8-10, 2024. The Lakers game was the fifth time this season they've held an opponent under 100 points. Hunter said Cleveland has to be "defensive-minded" heading out west. "It's something we've talked about all year and we're starting to buy into that," he said. "We're playing aggressively on defense. If we play that kind of defense night in and night out, we'll be successful." Atkinson is encouraged that the Cavs held teams under 100 without Mobley. "We did it without Evan, (our) Defensive Player of the Year," he said. "We're doing it as a group. We're doing it with the young guys. They are making fewer mistakes." Cleveland is relying on center Jarrett Allen as a rim protector. He'll need to pick up his play in Mobley's absence. The Cavs will face some potent offensive teams on the trip, starting with the Suns. They also play Portland on Sunday, the improving Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, Sacramento on Feb. 7 and Denver on Feb. 9. They don't return home until Feb. 11 against Washington. After having more than their share of trouble early in the season, Cleveland has now outrebounded each of its last seven opponents. Hunter is averaging 4.3 rebounds, his highest figure since 2020-21, his second season in the NBA. He pulled down just three rebounds against the Lakers, though the Cavs won the battle of the boards, 46-36. "I've been better," Hunter said. "It's tough at times with Ev and JA out there. I don't want to take rebounds away from them. I try to get the ones I can get. Over the last few games, I've been rebounding well. I'm just looking to keep that up." The former University of Virginia standout is in his eighth season in the NBA and recorded his highest scoring output Wednesday since 27 points Dec. 22 against the Charlotte Hornets. It was the ninth time this season he's scored 19 or more. "You have to keep shooting your shots and you'll make more than you miss," he said. "You've just got to keep shooting them. You're not going to have success in this league if you come in timid or not confident. You have to keep stacking them." Atkinson said he likes the Cavs' trajectory heading out west. "We're an improving ballclub," he said. Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell said he's looking forward to the road trip. "We're going to be on the road for 10 or 11 days," he said. "It's going to be a great trip. We have to continue to take it step by step. We've been playing solid basketball." Cleveland has won seven of its last eight games and 12 of its last 16. "It's a mentality shift," Mitchell said. "We're finding a way to be mentally tough. Are we going to continue to fight? That's what you're seeing. We have to find a way to keep going." Bob Finnan can be reached at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.