Last season, The Cleveland Cavaliers finally built their own winning identity outside of the "Lebron James era" thanks in part to their acquisition of 4-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell in the 2022 offseason. The Cavaliers had an excellent regular season finishing with a 51-31 record which was good enough for 4th seed in the East. Expectations were high as they had their first playoff appearance and homecourt advantage in the series for the first time since Lebron James was on the roster. Unfortunately, that excitement was short-lived as they lost at home to the New York Knicks in Game 1 despite a 38 point performance from Donovan Mitchell. The Cavs bounced back in Game 2 at home but went on to lose the next 3 games, ending their season in the first round. Still, with a bright future ahead of them can the Cavs bounce back from a disappointing postseason finish and what will it take?
For all the talent they have the Cavaliers are still a young team as their two best players in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are both 27 and 23 respectively. Going into next season, I expect the All-Star backcourt to continue being one of best backcourt combinations in the league with Garland in particular returning to All-Star status. I expect much of the same from Mitchell as well who had career highs in scoring, field goal percentage and steals. He also was tied with Damian Lillard for the highest scoring game of the season with a historic 71 point performance in a OT win against the Bulls. However, to take the next steps as a team to make a deep playoff run they need a consistent third star and I believe their young power forward in Evan Mobley will be the guy to fulfill that role. In his second season, Mobley averaged 16.2 points, 9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game on 55% from the field. Mobley has extremely high upside and will be an All-Star for years to come and next season could be a true breakout season for him which would allow the Cavaliers to reach their potential as a team
Another factor for the Cavs success could be the impact of the possible rising and falling of other teams in the eastern conference. For example the Sixers were the third best team in the east last season but with the drama surrounding the possible trade of James Harden. The Cavaliers could become the third best team in the east likely still behind the Bucks and Celtics who are the two elite teams in the east. The Easter Conference Champion Miami Heat could have something to say about that especially if they are able to acquire Damian Lillard in a long anticipated trade.
To be a true championship contender I feel the Cavaliers are still missing a piece to really contend with the Bucks or Celtics in a possible Eastern Conference Finals matchup. However, they still have arguably more upside than any other team in the east that will make them a dangerous team for years to come. With that said, I believe the Cavaliers will definitely win a playoff series but will likely fall short of the conference finals if they matchup with the Bucks or Celtics in the second round.
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