Cavs shown no love in recent ESPN power ranking

The Cleveland Cavaliers aren’t a title contending anymore, but the most recent ESPN power ranking is absolutely disrespectful.

ESPN ranked the Cleveland Cavaliers No. 23. In front of them are the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, and many more undeserving teams.

Is this startling ranking the truth behind the Cavaliers current situation?

ESPN said this new generation of Cleveland basketball won’t “generate a lot of wins.”

Full quote:

"The Cavs enter a new era without LeBron James — one which is not expected to generate a lot of wins. Kevin Love gets another chance to be the face of a franchise and should relish more opportunities on the floor, but this group lost its identity when James left for Los Angeles and will struggle as it enters another rebuild. The positive is that rookie Collin Sexton impressed on the defensive end in summer league and Cleveland still has plenty of time to deal some of its veterans for future assets."

Can fans really disagree?

At their current ranking, the Cleveland Cavaliers would be the tenth best team in the Eastern Conference, just two spots from making the playoffs and retaining the relevance that Gilbert and company crave.

The upside to this rank is that if the Cavs finished as the 23rd best team, they keep their top-10 protected 2019 first-round pick.

That pick is the reason many fans wanted the Cavs to tank in the first place; however, the last time Cleveland tanked they won just 19 games, a reality Gilbert and Altman rightfully don’t want to go through again.

It’s hard for me to really understand why the Cavaliers are less respected than the Detroit Pistons. Even with Griffin, the Pistons had a stretch last season where they went 3-13, looking completely dysfunctional. Finishing the season 39-43 and four games behind Washington for the eighth spot in the East, Detroit shouldn’t be much better than last season.

Additionally, the Cavaliers should be better than the Charlotte Hornets as well. However, with Kemba still leading the Hornets and the addition of Mikal Bridges, their placement makes much more sense.

For the Cleveland, their absolute worst situation is finishing ninth or tenth in the East and barely missing out on their pick, ending the season as the league’s 18 or 19th best team.

Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.