Cavs 30.5-win over/under likens them to New York Knicks

Too good to tank?

Even if Love does get injured and the Cavs go below .500, they’re better equipped to stay afloat than the Knicks were.

Rodney Hood will have a higher usage this season—especially if Love gets hurt. He’ll likely be within the top two or three of Cavs players in usage rate, unlike last year where he ranked tenth (18.3 percent).

Every year in the league, Hood has proven to be more effective with more opportunities (think: Victor Oladipo).

While Knicks’ second-year guard Frank Ntilikina has a high upside, Cavs’ point guard Collin Sexton should have a more impactful rookie season.

I’m expecting Sexton’s rookie year to pan out somewhere along a spectrum that has De’Aaron Fox on one side and Donovan Mitchell on the other side.

Even in the worse case, Sexton will probably impact games more than French Frank did in his debut season.

Cavs’ sharpshooters J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver should shoot like Knicks Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr.

Instead of Jarrett Jack and Ron Baker, the Cavs have George Hill and Jordan Clarkson. And someone like Larry Nance Jr. may prove more effective at his position than New York’s Michael Beasley.

Player-by-player, the Cavs seem more capable of winning over 30 games than New York did, even without their stars.

But it could happen…

If I were a betting man, I’d tell Mr. Jeff Sherman that I’ll take the over, thank you very much.

And if I were a confident man, I’d bet the house on it.

But there’s a possibility that the Cavs follow a depressing road on the way to becoming an eleventh- or twelfth-place team.

If Love goes down, watch to see if Cleveland packs it up like New York did following Porzingis’s injury.

Don’t be surprised if the Cavs get starry-eyed about the future and want to keep their pick away from Atlanta’s talons.