Cavs: Four reasonable predictions for the 2021-22 season
It seems like just yesterday that we were all sitting in front of our televisions watching some ping-pong balls bounce around, waiting to see where the Cleveland Cavaliers would pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Luckily for the Cavaliers, they jumped up a couple of spots and snagged the third overall pick. With the third pick in hand, the Cavs selected USC big man Evan Mobley there. Although, that was not the only thing that happened during this Cavs offseason. General manager Koby Altman had himself a busy summer.
He orchestrated a trade that brought Spanish-born, NBA veteran point guard Ricky Rubio to the Cavs. On top of that, Cleveland re-signed center Jarrett Allen to a five-year, $100 million contract, solidifying himself as a key member of the Cavaliers young core. Possibly the biggest and most surprising move Altman made, was swinging a sign-and-trade trade for former Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen. At this point in time, we really don’t know how Markkanen will fit into the rotation just yet this season, but he has looked good throughout the preseason.
I think that most Cavs fans would agree it was a pretty successful summer, on paper that is. Even still, with all that being said, I think Cavalier fans are expecting something from this team, that they cannot do. It’s a great young core with Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, Mobley, Allen, Isaac Okoro, and Markkanen. They will stay close in most games this season. However, I think that the Cavs fans that are expecting a possible berth in the playoff play-in game, are dreaming.
Sure, even a loss in the play-in game would be a massively successful season, but I just don’t think it’s possible with the team constructed as it is. This Cavaliers team is young, and has a high ceiling. On top of that, they should be close in most of the games that they play. In my opinion, a successful season would be winning 25 games.
With such a young team, I think the playoffs are far-fetched, but that doesn’t mean that this season can’t be a successful one, and they could definitely do better than I anticipate. With that being said, let’s take a look at four predictions for the 2021-22 Cavalier season.