3 bold predictions for the surprisingly good Cavs in 2022

3 bold predictions for the Cavs in 2022: 1. The Cavs will have 2 All-Stars

We might be at a place where this doesn’t feel bold anymore, especially as members of the media start to pick their All-Stars for 2022 and publish those decisions. Yet rewind just a few short months to the start of the season and this reality would have been unfathomable.

Especially since the prediction above was deliberately vague. The Cavs will have a pair of All-Stars this year, but that is coming from a group of three players who would all be deserving of the honor. Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley all have strong cases to be included when the league’s best travel to…Cleveland.

That’s right, the Cavs get not one but two players back into the All-Star Game the very season that their city is hosting the event du jour of the NBA calendar year. Garland seems like a lock, elevating his game to another level offensively without Collin Sexton and providing an elite combination of perimeter scoring and playmaking for his teammates.

After Garland, Jarrett Allen is likely the best bet based off of his strong double-double scoring and rebounding average, built on top of incredibly strong advanced metrics (11th in the entire league in Estimated Plus-Minus, for example). Yet Evan Mobley is the best defensive player on the team, a worthy All-Defense candidate and a buzz-worthy name given his recent high draft status and inside track on Rookie of the Year. It’s rare for a rookie to make the All-Star team nowadays, but Mobley has at least a chance, and the case for Mobley being a top-12 player in the East is actually fairly easy to make.

In the end it will be two, not three, but the Cavs will be well represented as they play at home for All-Star Weekend.