The Cleveland Cavaliers ended 2021 on a high note. After the first half of the season was more of the same in a post-LeBron world, with copious losses and plenty of injuries, the back half was something entirely different. Multiple moments across the year helped propel the Cavs from afterthought to a seat at the table.
As things stand they are 21-16, fifth in the East with the conference’s best net rating. Darius Garland is having a breakout season, Evan Mobley is the league’s best rookie, and multiple depth pieces have stepped up to make a difference. Even Kevin Love has had a career resurgence, leading all bench players in scoring, rebounding and 3-pointers in December.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are surprisingly good this season. What bold predictions are in store for the Cavs in a 2022 that dawns with optimism?
Now the calendar changes to 2022, with optimism on the horizon for a team playing with house money. One more win and they will match last season’s total already. That’s an incredible feat, and even more exciting given most of it is driven by their young core, players all 23 years old and younger.
What could 2022 have in store? Let’s dip our toe into the prediction pool and make a few bold predictions. These aren’t meant to be outlandish, but confident; these will come to pass. Enjoy what is ahead of the Cavs, and look for these predictions to come true.
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.
3 bold predictions for the Cavs in 2022: 2. Cleveland wins 3 postseason games
The Cleveland Cavaliers last won a playoff series without LeBron James in 1993. For those who don’t feel like doing the math, that was 29 years ago. James brought consistent postseason success and a championship to this team, but they have been completely lost without him.
That changed this year, as the Cavs have been among the best teams in the Eastern Conference. By pure numbers, the Cavaliers should be favored to win at least one series, if not two, but that is a misapplication of their strong performance. This team has limited postseason experience and is very young; making the playoffs will be about experience, not about ultimate success. That’s the acceptable reality for a team this young.
Yet they aren’t a team playing over its head or riding hot shooting, and they won’t be an easy out in the playoffs. The loss of Ricky Rubio hurts, and it’s the primary reason I don’t expect the Cavs to win a series. Yet they could absolutely win multiple games; they are much better than the typical 7 or 8 seed expected to be swept in the first round.
The loss of Rubio and the gut-punch of COVID absences, not to mention the loss of Sexton earlier in the season and other absences sure to come, could result in the Cavs falling into the play-in. Whether it’s a play-in win plus two in the first round, or forcing a Game 7 as a higher seed, the Cavs are not a pushover and will win at least three postseason games this season.
3 bold predictions for the Cavs in 2022: 3. Evan Mobley receives multiple year-end honors
The Cleveland Cavaliers know what to expect when you draft a once-in-a-generation talent. LeBron James stepped into the league and it was immediately obvious he was a truly special player, a future superstar. No one could have known for sure he would be a top-2 player all-time, but it was clear the trajectory he was on. He easily won Rookie of the Year despite a loaded draft class.
Fast forward two decades, and the Cavs are at it again. Evan Mobley has been a revelation thus far in his career, one of the league’s most versatile defenders and someone growing seemingly weekly as a scorer and facilitator. He is the obvious frontrunner for Rookie of the Year.
Yet he has the potential to receive even more accolades than just Rookie of the Year. He has been good enough defensively to make an All-Defense team as well. Making that team as a rookie is a feat generally reserved for Hall of Famers, and it would bode well for Mobley’s trajectory as one of the league’s best.
Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen will get the All-Star nods, Evan Mobley will be an All-Defense recipient, and together they will lead the Cavs to multiple postseason victories. This is a team on the rise, and 2022 will bring some recognition to their name. Maybe that will mean a national TV game or two next season.