The Cleveland Cavaliers expect to be a contender for years to come, but unlike the last time the Cavs were contenders the Eastern Conference looks a lot tougher this time around. On top of that you have a few young teams who will likely be competing with them for years to come, such as the Charlotte Hornets and as they continue on in their rebuild, the Detroit Pistons. But of all those teams you can make a strong argument why the Toronto Raptors will be the Cavaliers’ biggest rival for the next 5 years.
We’ll get further into why that could very well be the case involving the Raptors and Cavs going forward here.
First, we’ll take a look back at the recent history between these two.
The Cavs and Raptors have a well-established recent history as rivals
Interestingly enough, in the last 6 years the Cavs and Raptors have already built up some rivalry history in the playoffs. The Cavs and Raptors first met in 2016, when it was LeBron James’ second year back in Cleveland. The Cavs became instant championship contenders upon LeBron’s return and after a run of lottery luck from 2011-14, they traded some of those assets that formed a championship core of James Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
The Raptors meanwhile were still a very young team at the time, and they were still trying to get over the hump. in 2014 and 2015 they got their first taste of the postseason since the Chris Bosh days, but they still went out in the first round in seven games to the Brooklyn Nets in 2014 and got swept the following year. In 2016 after a couple of game 7 wins, they were able to make it to their first Eastern Conference Finals in franchise history.
Ultimately it was a complete mismatch for them against the Cavaliers. The Raptors were able to get 2 wins, but in the other games it was never close. The Cavs dismantled them in the 4 wins and the average margin of victory was 28.5 ppg. The Cavs would go onto the NBA Finals where they came back from 3-1 to capture the franchises’ first NBA championship and the cities first major pro sports championship since 1964.
In the next couple years in 17/18 the Raptors never got close and experienced more frustrations against the Cavs in the form of a couple sweeps. After 2018 Toronto was able to land superstar Kawhi Leonard via trade, though, and after years of playoff frustrations they were able to capture their first NBA title, ironically against the Golden State Warriors.
In the next couple years the Cavs and Raptors would take different paths. The Cavs went into a complete rebuild, while the Raptors had a semi-rebuilding year in the 2020-2021 season. In NBA standards, now-President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman was able to rebuild the Cavs rather quickly. If you include the 2018 Nets pick, the Cavaliers outright had 4 lottery picks. Two of those picks Altman absolutely nailed and look like franchise superstars, and we’ll further into that and Toronto’s path from there next.
How the Cavs and Raptors proceeded from there, and how both got their game-changers
In 2019 Altman added Darius Garland who is the teams’ best player, while also drafting another guy who looks like a superstar in Evan Mobley in 2021. As great as Garland has been Mobley still is likely the best talent long term. From there, Altman also added Collin Sexton, who is an important piece going forward, and Isaac Okoro is a good defender.
Plus, Altman was also able to pry Allen away from the Nets in 2020 by including the Cavs in a 4-team trade that sent James Harden then to Brooklyn. Garland is the Cavs’ best player and ultimately is what makes their offense go, but Mobley and Allen completely changed the Cavs defense when they have been healthy this year.
For the Raptors after Kawhi left they were able to stay competitive until 2020 when they had a semi-tank year seemingly. Ironically the Cavaliers and Raptors continue to stay connected. Entering the 2021 NBA Draft, the Cavs and Raptors had the 5th and 7th-best odds to land the top pick, respectively. The Raptors were able to jump from 7th to 4th in the lottery, while the Cavs after a couple years of bad luck jumped from 5 to 3 as they once again got some good luck in the lottery.
Mobley obviously went 3rd, but the Raptors shocked some on draft night and took Scottie Barnes. Vice Chairman and President Masai Ujiri continues to look like a genius with that pick. Mobley and Barnes have been the two best rookies all year. Mobley completely changed things for the Cavs and though the Raptors had a good core before, getting Barnes is a game-changer as well.
You can argue a few teams in a tough Eastern Conference the next 5 years who can be the Cavs’ rival, but nobody should be surprised if its the Raptors. You can call it a rivalry renewed, but we’ll move on to what’s the most clear aspect of that, Mobley versus Barnes. For me Mobley is the clear Rookie of the Year, but that shouldn’t take away from Barnes in any way.
Barnes and Mobley have already had some great battles this year. In the 3 games Mobley and Barnes have gone head-to-head Mobley is 2-1, while also outplaying him head-to-head. Mobley and Barnes have been the two best rookies all year and have impacted winning all year for their respective teams, too. This is only the start and we should see plenty of battles in the coming years regular season and playoffs, as both players take leaps into superstardom.
Unlike some of the other potential teams in the East, the Raptors’ core isn’t super young and inexperienced or at the point of a Miami Heat where you have some key guys who are aging. The Cavaliers have built a great core to go forward with in Mobley/Garland and to a lesser degree, Allen.
The Raptors have their core guys in their primes, and the Cavs are a young team on the rise that have found their core
One advantage the Raptors have over the Cavs is a big part of the Raptors core in Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are right in the primes of their careers at age 27, though. It’s not a Philadelphia 76ers situation where Harden could be or eventually declines sometime in the next five years or an older Miami situation where the Heat will eventually age out. Throw in an OG Anunoby, who is also valuable to them and was a part of a couple of their playoff runs a few years ago, too.
That’s a big reason why the Raptors have surpassed the Cavs in the standings. Aside from injuries, which the Cavs have overcome all year for the most part, those have finally caught up with them and the Cavs are gassed, but Raptors are just further ahead in their building process and are the better team.
The Cavaliers have a core to build around and the future is bright but Garland (22) and Mobley (20) haven’t come close to their primes yet. Guys like Vanvleet and Siakam who are 27 are in their primes and will continue to play at a high level for the next 5 years, while Barnes also takes that next step. Anunoby is a big part of the core going forward as well and is only 24.
Toronto is ahead of schedule on Cleveland right now, because the Cavaliers’ two best players haven’t entered their prime and the team is still building the rest of the roster around them.
This is why the Raptors are the most likely rival for the Cavs the next 5 years, when you factor in the superstar rivalry between Mobley and Barnes, and you have other young All-Star players/established players around them like a Vanvleet and Siakam, while Anunoby is very key going forward.
You should expect Mobley and the Cavs and Barnes and the Raptors to have plenty of regular season battles the next 5 years and some in the playoffs with much on the line.