The end to the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 2021-22 season didn’t go as one would’ve hoped. The Cavaliers slipped down the steps post-All-Star break, as they then went just 9-15, and the team lost in both of their play-in tournament games to the Brooklyn Nets and then Atlanta Hawks.
That was somewhat disappointing, as the Cavs were among the best teams in the Eastern Conference for much of the season, and they were 35-23 pre-All-Star break.
I can’t necessarily gloss over the teams’ injuries in that closing stretch of games, though, as the Cavaliers were without Jarrett Allen for most of post-All-Star play because of a fractured finger, and the defense was a shell of itself. In that realm, Dean Wade missing much of the closing stretch and the play-in games with a partially torn meniscus didn’t help, either.
It was less than ideal how Caris LeVert missed the first nine games of post-All-Star break play with a foot sprain, also, and it didn’t enable him to establish a rhythm game-to-game shortly after his arrival via trade from the Indiana Pacers.
Even still, while the closing stretch of the season didn’t illuminate it, the Cavs did have a very good season, compared to the expectations heading in, and the team for much of the year overcame a bunch of injuries. The club didn’t have Collin Sexton (torn meniscus) for most of the season, to that point.
That said, despite a tough end of the season, there were positives then, as Evan Mobley continued to often show signs of development as a potential superstar to come down the road, Darius Garland kept up his star-level play and Lamar Stevens showed promise.
Looking at next season, a few Cavaliers players I would expect to keep up their strong finish to this season, in particular, and let’s take a closer look at those guys.
Three Cavs players, especially, should hit the ground running next season, and we’ll highlight them here.
The first is well, not a shocker.