The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the Central Division along with the 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, and the Indiana Pacers. Last season, this division sent two teams to the actual postseason and three, if you’re including one going to the play-in tournament.
The Cavaliers were one of three teams to qualify for the postseason, although they got bounced out of the play-in tournament by the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks.
The Bulls and Bucks were the other two teams to qualify for the postseason, but they made the actual playoffs. In fact, Chicago and Milwaukee matched up with each other in the first round. The Bucks wound up winning that series in five games.
With the way the Eastern Conference is now, it seems logical to think that the Cavaliers will take the step forward this coming season and get into the actual playoffs rather than the play-in tournament.
Here’s the problem though. The rest of the division is only getting stronger, and the Cavs should not be satisfied with how they did last season. So it might be a little more difficult for the Cavs to get into the actual playoffs than originally thought.
With that said, should Cavs fans be nervous about the rest of the Central Division next year?
The Bucks are going to be coming back fully loaded with Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. They took the Boston Celtics, the team that represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, to seven games in the second round, and Middleton was sidelined.
The Bulls were able to re-sign Zach LaVine and they still have Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, and Nikola Vucevic. Yes, they got bounced by the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs, but it’s still something they can build on, provided players such as Ball and Caruso can be healthier next season.
The Pistons drafted Jaden Ivey to go alongside Cade Cunnigham, who they drafted first overall last year, in their starting backcourt. They’ve also got a nice young small forward in Saddiq Bey who’s averaged 14.3 points for his career. The Pistons have some quality young pieces which could make them a thorn in the Cavaliers’ side.
The Cavaliers have a young core of their own in emerging star Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro, Ochai Agbaji, and maybe Collin Sexton, unless he gets dealt via sign-and-trade.
Looking at the 2021-22 Eastern Conference Standings, including the play-in tournament, the Bucks finished third at 51-31, the Bulls were sixth at 46-36, the Cavs were ninth at 44-38, and the Pistons finished second-to-last in the East at a dismal 23-59.
Being that the Cavaliers are in the Central Division along with the Bulls, Pistons, Bucks and Pacers, they’ll play them four times. Two times each in Chicago, Detroit, Indiana, and Milwaukee, and two times each in Cleveland.
The Bulls won the season series 3-1 against the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers and Pistons split their season series 2-2. In one of the bigger surprises of the season, the Cavaliers won the season series against the then-defending champion Bucks.
Now, the results of the season series from last season won’t have any bearing on what’s going to happen this coming season. It’s two completely different seasons and each team will have undergone changes of various kinds during the offseason.
The Cavs looked positioned to once again be in the hunt to make the playoffs, but the Bulls, Bucks and Pistons will all have something to say about that. However, the Cavaliers will overcome that and qualify for the playoffs. Once the Cavs make the playoffs this coming season, they will do some damage, should they get in. If they get the right matchup in the first round, the Cavs just might be able to advance to Round 2 and cause headaches for whoever they face.
So to answer the original question: “Should Cavaliers fans be nervous about the rest of the Central Division this coming season?” The answer is yes, Cavs fans should be nervous about the rest of the Central Division.
That said, Cleveland should benefit from young guys having more experience, and the group should have better chemistry, if they can stay relatively healthy next season.