ESPN has Cavs finishing #7 in East in 2022-23, which might be optimistic

Considering that the NFL started last week with the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, it was only right that ESPN released their win-loss predictions for the 2022-2023 NBA season. While I’m still getting excited for football season, it’s hard not to look ahead to the Cleveland Cavaliers season. After shocking fans and pundits alike with an appearance in the Play-In Tournament at the end of the 2021-22 season, the Cavaliers are going to need to be even better to improve upon that record.

On Monday, ESPN released their win-loss/standings projections for Eastern Conference teams (subscription required).

Unsurprisingly, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are at the top of the Eastern Conference, with a projected records of 54-28. Falling behind them to round out the contender section of the Eastern Conference, is the Miami Heat at three, the Philadelphia 76ers at four, followed by the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks.

After a very interesting offseason that saw a couple of superstars ask for trades, the Cavs were very quiet on that front/the key free agency period. They re-signed Ricky Rubio to a three-year deal. However, as I wrote earlier, he needs to play in at least 50 games to have a big impact on Cleveland.

From there, other than the veteran playmaker the Cavaliers brought in big man Robin Lopez and reserve guard/solid defender Raul Neto. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at the Cavs win-total prediction, where ESPN had Cleveland at 45 wins.