3 ways Cavs will prove ESPN Insider’s pessimism wrong

How Cavs prove ESPN Insider’s pessimism wrong: Building on strengths

Lowe pointed to three main reasons to doubt the Cavs this upcoming season. The first of those was the puzzle of integrating Donovan Mitchell to the team. While there is an adjustment period for any team adding an on-ball offensive star, the Cavs are set up for success here.

Both Darius Garland and Mitchell played in backcourts the past few years where they had a high-level running mate, be that Garland and Collin Sexton in Cleveland or Mitchell and Mike Conley in Utah. Mitchell appears to be completely bought in to the new arrangement with Garland, not only saying the right things but doing the right things as both made sweet music in their preseason debut.

Secondly, Lowe was concerned with the Cavs’ depth. Anytime you have a team with multiple star players, there is going to be a drop-off to the next tier of players. Yet why are the Cavs susceptible to claims of poor depth compared to teams like the Milwaukee Bucks or Brooklyn Nets? The Cavs have a Sixth Man candidate in Kevin Love, one of the league’s best backup point guards in Ricky Rubio, and players beyond them that stretch the playable options on this roster to 12 or 13.

Finally, the Cavs got dinged because of defensive question marks. With Garland and Mitchell as defensive negatives, can the Evan Mobley – Jarrett Allen combination be enough? What happens when one of them sits? This is the biggest legitimate question raised, but it’s also not the same as the Atlanta Hawks or Brooklyn Nets figuring out what NBA defense even is. The Cavs are figuring out how to keep their defense great, not make it passable, as they were excellent on that end last year. Having two All-Defense bigs is an excellent starting point.