3 high value bets to place on Cavs before the 2022-23 NBA season
3 can’t miss bets on Cavs: OVER win total of 47.5
Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers won 44 games, a big step forward for a franchise mired in the lottery in the wake of LeBron James’ second departure. Yet even that impressive total fell short of the team’s true performance, as their net rating was that of a 46-win team.
Teams that take a huge step forward often lose some of those massive gains, but the Cavs didn’t have anything fluky driving their success. Instead of benefiting from unlucky opponent shooting or pristine health, the Cavs took a step forward due to internal growth from their young stars. That’s the most reliable form of growth and bodes well for their future.
Additionally, the Cavs last season were rather unhealthy, with nearly every major rotation player missing time due to injury or COVID. That mitigates some of the possible concerns this year; missing Ricky Rubio for half the season is fine because he missed more than half of last year. Trading away Collin Sexton is balanced by the fact that he played in just 11 games last year.
The Cavs only need to be two wins better of a team this season than last. Any growth from Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro could get them there, but add in the value of Donovan Mitchell > Lauri Markkanen and the Cavs have an awesome chance to exceed this win total. Bet it!