With the Cleveland Cavaliers having a strong start to the 2022-23 season, they have shown flashes of being a top tier team. With the memory of failing in the Play-In Tournament last year, they are showing us this year that they don’t want that to happen again.
They made a blockbuster trade to receive Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell without giving up any of their young core of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. In fact, besides the Golden State Warriors, the Cavs are the only team to have three 2022 All-Star Game players. That has to show for something, and they’re a squad primed to level up this season.
The Cavs also have two clear dynamic duos in the starting lineup. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are the Cavs’ duo for offense, and Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are the Cavs’ duo for defense. Most other teams only have one star duo or big three.
Along those lines, a couple examples of the star duos are Kawhi Leonard and Paul George (LA Clippers), Joel Embiid and James Harden (Philadelphia 76ers), and Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans). Some of the big threes are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), and Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green (Warriors). The Cavaliers have four players that can be cohesive on the court together.
This article is based on my opinion. This is what I believe they can be, not what they actually will become. I will give reasons why I believe they are above certain teams.
I believe that the Cleveland Cavaliers can be a Top 3 Seed in the Eastern Conference.
By the looks of it, the Cavaliers can finish in the East’s Top 3 this season.
From my perspective, the only teams that are above them are the Bucks and the Celtics. I do not believe the Cavaliers have an answer right now for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Evan Mobley will have to continue to make major strides to try to become a stopper for Giannis. The Boston Celtics have a top defense and they also just got to the NBA Finals last season. With these things in mind, I believe the Cavs are right behind them.
With that said, the Wine and Gold appear to be better than teams such as the Sixers and Miami Heat, and other older clubs, comparatively, in the Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls are unknowns.
The younger Cavaliers are better off than some older Eastern teams
I believe the Cavs are going to be better than the 76ers due to the 76ers being too top heavy and struggling with defense. If Joel Embiid gets injured, the 76ers will struggle to stay consistent on defense and in the post. James Harden is not only known for not being very capable on defense, but also disappearing in important moments. I don’t believe James Harden and Tyrese Maxey will be able to handle Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, either.
On the Jazz, Mitchell has shown that he can carry a team on offense. Darius Garland so far is the best backcourt teammate he has had. Yes, defense is a question for both backcourts, but the Cavaliers have the better backcourt due to the talent. Embiid was able to beat both Allen and Mobley last season, but things are different now. Mobley and Allen have shown improvement, but Embiid’s motivation has seemed to change.
Plus, the Cavs also play more team basketball than focusing on star power. The Sixers rely on their stars almost too much, and if they get injured, they’ll start to falter. The Cavaliers are used to dealing with injury and are able to plug in bench guys when needed, by comparison. And lastly, the Cavs have much better pace and speed than the 76ers, to aid them in getting run-outs and easy looks.
The Heat are below the Cavs because they haven’t made any improvements and they are only getting older. Don’t get me wrong, Jimmy Butler is amazing, but he needs more help. Bam Adebayo shows flashes here and there, but he hasn’t been better since the bubble. Kyle Lowry isn’t helping either and he just keeps getting older. Butler can’t do it on his own. The East got better, but the Heat didn’t.
In that realm, Jimmy is only one guy, and he can’t guard Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland at the same time. Adebayo can’t do it with Mobley and Allen either. If they want to compete in the East, the Heat have to get better players.
The Nets are the biggest unknown this season. The Cavs’ might struggle guarding Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but the Nets have struggled a lot defensively too. Teams have found ways to get around Ben Simmons, and the Nets’ interior defense has been rough. The Cavaliers have an opportunity to run circles around the Nets. Even if the Nets could lock down Mitchell and Garland, they still have to deal with Mobley and Allen, not to mention the bench. The Nets on paper could be a Top 3 Seed, but they also could be a Play-In club.
The Chicago Bulls are currently dealing with injuries with Lonzo Ball. By losing him, their backcourt defense struggles a lot. Alex Caruso could start, but Zach LaVine isn’t a strong defender, and Nikola Vucevic isn’t a great defender inside. DeMar DeRozan has proved that he can play defense, but the rest of the team struggles. These reasons will make the Cavs a hard team for the Bulls to get passed.
The two teams that the Cavs are often compared to are the Atlanta Hawks and the Toronto Raptors, and we’ll examine the outlook of those squads in relation to the Cavaliers next.
Comparing the Cavs to the Hawks and Raptors
The Hawks got better by trading for Dejounte Murray. This gave Trae Young a co-star and helped improve their defense. I do not believe they are better than the Cavs due to star power, though, as the Cavaliers have three to four guys they can rely on consistently. The Hawks only have two: Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.
Meanwhile, the Raptors have stuck with the same roster for many years now, to a large extent. They have Fred VanVleet (2022 All-Star), Pascal Siakam, and Scottie Barnes (2022 Rookie of the Year). As far as talent goes, the Raptors and Cavs were close to the same last year. Barnes beat out Mobley for Rookie of the Year honors by a close margin. However, with the Cavs trading for Mitchell, they improved their core. The Raptors haven’t done that.
Now, Mobley and Barnes are looking to make jumps this season, but Mobley might want to get some sweet revenge against Barnes down the road. And as we saw in the opener, in a close Toronto win, Cleveland and Toronto will definitely be exciting to watch moving forward.
Anyway, as I said before, this is based on my opinion. I would love the Cavs to win a championship, but there are other teams out there that want to win too. Yes, I do see them as a Top 3-type of team in the East. There is a chance they could make the NBA Finals, but I don’t know if they can win a ring.
Just know this, Eastern Conference, the Cavs are here and hungry to win.