The Cleveland Cavaliers have started out this season on a high note. They currently have a record of 15-8. After last season’s experience of almost getting into the playoffs, this season they certainly have an opportunity to not only get to the playoffs but yes, potentially win an NBA championship. Why so confident in this possibility? There are several reasons for this bold prediction of the Cavs gaining a title.
We will look at several reasons why the Wine and Gold squad certainly has as good a chance as any to reach that ultimate goal of an NBA championship.
Here’s 3 reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers are true title contenders, starting with their star offseason trade acquisition.
For clarification, I’m referring to Donovan Mitchell there.
Reason No. 1: Donovan Mitchell
The acquisition of Donovan Mitchell via a trade prior to the season beginning, has a lot to do with this belief that the Cavaliers can be title contenders. Cleveland, once upon a time, had a player named LeBron James that came to the organization and changed the trajectory of the organization way back when.
Mitchell is a young and up-and-coming player that has already had an impact with his former team in the Utah Jazz who made it to the postseason five straight years. Now he’ll have an even bigger impact for this Cleveland team that’s on the cusp of greatness.
Mitchell’s presence in this team has already sparked them to several wins in this early stage of the year. Mitchell is an all-encompassing player that has that star power like James did and can have an effect on what happens with his team moving forward.
He’s averaging close to 30 points a game and can be counted on to get a basket when the team needs one the most. The confidence that his teammates gain because they know that they have a superstar in Mitchell is a big key to this title contention.
There will be bumps in the road like with any team during a lengthy NBA campaign, but we saw what the Cavs did a year ago and how they were a very good team early but then puttered out at the end. That was mostly due to inexperience and having such a young team. That now has changed with Mitchell and that’s good news going forward.
Reason No. 2: The competition
When you start digging into the rest of the league, you start to realize that there’s a lot of parity at the moment across the NBA. The Boston Celtics are the only team right now that was really on a hot streak, as they had won nine straight, before ultimately losing to the Miami Heat in overtime on Friday night, and are now 18-5.
Beyond that in the East there aren’t many other teams ahead of the Cavs. Of course, this is the same position that the team was in a year ago as late as February, before they came crashing down to reality and missed out on the playoffs.
If you look in the Western Conference, there aren’t any teams either really running away with things and teams like the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors are just your average .500 ball clubs at the moment. So, neither conference has a team that is just blowing everybody away and has a championship sticker stamped across their foreheads.
With the Cavaliers, who are currently in third place in the Eastern Conference, you look at a team like the Toronto Raptors, who have beaten this Cleveland team twice already this season, and yet the Raptors sit with the .500 record at 11 -11. The Cavs certainly don’t want to have to play the Raptors in the playoffs.
When the question comes up about “Can the Cavs be NBA champions?” some may scoff at that and think “no way” because they have to go through a lengthy process. But maybe they don’t and just maybe they have as good of a chance as any this season to win that title.
Reason No. 3: Cavs have a starting All-Star team, when they’re healthy
The Cavs already have Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen in the starting five, when they’re both healthy; Allen has recently been out, as he recovers from a back injury.
But, both were All-Stars last year. You consider that other big man Evan Mobley, who was a rookie year ago, is likely to be an All-Star this year and then you add in the aforementioned Mitchell, who has been an All-Star for years, and you now have a legitimate All-Star team starting unit. That’s with four of their starters, that is.
There aren’t many other teams across the NBA that can say that and that is the final reason why the Cavs have a very good opportunity at not only reaching a championship series but winning the NBA title now.
The biggest leap in stardom is the young Mobley, who has had a very good start to his season. Allen has been limited with an injury recently and it’s given Mobley even more opportunity to make a difference. I’ve been contending since Mobley came to the team a year ago, that he’s made the biggest difference in the Cavaliers turnaround in the last two years.
The NBA season is a lengthy one and it will stretch into the spring. A lot of basketball has got to be played, but to not consider Cleveland as having as good of an opportunity as any to reach that elusive title this season is underestimating the power and the positivity of this Wine and Gold squad.