The Cleveland Cavaliers properly feel like they are good again. They may even be great. However, getting a true indicator of just how well they stack up against the best in the NBA is not going to happen this upcoming weekend, and it could have.
The Cavs have been rolling since acquiring James Harden. They were even turning the corner before his arrival. A lot of the wins during this big turnaround stretch has featured mediocre competition, though. Sunday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder could have been different.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the Thunder are going to be without several key names that would have otherwise made this the challenge they were looking for. What could have been a matchup of titans is now suddenly far less interesting from the lens of assessing Cleveland's true strength.
Andrew Schlecht reported: "Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdominal strain) and Ajay Mitchell (abdominal strain/left ankle sprain) will be both be re-evaluated in approximately one week. Jalen Williams (right hamstring strain) will be re-evaluated in approximately two weeks. Per Thunder PR."
Cavaliers won't get a true test against a depleted Thunder roster
The last time these two sides met was in Cleveland on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Thunder absolutely steamrolled the Cavaliers in a one-sided 136-104 thrashing.
The home team might have been banged up a bit heading into the matchup, but Oklahoma City managed to do that without J-Will or Isaiah Hartenstein in the lineup. The loss felt like a brutal message about just how far the Cavaliers still were from title contention.
A real opportunity for redemption won't present itself here. The Cavaliers may find some encouragement from a potential road victory, but the absent bodies will ultimately leave any takeaways hollow in the end.
No one should be mistaken about the fact that Oklahoma City is the bar for every other NBA team right now. They may have cooled off after a torrid start to the season, but the defending champions are still the team to beat in the NBA.
With the regular-season series being wrapped up after Sunday, the Cavaliers will not get a proper opportunity to see how they stack up post-deadline. Naturally, the next possible point for these two sides to meet in 2025-26 would be the NBA Finals.
The next best thing the Cavaliers will have to settle for are two upcoming dates against the Detroit Pistons. While they may not get the chance to know how they measure against the champs, they will at least get to weigh their odds of coming out of the Eastern Conference.