The Cleveland Cavaliers are quickly falling from grace as a Finals contender among national media commentators.
Ending last regular season as the Eastern Conference's top team has done nothing to elevate the Cavaliers' presumed position across the league.
As next season nears, the Cavs remain a perennial underdog among NBA title contenders. With three embarrassing playoff runs in a row, widespread perception of the Cavaliers views them as elite regular season competition but a wilting fraud in the postseason. Over the past three years, the Cavaliers have an 11-14 playoff game record, a painfully bad statistic for the Cavaliers' chances in 2025-26.
The Donovan Mitchell era of the Cavaliers has enjoyed much early success as the rest of the young core continue to develop and earn historic accolades. Evan Mobley became the first Cavaliers player to earn Defensive Player of the Year, and both Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen have joined the ranks of Cleveland players named an All-Star.
Cavaliers receive a harsh indictment by The Ringer
Entering the fourth year of this core's run, the pressure to prove their dominance beyond the first 82 games is mounting quickly. Chris Vernon of The Mismatch categorized the Cavaliers as the most likely eastern contender to disappoint in the playoffs.
"Again, you've gotta deliver. You have to deliver... This is a hard one, though, [David] Jacoby, because I don't think there will be one person in the world that will pick them to go to the Finals. So, is that fair for me to say they're a contender? ... Do you think there will be one human outside of the city of Cleveland who picks the [Cleveland Cavaliers] to go to the Finals?"Chris Vernon
Vernon's co-host David Jacoby debated the accusation, suggesting that the Cavaliers faced untimely injuries in the second round against the Indiana Pacers, calling the end of the bench an "All-Star team of street clothes". Looking at the rest of the conference, too, Jacoby demonstrated that the Cavs' competition to the Finals this year is much more depleted than years past as trades, free agency and injuries hamper the progress of rivals.
The conversation ended in a lingering disagreement as Vernon chose the New York Knicks as the most likely team to be favored to win the Conference Finals over the Cavs while Jacoby held strong on the prospect of a good postseason in Cleveland.
Vernon's harsh Cavs criticisms hold weight
Jacoby's highlighting of the Cavaliers' poor injury fortune is a worthwhile excuse, but the Cavs have continually fallen short of the durability, stamina and intensity needed to compete in the postseason. Cleveland looked entirely unprepared against the Knicks in 2023 and hardly could overcome a flawed Orlando Magic team in the first round in 2024. The Cavs had to mount a historic second-half comeback in their own arena to hold off the Magic in game seven, following that series with a deflating five-game defeat to the Boston Celtics.
Injuries have played a significant role in the Cavs' postseason failures. They have yet to enjoy a playoff run with reasonable health. Still, even when healthy, many of the Cavaliers' primary stars and role players have shrank under pressure. Cleveland's offense fell apart this past postseason, and the Cavs' shining bench beacon Ty Jerome became borderline unplayable against the Pacers.
The Cavaliers, unfortunately, probably deserve Vernon's title as the most likely to disappoint. With rival contenders falling out of real contention due to injuries and Cleveland's embarrassing track record, they are the most obvious group to consider likely to fall short of expectations.
Until the Cleveland Cavaliers have a deep playoff run, their position as underdogs is deserved. This offseason included multiple improves in the rotation and depth chart to build a real contender, but on-paper theoretical talent means little when the results have been far from exemplary thus far.