On paper, everything is set for the Cleveland Cavaliers to enjoy a deep postseason run and contend for a championship.
Kenny Atkinson’s roster has a two-way rising star in Evan Mobley, an All-Star bucket-getter in Donovan Mitchell and some high-level help in Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and the rest of what is a stacked roster.
However, even with a significant amount of talent and experience, the Cavaliers will have some question marks hanging over their heads. The most prominent of which will be whether the team can stay healthy once the postseason arrives. That’s why ESPN has cited Cleveland’s overall roster health as the biggest swing factor in the team’s push for a championship.
“For as brilliant as Cleveland’s season was last in 2024-25, it ended in the same manner that the previous two did: a disappointing exit from the playoffs in five games,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps wrote. “And though Cleveland’s core four — Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — are all under 30, history has told us that injuries, even for a young roster, are something to monitor once spring arrives.”
Of course, if the Cavaliers can remain healthy and Atkinson can manage his minutes distribution with expert precision, Cleveland will undoubtedly be among the primary contenders for the Larry O’Brien trophy next season.
Cavaliers Confident They Can Win a Championship
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com discussed the confidence within the franchise during a recent episode of the “Wine and Gold” podcast.
“There’s a lot of confidence from Kenny, and there’s a lot of confidence from people inside this organization that the Cavs are ready to compete for a championship,” Fedor said. “And they do believe that they learned what they needed to learn. We’ll see — has to play itself out. But they do believe they learned what they needed to learn from the latest playoff exit.”
With the amount of talent at the Cavaliers’ disposal, their confidence is both logical and expected. However, the franchise has fallen short in recent years. That’s why the pressure will be mounting for the current rotation to prove it’s capable of winning at the highest level.
Cavaliers Must Improve Defense
If the Cavaliers do want to enjoy a successful postseason run in 2026, John Schuhmann of NBA.com believes the team must take its defensive execution to a new level.
“The East is seemingly the Cavs’ to lose, but they need to be just a little bit better defensively, both so they can increase their chances of reaching the Finals and because they can’t count on the shooting being so good for a second straight season,” Schuhmann wrote in his power rankings article.
“…Both Ball and Nance should help them on that end of the floor, with the former also able to get them more opportunities in transition. Ball’s 6.4 pass-ahead passes per game over his career rank second (to James Harden’s 6.7) among all players over the last eight years, according to Second Spectrum tracking.”
Lonzo Ball‘s addition should help provide some additional steel to the perimeter defense. Mobley’s presence gives the franchise elite rim-protection and gap help.
So, if everyone can play their roles and buy into a team-first mentality, the Cavaliers could become an unstoppable force on both sides of the floor. And if that happens, their shot at a championship becomes far more realistic.
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