Despite their second-round playoff exit at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to believe in their chances of winning a championship with the current rotation.
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.”
Cleveland ended the 2024-25 regular season with a 64-18 record, including 30 wins out of 41 games on the road. They were a top-10 team in both offensive and defensive rating. Therefore, Kenny Atkinson’s team likely only needed minor tweaks this summer.
The hope will now be that the additions of Lonzo Ball and Larry Nance Jr. are enough of a boost to position the Cavaliers are the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.
Cavaliers Face High Expectations
Cleveland is a second luxury tax apron team. The costs and penalties associated with the current roster will be significant. As such, there will be a level of expectation and pressure from within the building.
During a recent power rankings article from NBA Insider Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, that pressure was discussed in terms of the team needing to prove its credentials as a contender.
“There is no reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers shouldn’t be the top team in the Eastern Conference yet again during the 2025-26 season,” Siegel wrote. “But Darius Garland will likely miss the start of the season, which is why the Cavs brought in Lonzo Ball at the expense of Isaac Okoro.”
Siegel continued.
“… They are the only second-apron team in the NBA and are limited in terms of what they can actually do without tearing down their core. This is the most important season in Cavaliers’ history, as falling short of the Eastern Conference Finals will result in major roster changes.”
We’ve already seen how the cost of a second apron team can lead to a shorter contention window. The Boston Celtics are a prime example. As such, Atkinson’s team must prove that it’s worth the investment. Otherwise, Koby Altman may be forced to make some changes.
Cavaliers Must Improve Defense
John Schuhmann of NBA.com has raised a question about the Cavaliers’ defense. The analyst noted that Cleveland’s current roster must prove it can be a top-5 rearguard in the NBA.
“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.”
With Evan Mobley in the rotation, there’s no reason to doubt the Cavaliers’ ability to improve on the defensive side of the floor. Nevertheless, Atkinson must find some balance if his team is going to make good on the undoubted potential within the roster.
After all, that’s the only way to justify sticking with such a costly roster construction in the coming years.
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