The Cleveland Cavaliers saw their dream season turn into a nightmare in the blink of an eye. After looking unstoppable throughout the regular season and in their first-round series against the Miami Heat, the Cavs saw their championship dreams crumble at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, who’ve continued that success into the NBA Finals.
A number of factors led to Cleveland’s untimely demise: injuries to Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and De’Andre Hunter, a lack of composure in tight situations, and poor shooting at the worst time were at the forefront.
With the disappointment comes a loud offseason, as Mitchell put it in his exit interview, but even with that being the case, the Cavs have to block out the noise once again.
One thing that the Cavaliers will have if they stay the course is continuity.
Mobley is coming off an amazing season that included an All-NBA appearance, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and is only scratching the surface of how good he can be. Mitchell will be a year older and hungrier to get over the hump in the playoffs. Garland will get stronger and is coming off an amazing bounce-back year that included an All-Star selection. Jarrett Allen played all 91 games for Cleveland this year and was essential to their success on both ends of the floor. Having their core return in year two of Kenny Atkinson’s system will allow for growth and enhance the team’s already great chemistry.
The Eastern Conference will be wide open once again next season. The Boston Celtics will look much different with Jayson Tatum sidelined and impending roster changes coming. The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Damian Lillard and have limited roster flexibility to build a contender around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Teams like the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons are on the rise and the Knicks and Pacers figure to be in contention again, so a path to the Finals looks feasible. This season was a great chance to break through, but next year will be even better.
Having that continuity is important, as we have seen in recent years. For example, the Celtics kept their core of Tatum and Brown for six years until they broke through last season. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. have been together for the last seven years and it took them five to win a championship. The Bucks, before they traded Khris Middleton, kept their core of him, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Brook Lopez together after a couple of rough playoff runs and broke through for a championship.
Are the Cavs directly similar to any of those teams? No, they are built differently from a roster standpoint, but the concept remains the same. Cleveland has a team that fits.
Yes, the end of the year was disappointing, but there should be no reason to panic in Cleveland. They have their entire core locked up and 10 total players under contract. The Cavs are a second-apron team this offseason, restricting them from upgrading their roster in a meaningful way, unless they move a member of their core.
I am not advocating for the Cavs to make zero changes. If there is a move out there that upgrades the team, the front office should consider it. However, those who are proposing Garland for Jalen Suggs or Jaden McDaniels swaps, Jarrett Allen for Rui Hachimura and Dalton Knecht, and even that crazy ESPN proposal that sent Cooper Flagg to Cleveland, need to put those ideas to rest. The Cavs don’t need to set the trade market on fire. They have all they need to compete for a championship and have enough youth to be a long-term contender. None of their rotation players are over 28 years old.
Teams need time to grow. They need to go through the playoffs multiple times and face real adversity to reach the next level. This Cavs core has experienced postseason disappointment, but not to his level. In 2023, they were a young team on the big stage for the first time. In 2024, they limped their way into the playoffs and ran into the Celtics buzzsaw.
Losing three games at home as the number one seed, including two blown 19-point leads, qualifies as an abject failure. This was the first time the Cavs had championship expectations with this group and they fell short. All championship teams have had that moment. The Cavs will grow from this and be better for it.
