Cleveland Cavaliers
Since LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers following the 2017-18 season, Cleveland has been rebuilding and stockpiling lottery picks on their roster. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, and Collin Sexton have all been picks of the Cavaliers through the years and so far this season, they have led the Cavs to a 20-14 record.
Along with Jarrett Allen, Ricky Rubio, Lauri Markkanen, and others have stepped up, the Cavaliers have some of the most balance at every position out of any team in the league and they are pretty good defensively. Of course, both Sexton and Rubio are now sidelined for the remainder of the season, but the sentiment is still true about how the team was constructed.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 2nd in defensive rating this season and they are a lot like the Knicks from a season ago. Being a scrappy, hard-nosed team that fights every single possession, this young Cleveland Cavaliers team has a lot of potential to not only make the playoffs for the first time since 1998 without LeBron James being on their roster, but this group has a chance to remain relevant in the Eastern Conference for many years to come.
Again, Collin Sexton being out for the year with a meniscus injury really hurts their chances of reaching their full potential right away and Ricky Rubio now sidelined for the rest of the season only worsens that. However, the Cavs have 6 different players averaging double-digit scoring for the season—excluding Sexton and Rubio.
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Experience is key in the playoffs and teams with a lot of veteran leadership normally go far, but there is no reason why the Cleveland Cavaliers cannot lock up an actual playoff spot this season and contend in a first-round series. They may not win, but nobody in the Eastern Conference should want to play the Cavaliers this season.
Cleveland is not only one of the best defensive teams in the league, but they rank 11th in points in the paint and they have a really tough frontcourt duo in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen to try and stop.
These two guys are terrific rebounders and rim-protectors, which is why the Cleveland Cavaliers are as good as they are defensively.
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Just because they are young does not mean that this team cannot make a late-season run. They have been great to this point in the season and as long as they can remain healthy, I truly believe that they will lock up a playoff spot and avoid the play-in tournament altogether.
