Do the Cavs Have a Case for Playoff Contendership?

Many feel that the Cleveland Cavaliers have a case for title contenders for this year's playoffs. Let's break down their roster, current form, and potential playoff matchups to see how this might pan out.

It is hard to say whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers have lived up to, fallen short of, or exceeded expectations following the Donovan Mitchell trade last offseason. Coming into a March 24th meeting against the Brooklyn Nets, the team currently sits at 46-28 - only 8 games away from finishing the season, but with a 9% increase in winning percentage compared to last year's season.

Coming in from the Jazz, there were many questions of whether or not Donovan Mitchell's ball dominant style of play would at all be impeded on by the rest of the talent that Cleveland had at that point. In spite of this, Mitchell has been having career-highs in scoring and efficiency. When discussing the team's playoff potential, it is important to note that Mitchell is one of the best playoff scorers today, making stark improvements to his statlines every postseason besides his second.

Even though much of the pressure of taking the step to title contendership was placed on Donovan Mitchell's shoulders, there were still expectations for a jump to be made by Darius Garland. Although the three-year player has seen a drop in assists per game and maintains roughly the same amount of points per game as last season, he has been having a career year when it comes to effective field goal percentage and player efficiency rating.

One of the biggest questions regarding Cleveland's potential playoff success lies in the steps that Evan Mobley may or may not take. So far this year, Mobley has taken the step from being a key defense piece for the Cavs to legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidacy. This should come as little surprise to anyone having watched Mobley as, being 215 lbs while standing at 6'11” with a 7'4” wingspan, he finds himself agile enough to guard slower guards, and long enough to hang with just about every inside presence.

The NBA postseason is a game of matchups and subsequent adjustments. In a vacuum, it's hard to find a plethora of keys to victories for the Cavs against the big three eastern teams. Against Boston, the Cavs' backcourt may see difficulty in not being contained by Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown, while not having a traditional small forward to contain Jayson Tatum. As far as a Philly matchup goes, Jarett Allen has shown great difficulty containing big man Joel Embiid -- who himself, has shown great strides in responding to double team oriented defensive gameplans. Against the Bucks, it would seem that Cleveland has the facilities to implement a Giannis wall, but few see a world where the rest of the Milwaukee talent does not capitalize.

Overall, it is hard to project an emerging team to thrive in such a stacked eastern conference. That said, with the developing pieces that Cleveland has, legitimate title contention doesn't feel so far away.