Zach Lowe doesn't think we entirely suck. In his preseason NBA ranking he puts us just above the bottom tier of the league (the four worst teams - by his estimate, Detroit, Houston, Orlando, and OKC). He even says we could be "within shouting distance of the play-in race late". Personally I think he's a little too optimistic, but hey, he knows a lot more about basketball than I do.
I know we don't usually start new threads just to feature something one commenter says, but he's kind of the best NBA analyst out there, so let this be a thread for the optimists to congregate.
www.espn.com
Some rival executives are curious whether the Cavs have more going here than people realize. Most have no clue how Cleveland's core young guys -- small guards, tall bigs, very few in between -- fit together. A couple have suggested the Cavaliers might be the league's worst team!
I get why critics pigeonhole Collin Sexton as the new Jason Terry bench gunner -- a fine outcome, by the way -- but I'm not sure any season of 24 points per game on efficient shooting has been as snottily dismissed as Sexton's 2020-21 campaign. Even in an unprecedented scoring boom, that's not easy!
Darius Garland has All-Star potential. Ricky Rubio is a helpful third guard. Isaac Okoro will advance as a defender and spot-up guy. Lauri Markkanen finally lived up to his billing as a shooter last season; any two-man combination of Markkanen, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley should be workable -- even if Mobley struggles early on offense.
Players eight and on are meh, and their already-stagnant offense could grind to a gross dribble-dribble-dribble halt without playmaking from Nance and Kevin Love (whose role is unclear). Building anything like an average defense will be a challenge.
But the Cavs are better than the below group. If enough things hit, they could be within shouting distance of the play-in race late.
I know we don't usually start new threads just to feature something one commenter says, but he's kind of the best NBA analyst out there, so let this be a thread for the optimists to congregate.
Lowe's NBA tiers: Ranking every team, from the top to the very bottom
For the 12th straight year, we break down the NBA by tiers, including the title shots, the long shots, the no-shots ... and the George Costanza freshly discarded éclair!
www.espn.com
George Costanza freshly discarded éclair
Cleveland CavaliersSome rival executives are curious whether the Cavs have more going here than people realize. Most have no clue how Cleveland's core young guys -- small guards, tall bigs, very few in between -- fit together. A couple have suggested the Cavaliers might be the league's worst team!
I get why critics pigeonhole Collin Sexton as the new Jason Terry bench gunner -- a fine outcome, by the way -- but I'm not sure any season of 24 points per game on efficient shooting has been as snottily dismissed as Sexton's 2020-21 campaign. Even in an unprecedented scoring boom, that's not easy!
Darius Garland has All-Star potential. Ricky Rubio is a helpful third guard. Isaac Okoro will advance as a defender and spot-up guy. Lauri Markkanen finally lived up to his billing as a shooter last season; any two-man combination of Markkanen, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley should be workable -- even if Mobley struggles early on offense.
Players eight and on are meh, and their already-stagnant offense could grind to a gross dribble-dribble-dribble halt without playmaking from Nance and Kevin Love (whose role is unclear). Building anything like an average defense will be a challenge.
But the Cavs are better than the below group. If enough things hit, they could be within shouting distance of the play-in race late.
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