Cleveland Cavaliers 2024-25 season preview: Can this core four hang with East elite?

(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We’re breaking down the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and fantasy outlooks for all 30 teams. Enjoy!

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

2023-24 finish

Offseason moves

Additions: Head coach Kenny Atkinson, Jaylon Tyson, JT Thor, Luke Travers

Subtractions: Head coach JB Bickerstaff, Marcus Morris, Damian Jones, Isaiah Mobley

Complete roster

The Big Question: Can they finally become more than the sum of their parts?

Zoom out, and the Cavs’ recent résumé looks downright impressive. Consecutive playoff berths for the first time since LeBron James left; the franchise’s first playoff series victory without James since 1993; the formation of a core with three All-Star cornerstones, plus a fourth who finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting before turning 22.

But you don’t fire the coach who produced that relative success because you’re satisfied by it. You do it because you expect more — more offensive synergy, more pathways to Ws, more than the fourth seed, and more than one series win in which you barely scratched out a point per possession against postseason newbies. That, clearly, is what the Cavs brass expects from Atkinson, fresh off stints assisting Tyronn Lue and Steve Kerr after rebuilding the Nets — and from a core that general manager Koby Altman just paid through the nose to lock into place.

“We want to align ourselves with the best teams in the NBA, and ultimately compete for championships,” Altman said in a team release announcing Donovan Mitchell’s extension.

There’s a reasonable case for expecting more. Last year’s Cavs finished fourth despite Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley missing 84 games, and despite that trio and Jarrett Allen playing just 392 minutes together. Better health could help foster a return to the rhythm that group found in 2022-23, when Cleveland blitzed opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions in their minutes.

A bounce-back would be particularly welcome for Garland, who suffered early hamstring and neck injuries before getting totally derailed by a fractured jaw that…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-04 14:48:26

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