The Cleveland Cavaliers have a good shot to win the NBA Eastern Conference next season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished the 2022-2023 season rather disappointingly. They were unable to beat the New York Knicks in the opening round of the NBA playoffs, and it was mostly due to how the offense was structured.
It was too centered on the likes of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland getting their shots, and not working every player they had on offense into the scheme. Too much hero ball, and not enough of a structured offense with scripted plays. It doomed the Cavs. The lack of offense also made other issues seem bigger than they were.
Notedly the interior defense. Considering the Knicks were held in check for most of the series by the Cavs’ defense, we can safely say that it wasn’t the fault of guys like Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. The Cavs held the Knicks to 99.6 points per game, a playoff-low for any team in the playoffs.
So we know that it was the offense’s fault, and in a large part, J.B. Bickerstaff’s fault for allowing Mitchell to dominate the offense as he did. Now, does this mean the Cavs can’t win with this core? No, of course, they can.
They need some help; a new big man, a starting small forward who can shoot from three, and maybe another bench scorer but those are mid-moves at best. Nothing that can’t be done. So the quest for the NBA Finals is still on for the Cavaliers.
It’s even more on when you realize that the three teams ahead of the Cavs in the rankings are looking at less stable futures.
The Philadelphia 76ers process has failed
The Philadelphia 76ers finished third in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, and three games better than the Cleveland Cavaliers to close out the 2023 season. They had the MVP of the league in Joel Embiid, a rather controversial move considering his early playoff exit; again. They also have James Harden, an aging veteran who fell off some when the NBA made it illegal for offensive players to throw their legs under the feet of defenders on jump shots. That, and not being able to throw yourself into the body of a defender on purpose to get free throws has really limited Harden.
So it’s not surprising that the team isn’t getting out of the second round. After all those years of tanking, it’s fair to say “Don’t trust the process”. Because the process sucked. Embiid can’t carry this team like a Nikola Jokic and I think Harden knows that. I think Harden is on his way out. Maybe to Houston, but maybe elsewhere.
With the rest of the roster aging pretty hard, outside of Tyrese Maxey, this team isn’t long for contender status. If they lose Harden, they’ll be stuck with Embiid and Tobias Harris. Harris is a good fourth option but not a good second option. His contract is holding them back and that’ll likely be the reason why the 76ers slide in 2023-2024 behind the Cavs.
The Boston Celtics may look wildly different following a disappointing finish
The Boston Celtics finished second in the NBA’s Eastern Conference and was six games up on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the standings. They’re the most complete team on this list and the most likely of all three to still be able to challenge or surpass the Cleveland Cavaliers in the standings next year.
With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they have an incredible one-two combo that is hard to stop but their collective inconsistencies as an NBA star duo and rumored growing resentment from Brown against Tatum have made a trade for the Celtics more likely than ever before. Does that mean the Celtics are for sure trading Brown?
No, it just means they’re more likely today to trade him than say four years ago. Even if they don’t trade Brown, they have some huge money tied up in a guy like Marcus Smart, who is earning just under $20 million per year and is maybe worth half of that. And closing in at 30 years old, it’s hard to say that Smart is going to be worth his contract much longer.
He is a bad shooter and a limited offensive player. Not only do you have to worry about Smart and his limited offense, but Al Horford is getting too old to be relied upon as heavily as the Celtics are. The Celtics may try to reload their roster this offseason, trade or not for Brown included, and if they don’t, they’ll probably get lapped by the Cavs.
The Milwaukee Bucks won’t look the same
The Milwaukee Bucks have arguably the second or third-best player in the world with Giannis Antetokounmpo, but as we’ve seen throughout NBA history, that isn’t enough to win you an NBA title. No one player has ever dragged a club of laymen to an NBA Championship. And the Bucks are looking like a team that may be radically different in 2023-2024. Considering they were the top seed in the East, and finished seven games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the standing, any type of roster makeover will open up the Cavs to compete.
Right off the bat, Atetokounmpo’s best teammate, Khris Middleton, is likely on his way out. He wants too much money for what he provides at this point in his career and now over 30 and the injury history he has, Middleton isn’t someone you want to be a sidekick to your star. Not anymore. If he wants to come back at a reduced rate so that the Bucks can bring in other players, great. But he’s no longer able to be the number two guy.
The Bucks are likely to bring him back, but after the year he had, and the recent news of knee surgery, they really should think twice.
Another name on the way out, at least we think, could be Brook Lopez. He has been the second-best defender on the roster as of late behind Antetokounmpo. Not to mention, if Middleton struggles or isn’t brought back and the team moves on from Lopez, it’s very likely that the Bucks could realistically move on from Jrue Holiday as well.