Previa NBA 2024-25: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ NBA 2024-25 preview arrives. Data, results from the previous season, a look at their squad and their future free agents, the objectives of the course, the player to follow and a prediction about the franchise.

Cleveland Cavaliers

• Balance 2023-24: 48-34 (4th in the East; qualified for playoffs)
• Coach: Kenny Atkinson (1st season on the bench)
• Top free agents in 2025: Caris LeVert and Ty Jerome.

The template

• Movements in the market: extensions by Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley.
• Backcourt: Darius Garland, Ty Jerome, Caris LeVert, Sam Merril, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus y Craig Porter Jr.
• Frontcourt: Emoni Bates, JT Thor, Jaylon Tyson, Evan Mobley, Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen, Tristan Thompson, George Niang e Isaac Okoro.

This is how they face the season

Renewed illusion. Although it may sound surprising as practically nothing has changed from the previous season’s squad, the fact of having a new coach like Kenny Atkinson and having closed the contract extension of Donovan Mitchell (the team’s top star) makes the Cleveland Cavaliers approach the 2024-25 NBA season with an important breath of fresh air and confidence, and that is that the guard All-Star has explained that he has the feeling that he can reach the ring.

«Being healthy, we are a contender to the ring. I feel like last year we grew in a lot of ways and found different ways to play. We were able to move forward with Darius Garland and Evan Mobley injured. Now the question is to implement it in 82 games. That development, that step forward, is part of the reasons why I decided to sign. “I believe in our development, in the hunger and in the will we have as a group,” he says. Spida Mitchell.

For those from Ohio, it has undoubtedly been the best of the year 2024. They reached the semifinals of the Eastern Conference, true, but even that achievement takes a backseat to the difference between having Mitchell tied until 2027 or being able to lose him in the next summer. More clearly: its renewal gives calm and serenity so that we can continue working in order to not only be competitive, but a real threat to the big favorites to win the championship: Celtics, Knicks and others.

Like other teams, Cleveland has understood that the value of what they already had was difficult to improve. For this reason, they have put many millions on the table to retain Evan Mobley long-term, exactly 223 ‘kilos’ for five years, while they have signed a three-year, $91 million deal for Jarret Allen. Exactly, the Cavs have seen an open window to have a real opportunity to be champions and have firmly bet on keeping it open at least for the next three seasons, and Darius Garland is also tied for many years.

With the plan defined and certified based on cashOhio see themselves competing with anyone as long as their injuries allow them. That’s how it is. Last year they lived without Garland and Mobley for a long time, while Mitchell himself was only able to participate in 55 games. regular season and then saw how his participation in the playoffs had to end prematurely due to an untimely ailment. It sounds like a truism, but only healthy people will have any chance of getting where they want.

Waiting for Garland

It sounds a little ridiculous after having been in the NBA for up to five years, but that’s how it is. If in the 2021-22 campaign he dazzled to become an All-Star, the last two years have left a bittersweet taste with Darius Garland. At times she has seemed out of place and even lacking confidence. Bad shots, questionable decisions, the constant comparison with Mitchell… The number 5 in the 2019 draft needs to wake up and hit the table, both for his individual consideration to improve and for the team to take that step forward that it fervently desires. .

In case of being left in no man’s land again, a transfer could even hover around the Cavaliers’ offices. Last season he lowered his averages to 18 points and 6.5 assists, and what is more worrying, he had his worst year in three-point shooting since he was a rookie. It’s time to prove things.

The change of coach

This is undoubtedly the big difference compared to 2023-24. Although it can be easily argued that Cleveland had a good season, the management has preferred to give the command to Kenny Atkinson, who in his day did a great job at the Brooklyn Nets, but since then (he was fired in 2020) he has not taken another bench despite calling for it on numerous occasions.

The hiring of the 57-year-old coach means opening a double path for the Cavaliers, since on the one hand they incorporate someone who has proven to be very competitive, but at the same time he has made it clear that he is capable of developing players and a group, as like he did with the Nets. Jaylon Tyson, number 20 in the last draft, should take advantage of the latter to get hooked on the team’s dynamics as soon as possible. By the way, Atkinson has work ahead of him, since Ohio’s team is coming off being the 16th attack in 2023-24 with 114.7 points per 100 possessions. They need to improve in that crucial aspect of the game.

In short, it is intriguing to see what Atkinson can achieve with a group of players who have already demonstrated the talent they have and who also have the support of a second unit in which Caris LeVert, Max Strus and George Niang stand out. Yes, it is a year to not set limits

The player to watch

Evan Mobley. We haven’t talked much about him so far, but not because he doesn’t deserve it. Although at times he was accused of having remained stagnant, in the last playoffs he made it clear that he is a defensive elite and that in attack he can be really difficult to stop, and he left with an average of 16 points, 9.3 rebounds , 2.3 assists and 2.2 blocks; Yes, he still lacks a reliable three-point shot that could make him grow a lot.

We are not saying that he is going to be the star of the Cavs – that is Donovan Mitchell – but we are saying that if he takes his presence on the court one step further, he could be so relevant as to become an All-Star. Will he get it?

NBA Preview 2024-25 Cavaliers, the forecast

They must compete at the highest level. Despite starting one step behind others like the Celtics and Knicks, they have the necessary ingredients to live very close and give them a scare. In the regular season they should have no problems being a playoff team directly – even entering the top four – and from there it will be time to see how far their fuel goes.

• Balance: between 50 and 55 victories.
• Position: 4th in the East, enters the playoffs.
• The maximum they aspire to: fight to be an alternative to the Eastern favorites: Celtics and Knicks.
• If things go wrong: fight until the last minute to enter the postseason through the play-in.

Previous team: Indiana Pacers. Next team: Milwaukee Bucks.

(Cover photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images)