They have two teams ahead of them in the division that are both clearly better though. Their path to winning the division is basically Giannis missing significant time and Chicago also getting hurt badly by injuries.
Cavs are obviously improved and a borderline playoff team. The idea of them being favorites to win the East is laughable though and a case of where predictive models go horribly wrong. Their true odds of winning the East are likely under 1%. That’s really the only point I was making.
What is the actual point you’re trying to make here? Do you think they’re favorites to win the East? Do you think they’re better than either the Bucks or Bulls?
To be better than a borderline team they will have to be better than the 76ers, Hornets and Hawks the rest of the season. They finish below 2 of them and they’re in the play in.
And that’s assuming they’re just better than the Knicks, Raps, Wiz, Celtics which isn’t a lock either.
They’re .5-3 games ahead of those teams, I’ve been a Cavs bettor but I’d bet they finish 9th/10th before 5th/6th.
Playoff basketball is a different animal. Rotations get shorter, having stars who can take over a game matters more, teams are actually game planning for you instead of overlooking you. Even at the current odds, any bet on the Cavs to win the East is just throwing money away.
Their best case scenario is last years Knicks. Which is a fun season, but long term you’d rather have sucked this year and gotten another top 5 guy to pair with Mobley rather than getting swept in the first round.
meh, okoro is a top 5 guy. next year draft sucks. They better off seeing how garland and allen can handle the playoffs.
They aren’t winning because they are playing old guys on contracts. They are winning with their core lineup plus two veterans off the bench. They need to decide what to do with Sexton while he still has some trade value.
They’re unlikely to go deep in the playoffs because of inexperience (other than Love).
But barring further injury, the way they’ve been playing (blowing out bad/mediocre teams, keeping it close against the league’s best teams, winning record on the road, stingy defense–all with significant injury issues and playing the league’s hardest schedule thus far), the Cavs are far more likely to make the playoffs than be lottery bound again.
I mean, they beat Miami without Bam and Butler. Dwayne Deadmon, Gabe Vincent, PJ Tucker and Duncan Robinson started for the Heat. It was basically a G League team.