The Cleveland Cavaliers were the No. 1 seed in the East this year. They swept the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs and looked like legitimate title contenders for the first time in the second post-LeBron James era.
However, the Cavaliers lost to the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals in five games.
Cleveland lost Games 1, 2 and 5 against Indiana at home. The franchise hasn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since acquiring Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz in 2022.
Mitchell told local reporters that there will be a lot of noise surrounding the Cavaliers this offseason since the squad lost in the second round again. He wasn’t wrong, as Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report considers Cleveland one of the 2025 playoffs’ biggest “losers.”
“While they certainly deserve a bit of leeway for the aforementioned injuries (Darius Garland, Mitchell, Evan Mobley and De’Andre Hunter were all banged up by the end of the run), it’s hard to emerge from this postseason without feeling like the Cavs were one of its bigger disappointments,” Bailey wrote. “Cleveland went 64-18 and finished with the 16th-highest single-season average point differential in league history. Mitchell was a first-team All-NBA selection. Catch-all metrics suggested Mitchell, Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Garland were all top-25 players this season. And the Cavs outscored the Heat by a whopping 30.5 points per game in the first round.
“At least through that series, there were plenty of indications this was (or at least should’ve been) a real title contender, but it was dispatched by the Pacers in just five games. And it feels like Cleveland barely left an imprint on the postseason. Now, despite clearing 60 wins in the regular season, we’re likely in for another summer of questions about the fit between Garland and Mitchell in the backcourt and Mobley and Allen down low. A trade of anyone (with the possible exception of Mobley) at least feels possible.”
Mitchell and Mobley are not going anywhere.
However, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Garland and/or Allen could be traded this offseason.
The Cavaliers are now projected to have $219 million in salary for the 2025-26 season and be over the second apron.
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
No one should disagree with that assessment as quite frankly the Cavs should be embarrassed for the way they played against Indiana. Out muscled, out hustled and out coached. Plain as day. I would put the Lakers and Celtics a close second. 🏀😎