CLEVELAND, Ohio — It’s the latest edition of Hey, Chris!
The submissions for this post came from Subtext insiders, who received a message to send one question each. The best got chosen. Want to receive Cavs Insider texts and communicate directly with me? Sign up for a 14-day free trial with your phone number and perhaps one of your questions will be used in the next edition of Hey, Chris! You can also sign up by texting me at 216-208-4499.
Hey, Chris: How close are the Cavs to a championship? — Cavs Nation
Hey, Cavs Nation: It’s usually difficult to set aside the emotions of a stinging playoff loss, especially when the most recent flameout against Indiana — which will advance to the NBA Finals with a win Thursday night — felt so lopsided.
It’s the kind of 4-1 series loss that requires a harsher mirror test and deeper evaluation.
The Cavs have mastered the regular season. They are coming off a record-setting 2024-25 in which they won 64 games, compiled multiple double-digit winning streaks, boasted one of the best offenses ever and received numerous individual accolades. Kenny Atkinson was named Coach of the Year. Evan Mobley won Defensive Player of the Year. Three All-Stars — Mobley, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Two All-NBA performers — Mitchell and Mobley.
But as president of basketball operations Koby Altman admitted recently, this organization must figure out how to translate that success to the playoffs.
For them, it’s a 16-game proving ground — and that’s where questions arise.
What would have been different against Indiana — if anything — with a healthy Garland (toe), Mobley (ankle) and trade deadline prize De’Andre Hunter (thumb)? Is the team, as currently constructed, tough enough — mentally and physically — to survive the playoff gauntlet? Was this specific postseason failure tied to another horrible stylistic matchup or was it more evidence of flaws that need addressed? Are there enough playoff-level performers on the roster? Can tangible improvement come from within? How would Indiana advancing to the Finals — and the Cavs losing to the eventual Eastern Conference champions for a second straight year — change the initial feeling surrounding this setback? Does a step forward require a significant roster shakeup? Do the Cavs have the willingness and means to do it?
These are all questions they must ask. The answers will determine the offseason path.
Given what happened a few weeks ago, the Cavaliers can’t convince themselves that they are on the same tier as Indiana. Because they aren’t. Despite an abundance of high-level talent and skill, they lack a level of playoff maturity, toughness, relentlessness, chemistry, depth, trust and know-how. The Pacers are a proven group of playoff risers, with a battle-tested tactician and an offensive conductor who doesn’t rattle and shines in the bright lights.
The Cavs … well …
It’s on them to figure out how to close that gap. With Indiana. With New York. With Minnesota? With Denver? With Oklahoma City, the Western Conference champions who enter the Finals as a prohibitive favorite and loom as a long-term threat.
Not only are the 68-win Thunder the second-youngest team to reach the Finals in the last 70 years, showing a level of readiness that Cleveland lacks, they seem primed to get even better, armed with more salary cap space, unused lottery picks and a treasure trove of future draft capital that provides flexibility and optionality.
In a league of parity, Oklahoma City very well might be the next dynasty.
Given all that, even with plenty of uncertainty in the East because of Jayson Tatum’s significant Achilles injury that creates a delicate situation in Boston and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s tenuous Milwaukee future, it doesn’t feel like the Cavs are that close to a championship. Certainly not as close as it once felt during a fun, dominant regular season.
They seem to know that as well.
Even though Altman reaffirmed his belief in the Core 4 — Mitchell, Mobley, Garland and Jarrett Allen — during an extensive end-of-season wrap-up and the possibility exists of keeping that group together for another run, there’s a growing sense that Cleveland would be more willing than in the past to at least entertain trade conversations involving Garland and Allen.
The viability of any offseason trade would, of course, depend on the return package. Those discussions are tricky given the Cavaliers are one of three possible second apron teams — a space that comes with penalties and trade restrictions. Is there a deal out there that would make them say “yes,” one that would improve their championship chances?
“We want to compete for it, and now, we firmly believe we’re in that space,” Altman said. “Expectation is conference finals and potentially Finals. We want to live in that space and that’s why everyone’s so disappointed. You get to that final eight teams, everyone’s really good and you’re fighting on the margins. We’re not going to go anywhere. This team is not getting any worse. I don’t know if we have 64 wins left in us, but we certainly are going to compete for the best record again. And what does that mean going into the playoffs? Coming into this year, I don’t think anyone had that expectation for us. We recreated the expectation and now we have to live with that. We are going to have to change that narrative knowing that we have to get over the hump.”
Knowing it and doing it are very different. It might require difficult, perhaps painful, decisions.
