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Optimism is high for the Cleveland Cavaliers going into the 2024-25 season after getting Donovan Mitchell to sign a contract extension during the summer.
Mitchell ended any trade speculation when he signed a three-year, $150.3 million deal that could keep him in Cleveland through the 2027-28 campaign.
The Cavs also made a coaching change in the offseason, hiring Kenny Atkinson to replace J.B. Bickerstaff after the organization lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Boston Celtics.
Atkinson spent the past three seasons as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors. He was previously head coach for the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-20, posting a 118-190 record with one playoff appearance.
There have been questions about how Mitchell and Darius Garland fit together in the backcourt and the pairing of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in the frontcourt.
In an improving Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers are in a bit of an unusual spot. They've proven themselves to be a playoff team, but their ceiling in the postseason has been limited with this group thus far.
Cleveland will be counting on Atkinson to maximize the dynamic core that has been assembled over the past two years but has struggled in postseason settings.
2024-25 Cavaliers Schedule Details
Season Opener: at Toronto Raptors, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. ET
Championship Odds: +5000 (bet $100 to win $5,000), per FanDuel
Full Schedule: The full schedule is available on NBA.com.
Top Matchups
Boston Celtics
Every team in the Eastern Conference right now is measuring themselves against the Boston Celtics.
The reigning NBA champs are coming off one of the best seasons in league history. They capped it off with a dominant postseason run in which they went 16-3 en route to winning the 18th title in franchise history.
Cleveland was one of the teams the Celtics defeated in the playoffs. The Eastern Conference semifinals wasn't wholly representative of what the Cavs could be because Allen missed the entire series due to a rib injury and Mitchell sat out the final two games with a strained calf.
No one would argue that even a fully healthy Cavaliers team was better than Boston, but perhaps the series would have been closer. The Celtics' four wins were by an average of 15 points.
There's no reason to think the Celtics won't continue to be a dominant team. Even with Kristaps Porziņģis potentially out until January after having leg surgery soon after the NBA Finals, they didn't lose any notable contributor from the 2023-24 squad.
If the Cavaliers want to think of themselves as a championship contender, they need to prove they can compete with the team that will likely be favored to win the title.
Orlando Magic
If the Celtics are a measuring stick game for where the Cavs stand in the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic will be a matchup to determine how much progress they have made since last season.
While no one with the Cavaliers would openly admit it, they were roundly criticized for roster shenanigans on the final day of the 2023-24 regular season in order to secure the No. 4 seed and a first-round playoff matchup with Orlando.
The move nearly backfired in spectacular fashion because the Magic took them to seven games. The Cavs trailed by as many as 18 points at home in Game 7 before storming back in the second half.
Orlando, which already had a promising young nucleus, got better in the offseason by adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency.
If the Magic continue to ascend and the Cavs have plateaued as presently constructed, they could find themselves dropping from the No. 4 seed they've occupied in each of the past two seasons to fighting to stay out of the play-in tournament.
Season Forecast
Given how things ended with Bickerstaff and the lack of major moves on the roster, Atkinson's hiring is the biggest addition to the Cavaliers.
Atkinson earned high marks for his work with the Nets, particularly during the 2018-19 season when they were a surprise playoff team with a roster led by D'Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwiddie.
Brooklyn's entire outlook changed in the summer of 2019 when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant signed with the team in free agency. Atkinson's style and personality did not mesh well with the superstar players, leading to a parting of ways between the Nets and their coach in March 2020.
Atkinson coached Allen on the Nets, so their familiarity with each other should help for a quick transition into a new system.
Ultimately, though, the success of the 2024-25 Cavaliers will come down to how well Atkinson is able to make the duos of Mitchell-Garland and Allen-Mobley fit together.
Cleveland's primary downfall in the past two seasons has been the overlapping skill set between its two best players in the backcourt and two best players in the frontcourt. The lack of spacing and shooting makes this team very one-dimensional against playoff competition.
It could take a trade involving at least one of those players to shake things up, but for now Atkinson will have to piece it all together.
There is still too much talent for this group not to be a playoff contender, albeit one with a limited ceiling.
Record Prediction: 46-36
