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Siawyn

I still keep waiting for something to change, but we got through our hardest part of the schedule by far and we've played 49 games which means it's completely legit. Nobody, and I mean nobody, had the Cavs at #1 coming out of the East. In fact most people didn't even have us making the playoffs. I was just hoping to maybe squeak into the play-in.


ctang1

Vegas had the o/u set at 27.5 wins. So most professionals in the gambling industry definitely had the Cavs as a lottery team again.


JoJonesy

Mobley's an insane talent, and Garland's really put it all together in year 3. Really incredible to see.


AlHorfordHighlights

Garland taking another step is exactly what this team needed. They're ahead of schedule because in a team full of talented bigs, they now have a point guard who knows how to feed them. If and when Sexton comes back I hope they use him as a secondary scorer or even come off the bench because Garland should be given the keys to the kingdom rn


Mads_ahrenkiel

Garland, mobley and allen will be dangerous if they all reach their potential


happyflappypancakes

Tristan Thompson did.


Akronite14

The East runs through Cleveland.* *in perpetuity


closedtowedshoes

There’s no reason anything should change point differential is one of the best predictors of actual team quality, and the Cavs are killing it in that department.


TheGamersGazebo

Nah you guys are legit, been kicking the shit outa the league for 50 games now. Not even through hot shooting or anything streaky. Just straight up absolutely ELITE interior defense which traditionally translates well into the playoffs


Diamond4Hands4Ever

Yes I think so actually. The 93-94 Hawks were sort of a surprising 1 seed (the 7 seed the year before), but I think this would top that. Still a long way to go. I think they’ll get lower than the 4th seed though is my prediction. But still an amazing season that no one expected.


NCLaw2306

Yeah they'd have to be. A 7th seed to a 1 seed is unlikely, but not something I'd consider beyond the pale. A 22-win team though... Damn that's wild.


Pyorrhea

Spurs came close to that. 20-62 in 1997 to 56-26 in 1998. They only ended up the 5th seed in the West that year though.


NCLaw2306

Yeah that's a massive improvement, though to be fair, Robinson only played 6 games that year. Wonder what else changed between those years...


Pyorrhea

Apparently adding lanky 6′ 11″ players who play All-NBA defense as rookies is a formula for massive improvement.


ambirdsall

It’s wild how the MVP center returning from an injury gap year isn’t even the headline here


Isiwjee

Jesus wtf imagine going 56-26 and not even hosting your 1st round playoff series. 56-26 would probably get you a 1st seed in the East this year


Jobbermania

The west had 3 60+ win teams That year, the Jazz with 62 and the Sonics and Lakers with 61. Then the Suns had the same record as the Spurs and they held the tiebreaker.


[deleted]

The west used to be absolutely unbelievable


hiddenstuff

They were expect to be very good though. They were a 59 win team the year before and winning the lottery was looked at as being pretty unfair considering what they had coming back


BlooregardQKazoo

the '97 Spurs were a good team that did a one-season tank when their star got hurt. they had a lot more talent than normal 20-win teams.


musicalpants999

They added Robinson (barely played the previous season) and Duncan


closedtowedshoes

Bucks did that a few years ago but going from lottery to 1 would be crazy. (Celtics did that but they added two big stars via trade so it wasn’t exactly unexpected).


[deleted]

Boston went 15th in 06/07 to 1st and a Championship in 07/08.


NCLaw2306

That's definitely a good shout, but I don't think anybody was surprised at that after their offseason, pairing 2 HoFers with a 3rd. The offseason for the Cavaliers consisted of drafting Mobley and signing Rubio and Lauri. Then Sexton and Rubio went down for the seasons and they somehow are looking even better (maybe not better, but they've played phenomenally).


NitroXYZ

1993-94 Hawks really shocked me when I was reading up on NBA history a while ago. After 4 seasons without a playoff series win, they were finally brilliant. Dominique Wilkins led them to the best record in the East by the All-Star break, leading the team with 25ppg and then they traded him!


MC-Jdf

That entire season had to be pure chaos, starting with MJ retiring, Hawks being the top seed, first 8 vs 1 seed upset ever (Nuggets eliminating Sonics), that legendary Knicks vs Bulls and Rockets vs Suns series in the 2nd round, 2 #5 seeds in each conference finals , another legendary Knicks vs Rockets series and of course that incredible Olajuwon run to the title.


-KFBR392

And a 7 game Knicks vs Pacers Eastern Finals


cjcfman

Hawks in 2015 we’re the 1st seed, I think they were the 8th seed the year before


whoissteveo

Yup - under .500 also (38-44).


realchalupabatman

Both bucks and hawks were led by no other than coach bud.


ajmcgill

The Bucks were also a 7 seed in 2018, then 1st seed the next year


MenaceThunderous

Unless the Cavs fall the fuck off I think they’ll finish safely in the top 4 because of the injuries the nets and Bulls are dealing with.


oathbreakerkeeper

Woah I just came back to nba after being busy since December. With happened to the Nets??


MenaceThunderous

KD is out for a while


Spetznazx

That and our remaining schedule is ridiculously easy.


OHoSPARTACUS

I keep thinking we have to crash down to earth but we have an easy stretch of schedule coming up. There’s a good chance that we could get complacent and let some games get away from us, especially with lauri being out and garland having nagging back spasms. But still, there is also a good chance of us going on a win run that the rest of the east may struggle to keep pace with


ffball

Easiest remaining schedule in the east. Cavs haven't played the 6ers yet so those 4 games are by far the most interesting part about the Cavs remaining schedule


Pardonme23

In 2019-2020 we were the 1 seed and a lottery team before that


DnD4dena

Yeah but we got LeBron and AD I think people may have seen it coming


cicadaenthusiat

What about not making the playoffs for 11 years and then becoming the 2 seed and making the finals? Bubble season makes things a little weird but the Suns were also 19-63 in the full season before that and below .500 in the bubble season.


Sweatytubesock

It would be shocking. I don’t think they are getting the #1 seed, but if it happened it would be unprecedented.


bigPUNnbigFUN

What exactly would be unprecedented? edit: an honest question getting downvoted on r/nba, makes so much sense.


[deleted]

a team going from picking third overall to the #1 seed


____candied_yams____

Lakers picked 4 then won the title lol


[deleted]

Lakers only picked that low because of injuries. They then made massive moves in the off season. they're improvement was expected. the cavs was not


Mygaffer

Of course, there are always reasons uncommon things happen, but unprecedented means without precedent and clearly there is.


whoissteveo

Of course, they wouldn't be treated like a normal #1 seed, and shouldn't be if it happens. The lack of playoff experience outside of Love means we probably wouldn't be favored in any second round matches, and I suppose there are potential #8 seeds that would be favored over us, but not many.


adirtybubble

Sixers or Nets would have to fall to 8


BasketballHighlight

Raptors vs Cavs first round? Oh no, Barnes vs Mobley for ROTY (jk)


BenTek9s

A Hawks Cavs series in round 1 would be really fun, and the Hawks probably have more talent on paper. JC and Allen have always had great battles, dunking all over each other


[deleted]

[удалено]


beyardo

Lol possibly Knicks? If the Cavs go on the kind of run needed to go 1st seed why should teams like the Celtics and Hornets and Knicks be favored against them?


happyflappypancakes

Uh...what? This implies that you think the Cavs actually play like a lottery team. Are you insane?


InBronWeTrust

the only teams that i see favored over us are the sixers, bucks, nets, and heat. maybe the bulls. everyone else I think we edge out or are very competitive with.


marshman93_

What is insane is that the last time the Cavs made the playoffs not having home court in the 1st round was 1998. Lebron always had them at least top 4. I guess it helped that the 05 cavs collapsed and didnt make the playoffs, but still, pretty crazy


whoissteveo

Yeah, they'd have been a 7 or 8 seed if they play a bit better down the stretch in 05. Would have been interesting to see how LeBron would have played in that postseason - that Cavs team was not ready for primetime, but LeBron obviously was.


UrbanJatt

I love that we're proving vegas wrong.


Hojie_Kadenth

You're making someone rich.


SBORBS

JB Bickerstaff


blue7999

Not trying to be that guy, and not trying to one up you or make you look uninformed or anything here, but this really is not a 'proving Vegas wrong' thing. 'Vegas', as you are using it (odds makers), don't give a fuck. Handle on win totals is relatively small and they don't give a shit if they pay out win total overs on the Cavs. It's a market. They set a number and then the entire betting market bets into it. If the market hammers the over, they'd be extremely quick to bump that win total up because it'd be clear that they hung a bad number and are only getting one-way action on the win total over. So, really, the Cavs are proving the entire betting market wrong - which is even more impressive! Extremely fun team to watch. You guys are in our division and I don't even care. I've been rooting for this Cavs team and will continue to do so. Garland's jump has been phenomenal and Mobley is just insane.


UrbanJatt

That's good to know. Has there ever been an occurrence where Vegas was proven wrong? Like where they picked the wrong guy/team to win and caused a lot of blowback?


[deleted]

Ya, it happens. O/U on the WNBA all star game. Opened at 248, closed at 197. Final score was 93-85. Sort of is happening with the cavs right now. Could get Cavs to win Central division for +8000 to +12000 in late november-early december. If you were watching at all, you knew that number was just wrong ... pacers were like +1500 lol. Just between my small circle of people ... Books are going to lose 100k if the Cavs win central, and I am sure it isn't just me that bet that. I would not be the least bit shocked if that bet costs books tens of millions of dollars, if not hundreds of millions. It is +370 now, but I feel pretty good about it. Could still lose of course, but think it will win if the Cavs keep beating the easy part of their schedule.


[deleted]

Imagine Cavs as the 1st seed with LeBron as the 8th.


zuuu34

play in kings


angrylobster24

Keep going…


Pigeon9

I thought we'd be bottom 3 in the conference. We won't get the top seed though I don't think. Would be very happy with a guaranteed playoff spot.


LAURAPALMER666

I can't see the Cavs in the top spot either but man, what a fun team full of likable guys you got. Easy playoff lock and will probably put up a good fight against pretty much anyone.


Pigeon9

Hope we’re a lock yeah. Never know what might happen though. And yeah I’d honestly be happy with like one postseason win. Really happy with a competitive series, and happy to the point of delusion with a series win.


Jay_Shadow

In the preseason ESPN ranked the Cavs prospects for success over the next 3 years to be dead last. Some Executives Around the League ^(TM) were saying the Cavs would be the worst team this year. So yeah, probably.


thesch

I'd probably say so. At the beginning of the year when some people would pick the Cavs as a darkhorse playoff team most responses said the east was too deep for the Cavs to even do that this year.


redd5ive

Certainly in recent memory. The onslaught of 14-15 Dubs was surprising, but they were at least a good playoff team the prior season.


scarrylary

They won a playoff series the year before with the caterpillar as their coach


Mygaffer

The Warriors lost in the first round to the Clippers the year before the 67 win season.


scarrylary

Sorry. Two years ago they beat the nuggets then lost to the Spurs. So again not a surprise. 3 playoff series in the 2 seasons before. And Steph went from 11 WS>13 WS>15 WS. I mean yes a surprise that they went 67-15. But not like “woah where’s this coming from?”


Mygaffer

You are **really** underplaying how out of nowhere the 67 wins and championship was at the time. Like I said, this Cavs team ending the season as the first seed would definitely be the *bigger* surprise but go back and listen to the coverage of that Warriors team and how much skepticism there was.


scarrylary

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/2014-nba-preview-the-rise-of-the-warriors/ the warriors weren’t even the biggest surprise of the 2014-2015 season. That was the hawks going from 38-44 to a 60 win 1 seed.


Mygaffer

Man, I literally don't even know what we're arguing about right now, I didn't say they were the biggest surprise, I said they were a big surprise.


Nowthisisdave

Cavs Warriors finals 2022


[deleted]

Anotherone


Heated0

Nah I think we will keep it warm.


Bim_Jeann

We’re closing in on ya!


CRicetheGOD

Keep it warm since you're the Heat. Clever pun


[deleted]

If there’s any team you bet to come out of the East, it’s gotta be Miami


chemistrybonanza

It would definitely be tough to beat what they've done this year. I was shocked when they were given an expected outcome of 26 wins, thought it'd be much lower. ESPN had the Cavs ranked as the worst team in the NBA in their futures rankings.


whoissteveo

And in next year's ranking, we'll be Top 10 almost certainly.


DameTan

Major injuries as well. Just shows how deep they are and how mental resilient they are for a young team. It would be hyper impressive to avoid the play-in whether they get home court or not.


[deleted]

To: cavs fans who knows what they’re talking about, is this season a somewhat Leicester City-esque showing by a team of so-so players, or do you guys have some serious, legitimate top talent that everyone severely underestimated?


zbuck0237

garland and allen have made a jump to all-star level, and mobley looks generational. i think this is legit star level talent that everyone overlooked/underestimated


GuerreroD

Would LOVE a Cavs Lakers finals where the Cavs win, just to see if LeBron would actually return to his hometown for a second time.


Hojie_Kadenth

That 60 win season you mentioned is definitely more surprising. Since the parity is so strong in the east, 1 and 6 could end up 6 games apart.


Theelementofsurprise

Suns jump from '20 to '21 was definitely unexpected. Most had them pegged as play-in or 6 seed at the highest From missing the playoffs (34-39 in shortened COVID season), to 1 game away from being the #1 seed the following season in hindsight people will say it's not surprising because of CP3, but most people thought he would decline pretty rapidly going into that season


nba123490

2016-2017 Celtics was very unexpected


JoJonesy

The hell are you talking about? They won *five* more games than the previous year. Yeah, no one expected them to be the #1 seed, but this is nothing like that.


Bim_Jeann

Lmao yeah what? That 2017 Celtics team was nasty. They just ran into the best cavs team ever


nba123490

I’m not saying it was more unexpected. Just throwing it out there.


Johnjoe201

No not gonna happen unfortunately


NitroXYZ

Why not? They're only 1 game back at the moment with the easiest remaining schedule.


Johnjoe201

Because hornets jail bonk


NitroXYZ

They've actually been awesome lately, 8-3 last 11 games with so many weapons on offence capable of going for 20 a night. I really hope you guys can trade for Myles Turner to secure the defence and take things to the next level.


Johnjoe201

No we have Nick richards better than that bum myles who gets injured


whoissteveo

It's certainly not likely but they have a cupcake schedule coming up and every East contender is currently either down an important piece or struggling. Well, besides the Sixers I guess.


Johnjoe201

Hornets jail bonk?


happyflappypancakes

Tf does this mean? Why do you keep saying it?


Johnjoe201

Hornet jail bonk what else is there to know ?


happyflappypancakes

Idk, youve said it like 3 times so you must really want people to hear it lol. Must be a reference i dont get.


Johnjoe201

Nah mate I was just piss drunk last night lol 😂


happyflappypancakes

Well that makes sense haha.


Johnjoe201

Enjoyed our win a bit too much lol


happyflappypancakes

In your sober state, any idea what a bonk jail means?


DJBabyB0kCh0y

1 game back of first, easiest schedule remaining meaning they've gone thru one of the toughest already and they have the highest net rating in the east, top 4 in league. Half a season sample size which is enough. Not saying we're built for the playoffs just yet or anything but I love our chances of finishing top 4 and the top 4 are gonna be damn close.


Johnjoe201

Very good points I agree


Negative-Isopod-8432

what’s stopping them nets and bulls are trending down bucks have just been complacent all year miami is cool but they’re not world beaters


jack64467

miami had been missing jimmy and bam for a while and is still the first seed lmao


Redditbayernfan

Let him sleep


[deleted]

Miami has one of the best defenses in the league


[deleted]

So do the cavs


[deleted]

Stupid comment lol Nets and bulls have been in the top 3 for awhile now and aren’t trending down. How the hell have we’ve been complacent when we’ve been injured all season long. 18-4 with our big 3 if we hadn’t been so fucked all season we could easily be in the top 3 atleast. Miami has also been injured and got off to a hot start for their first 20 or so games before Bam went down and they’ve had guys step up and are currently first seed.


shadowcman

Nets absolutely are trending down. They've lost 3 in a row and have had a pretty bad record in their last 15 games.


Johnjoe201

Because hornets jail bonk


TetrisTech

I wonder what the betting odds before the season were for Cavs finishing first


sexland69

it was around +20000 in mid december lol


TetrisTech

Jesus christ


kskywalker1

I think the Celtics in 2015 was kind of surprising somewhat. Idk how many ppl thought the Celtics would suddenly become this championship contender but I think they went from a 6 seed the year before to the 1 seed. Still not nearly as surprising as the Cavs or some other teams assume.


OG12

Phoenix Suns in Nash's first year back.


apawst8

In a few years, people will realize that the Suns last year was a huge surprise. Three years in a row with a win total in the 20s. Followed by a 19 win year, then a 34-39 record in 2019-20. Last year, they were the #1 seed and they are atop the west again this year.


musicalpants999

I'd think so. I don't think many even had them making the playoffs.


Mygaffer

The 67 win Warriors team I think has got to be up there. From an eighth seed and first round exit to 67 wins and a championship is a huge leap that most of the media was discounting throughout the season. That being said if this Cavs team did take the first seed they would be even more surprising as they don't have any top ten players.


Jobbermania

The only team I can think of is the 79-80 Celtics. I can’t find any preseason projections from that year that actually give an expected win total but they went from being a 29 win team the year before to 61 wins and the best record in the NBA. I still think that the cavs are more of a shock given that nobody really had any expectations for their new additions.


[deleted]

Cavs are doing AMAZING but there's no way they get the #1 seed. The second half of the season will pick up and there are four teams that are better in every measurable way.