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The Cleveland Cavaliers were a historically great team to begin the 2024-25 season. They won 33 of their first 37 games and went on three separate 12-plus game winning streaks during the regular season. From the looks of it, the stars were aligning for the Cavs to make it deeper than they ever have in the post-LeBron James era. Instead, they saw their season come to a premature end, with the Indiana Pacers dispatching of them in five games in their second-round matchup following a 114-105 win in Game 5.
The Cavs team that fought against the Pacers looked like a shell of their regular-season selves. This makes their playoff exit all the more heartbreaking, as the team that led the league in offensive rating this past season couldn't put the ball through the hoop at the level they've shown themselves capable throughout the regular season.
Nonetheless, the Cavs' official account on X, as heartbreaking as their playoff exit may be, still gave their fanbase the love it deserves for all the support they've shown the team.
“A historical season and we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you, Cavs fans,” their post reads.
Winning 64 games is no small feat, and the Cavs deserve plenty of credit for being a dominant regular season team. But the playoffs separate the man from the boys, the wheat from the chaff, and Cleveland simply couldn't get the job done.
The 2024-25 Cavs became just the fourth team in NBA history to win 64 games and fail to make it past the second round of the playoffs; they join the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks, 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs, and 2021-22 Phoenix Suns as the only teams to do so. At the very least, the Cavs' exit isn't the most embarrassing; the '07 Mavs lost to the eighth-seeded “We Believe” Golden State Warriors, while the '22 Suns completely lost the plot in Game 7 against the Mavs.
Cavs have some tough roster decisions to make
Will this playoff exit be enough evidence for the Cavs front office to accept that this core isn't enough to win a championship? There are plenty of merits to running it back, although some tweaks may be necessary to prevent another meltdown of this magnitude in the future.
Having two star guards and two star bigs may not be the way to go for the Cavs; perhaps getting a go-to-guy on the wing would be helpful in achieving better roster balance from here on out.
