The Cleveland Cavaliers were the biggest disappointment during the 2025 NBA Playoffs. A team that finished with the No. 1 record in the Eastern Conference over the 2023-24 champions, Boston Celtics, failed to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Cleveland finished 64-18, and those 64 wins were the second-most in franchise history. In 2008-09, the Cavs won 66 games.

For this upcoming season, as you can imagine, the Cavaliers are projected to finish the regular season with the most wins in the East, as they have the highest win total, according to DraftKings. DK projects the Cavs to win around 55 games with a 55.5 over/under. That is the second highest in the NBA, as the reigning champs, Oklahoma City Thunder have a 62.5 win total. The next highest in the East is the New York Knicks at a 52.5 win total.

Donovan Mitchell leads a very good Cavs team. They are deep with talent and are a clear contender in the East. They ran into a very hot Indiana Pacers team last postseason and fell short in five games. A 64-win team should never lose in the second round of the playoffs, but in fairness, not many teams would have stopped that Pacers run. It didn't matter the deficit, the Pacers always came back … until Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

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The Cavaliers got better this offseason. They traded for point guard Lonzo Ball and sent away Isaac Okoro. Even though Ball has been through a gauntlet of injuries, the guard is a veteran who can help this team off the bench. Ball is only 27 years old, but has been in the league for six seasons.

The starting five will remain the same, and it is stacked. Mitchell, Darius Garland, De'Andre Hunter, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen is scary good. With Ball leading the second unit with Ty Jerome, the backcourt will be a serious threat for all 48 minutes. Max Strus and Sam Merrill are also capable of draining multiple three-pointers a game.

Injuries got in the way late last postseason, as they did many teams. If Cleveland is able to remain healthy, then they should easily win close to 60 games once again.

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