X
Skip to content

Featured Picks

Featured News

Speculation vs Reality: Assessing NBA Preseason Win Totals

Some of the best wagers you can place are those that take time to come to fruition. If they go sour, you have time to reason with your fate and make sense of the loss. If they go well, you have more... Read Now
nbaNBA

Cleveland Cavaliers Stats, Odds, Standings and Schedule for 2023-24 NBA Season

Cleveland Cavaliers Last Season’s Performance

The 2021-22 season set the foundation for the Cleveland Cavaliers to be a breakout team in 2022-23. The Cavaliers NBA lines on the over/under went from 26.5 to 46.5 last season.

Beyond the Cavaliers finishing eighth in 2021-22 before losing in the Play-In Tournament to miss the playoffs, they also pulled off a big offseason trade for Donovan Mitchell, officially changing the team’s NBA odds. Adding Mitchell to a backcourt featuring All-Star Darius Garland and an exciting frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen made Cleveland a team to watch.

The preseason hype would come to fruition, for the most part. Cleveland finished fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 51-31 record, winning 50 or more games for the first time since LeBron James was on the team. The Cavaliers had the best defense in the league because of the frontcourt duo while the guards led the offense.

However, when the playoffs started, the excitement around the team was short-lived. The New York Knicks ended the Cavaliers’ hopes in a gentleman’s sweep, only needing five games to end a hopeful season.

Offseason Changes

Key Additions

This offseason would be significant for the Cavaliers if they wanted to keep trending upward toward better NBA Finals odds. It does seem like the front office did make the necessary moves for Cleveland to continue its upward climb.

The Knicks made it clear in the playoffs that the Cavaliers did not have many other scoring threats outside their two main guards. The only position group the team could upgrade was on the wings, so they did that. A sign-and-trade for Max Strus has the potential to be very important. Strus signed a four-year deal for $63 million and will be a reliable shooter in the starting five, holding his own on defense.

Depth was also a big issue for Cleveland in the playoffs, having very few options to turn to when New York started taking over games. The Cavaliers re-signed Caris LeVert for two more years worth $32 million to be a consistent scorer off the bench. They also signed Georges Niang to a three-year, $26 million deal to be the backup wing and sometimes be a small-ball big.

Ty Jerome and Damian Jones were the final two additions to round out a much-improved bench.

In the draft, Cleveland did not have a lot of assets to work with, having used them to acquire Mitchell. But, in the second round, the Cavaliers did draft Emoni Bates, who at one point was rated one of the top high school basketball players before struggling in college.

Key Losses

While the Cavaliers did suffer some losses this offseason, they were quickly replaced, probably for the better. Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens averaged over 18 minutes, appearing in at least 60 games each, and were traded in the sign-and-trade for Strus.

Veterans Danny Green and Robin Lopez also left in free agency, but they did not have a massive impact last season, averaging less than 12 minutes per game.

Coach: J.B. Bickerstaff (51-31)

In back-to-back seasons, J.B. Bickerstaff finished in the top five of the Coach of the Year voting. Last season, he finished fourth, being a massive part of the Cavaliers’ success and winning 51 games.

However, most of Bickerstaff’s success came on the defensive end of the court. As a coach, his next step is to improve the team’s offense and help the Cavs get out of the first round of the playoffs.

Cleveland Cavaliers Strength: No Drop-Off on Defense

Even with the Cavaliers’ clear focus on the offensive side of the ball this offseason, there will be no drop-off on the defensive end in 2023-24. Mobley and Allen are the anchors of the defense – 7-footers with elite shot-blocking abilities. Furthermore, Mobley is long and agile enough to guard smaller players on the perimeter.

On top of that, Isaac Okoro is one of the best young defenders, able to lock down wings or opposing guards. His lack of offense sometimes keeps him off the court, which proved to be an issue in the playoffs. Mitchell also stepped up his defensive game in Cleveland. He was no longer required to be the main offensive engine that he was for the Utah Jazz, allowing him to be more active on defense.

While Strus is more of an offensive addition, he is far from a deficit on defense. The same thing can be said about Niang. Jones is also better suited to be a backup center for Allen, both being rim-running shot-blockers.

Cleveland Cavaliers Weakness: A Third Go-To Scorer

Without a third scoring threat, the Cavaliers will have a cap on how deep they can go in the playoffs, as proven last season. The Knicks’ defense focused on Mitchell and Garland, making them take bad shots or give the ball up. To counteract that, Okoro was taken out of the starting lineup with LeVert, a more offensive threat, taking his place

While that change worked, the defense could not keep the games low-scoring enough to give the Cavaliers a chance, only scoring over 100 points in their one win.

The clear hope is that through the offseason, 2021 third overall pick Mobley grows offensively, expanding his range behind the 3-point line. He averaged 16.2 points in the regular season, 1.2 more than when he was a rookie. In the playoffs, it dropped to 9.8 points per game. Mobley is the Cavaliers’ best chance of having a third legit scorer.

However, with the re-signing of LeVert plus the additions of Strus and Niang, the offense should improve in 2023-24, taking some pressure off Mobley. But, Mobley still needs to be on an upward trajectory offensively for this team to reach its full potential.

Cleveland Cavaliers Predictions

Last season, the Cavaliers showed they can be one of the better regular-season teams in the East. They have an elite defense, balanced out by two All-Star-level guards. Now, there must be some growth to make a deep playoff push.

While the Cavaliers got better in the offseason, they still feel far from being a legit contender to make it to the NBA Finals. Cleveland could end up being a top-four seed again, and maybe the improvements could get them a playoff series win.

Cleveland Cavaliers FAQs

Can the Cleveland Cavaliers make the Eastern Conference Finals?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a talented team, but they seem more built for the regular season than the playoffs.

BetUS Sportsbook & Casino

Average rating:  

 0 reviews

When was the last time the Cleveland Cavaliers made the playoffs?

The Cleveland Cavaliers made the playoffs last season, their first appearance since 2017-18.

BetUS Sportsbook & Casino

Average rating:  

 0 reviews

Do the Cleveland Cavaliers need a third star?

Yes, the Cleveland Cavaliers need another star player if they want to succeed in the playoffs, and third-year player Evan Mobley should eventually turn into that.

BetUS Sportsbook & Casino

Average rating:  

 0 reviews

Can Donovan Mitchell win MVP honors in 2023-24?

At points of last season, Donovan Mitchell looked like one of the best players in the league, but winning an MVP this season does not seem possible.

BetUS Sportsbook & Casino

Average rating:  

 0 reviews